Banditry is the latest brand of killings in Plateau State that has claimed over 1000 lives unabated. The recent attacks on parts of Kanam and Wase local government areas consumed over 100 lives, destroyed properties without resistance from the defenseless victims.
Although painful and shocking, the most disturbing aspect is the aloofness of the state government to the plight of the victims. Neither the governor nor representative of government cared to commiserate with the victims officially let alone a sympathy visit. This is a clear abuse of Constitutional responsibility and lopsided administration.
But surprisingly, when Bassa, Bokkos, Mangu and Riyom were attacked by suspected Fulani herdsmen, the governor hurriedly reached the trouble areas to cool tempers, restore confidence and offer immediate assistance.
Not only that, in the case of Kanam and Wase massacres, there was no official statement condemning or ‘supporting’ the killings and criminal intrusion into those destroyed communities by the bandits. Shockingly enough even elected representatives of the people in Kanam in Plateau State House of Assembly, the Senate and House of Representatives maintained silence claiming to be preparing for a visit at a later date. In Wase axis, both the chairman of the local government council, Hamisu Haruna Anani and federal representative, Ahmed Idris Wase, paid visits and attended to the immediate needs of the victims as responsibility entails.
It will be interesting to know that the Plateau State crisis started from a long-hatched plan against an industrious segment of the society. One does not celebrate the periodic killings de-marketing and disfiguring Plateau State that even the Vatican cannot risk to invest in such a troubled environment. Although sympathetic to the killings and destructions, that cannot be a reason to bury truth.
This piece may sound offensive to bigots who masterminded the crisis way back in 2021, while the fair-minded may reason objectively. Whichever way, I remain committed to objectivity on the secretive plan of ethno-religious cleansing nursed over the years.
Till this moment, I have never come across a set of people hating development from others like a cross section of Plateau State tribes languishing in scorching poverty, frustrated by their elites, confused by their leaders and deceived by their tribal, religious and community leaders to believing fiction, while the leaders swim in opulence as the state burns to their advantage.
In election times, if you desire their votes, tell them what they love to hear that you will flush out Muslims in their midst. Convince them of your support to the killings of Fulani not even the herdsmen. Assure them of your intention to bury Hausas alive for their sake. If you deliver such a message convincingly, their votes are yours without doubt!
“I am a son of the soil” this is what usually comes out from the tribes of Plateau State when discussing their tagged enemies (settlers), particularly Hausa, Fulani and other Muslims. Igbos, Itsekiris, Ijaws, Uhorbos, Ikwerres, Efiks, Ibibio, Anangs etc who are majority Christians are rated by the natives as brothers in Christ not settlers on the Plateau. Those whose great-grandparents labored assiduously through tin ore and columbite mining activities, arts/crafts, animal husbandry, commerce, and trading to build the economy of the state are the target of attacks even along the highways.
But to the same natives, minute tribes in Manchok, Zangon Kataf, Kagoro, Kafanchan, Kagoma, Kwoi, Zonkowa, Wusasa, Gonin Gora etc in neighboring Kaduna State or Sayawa natives from Bogoro in Bauchi State are not settlers on the Plateau but brothers ‘in Christ.’ In fact, ‘brothers’ enjoy more respect and recognition than the so-called settlers despite their economic contributions to the sustenance of the state over time.
For instance, the economy of Jos, is in firm grip of three ethnic nationalities; Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo. Nationalities of the Niger Delta are into hospitality business and mining for over a century in Jos.
Jos North hosting Plateau State capital was in the news few years back as those hoodlums and their blood thirsty sponsors, severally unleashed mayhem on lives and properties of so called settlers and disfiguring the once beautiful and peaceful tin city hiding under the guise of land grabbing, ethnicity and religion.
Until the likes of a self-appointed prophet, Isa El-Buba, a migrant from Gwoza in Borno to Jos preaching hate and violence on the Plateau are cleared from the scene, peace may continue to elude the troubled Plateau. The likes of El-Buba working with ignorant tribal folks, believe to have the monopoly of violence. That mirage of ethno-religious cleansing can only be feasible after the return of Prophet Yisa (Jesus) to mother earth.
El-Buba and like minds should better wake up from their daydream, embrace the reality to have priceless peace. But to flush out the Hausa/Fulani Muslims from Plateau State, is an impossible task that cannot be achieved. Take My Words to the Bank!
To those with an inkling of what ignited the crisis with some Muslims tagged as settlers while some addressed as Indigenous Muslims, we are not surprised that the natives are not referred to as indigenous pagans and Christians. It was Joshua Dariye, now a pardoned prisoner who coined the word Indigenous Muslim targeted at frustrating Hausa/Fulani Muslims.
We all know the primary intention of the crisis that remains an illusion till eternity because it can never be realized, and no matter the strategy applied by any of the bigots and whosoever presides over the state government cannot achieve the hidden evil. That is a vow from the Muslim community.
Fortunately, most of those who planned the cleansing have died frustrated and disappointed bigots and bequeathed the ugly situation now consuming their people.
Those dead war mongers were pretenders who misinterpreted the words of God in the Holy Bible. They erroneously believed that Christianity is all about dressing gorgeously on the Sabbath Day and rushing to the Church to sing, clap and dance or reading the Holy Bible as worshipping God. Christianity is more than their imagination.
The religion of Islam recognizes and respects Christianity. It recognizes and respects real Christians not pretenders masquerading on the Plateau. What Plateau has as Christians, are disguised Pagans and Atheist ‘forcefully’ converted to Christianity by early missionaries for palliatives and incentives. Their religious behaviors and understanding of Christianity are at variance with the teachings and actions of Jesus Christ. That is the bitter truth!
If one may eventually ask, who has the capacity and courage to stop the ongoing killings on the Plateau? Who are those fanning the embers of hatred between Muslims and Christians and for what reason? Who started what looked like an ethnic cleansing exercise on the Plateau and discriminating theories? Who fired the first shot against the other? Were those responsible for past acts of murders, arrested and prosecuted or were set free by the powers that be? Does Plateau State need peace or is comfortable with the security challenges it faces? Is the State Government ready to do the needful, no matter whose ox may be gored, for everlasting peace? These are few questions that continue to beg for answers.
The grisly and despicable killings in Mangu, Barikin Ladi, Bokkos, Wase, Kanam and Riyom added to the massacre of over 500 Berom natives in Dogo Nahauwa a suburb of Jos on Sunday, March 7, 2010, the massacre of several innocent Hausa/Fulani in Kuru and Yelwan Shendam and those along the federal highway that passes through Berom communities, the gruesome murder of Gen. Idris Alkali at Dura-Du by suspected Berom terrorists, and the murder of 23 innocent commuters at Rukuba road in Jos by suspected Irigwe militia group and the killing of 25 innocent souls at Zangam Yelwa. Then the massacre of over 155 souls on December 23, 2023 in 23 villages and communities with over 122 houses razed down in Barikin Ladi and Bokkos local government areas as well as the murder of innocent souls from Zaria at Mangun in Mangu local government are few references for this discourse.
We are not talking of the attempted ethnic cleansing in the various local governments in the state under the watch of Jonah Jang by suspected tribal terrorists allegedly supported by governments of the past.
The crisis rocking the foundation of Plateau state seems to have reached a point of catastrophe and beyond immediate solution. The state is paying dearly in all fronts. One wonders how the state turned into such lawlessness that evil now holds sway with impunity. Definitely, there had been an absence of sincere government in place all along.
Plateau State crisis dates back to the administration of Joshua Chibi Dariye (1999-2007) the ‘proud’ recipient of the medal for pardoned criminals. Insecurity was one of the recurring ugly decimals that marked and de-branded that administration at all fronts.
Jonah Jang administration that came on board after the exit of Dariye, was even worse as it appeared to have enjoyed the spate of killings.
So the All Progressives Congress (APC) after birth latched on Jang’s lapses and weaknesses for a peaceful state.
The blood thirsty monster under APC that turned our nation state into the killing fields of the African Continent, courtesy of several factors including terrorism, ethno-religious sentiment, the restless rage of armed robbery, banditry, and kidnapping for ransom, has not relented. Instead it has bared its fangs worse than ever before in our history.
At the slightest strike, accusing fingers point to members of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN). But, the association has consistently denied any complicity in the attacks, warning that they should not be linked to attacks in the state, there are bitter lessons to learn from the series of killings over the years. The ones that have engulfed Plateau State since 2001 paint a parlous portrait of a country where citizens’ lives mean little or nothing to those who swore by their Holy Books to protect and defend lives and property without fear or favor.
For how long are we going to tolerate the crass absurdity of unmitigated murders in our country? Indeed, my continued outrage at the recurring bestial blood-letting on the Plateau since 2001 is predicated on the apparent impotence on the part of both the federal and state governments through the security agencies to rein in the monster of the orgy of violence.
As events have proved not much has been achieved by those on the corridors of power to stem the tide on the Plateau and other places. On August 29, 2011, 20 innocent persons were murdered at Kabong, a suburb of Jos and their bodies mutilated and ‘eaten’ by the beasts in human skin addressing themselves as Christians. Muslims had to celebrate their Eid-el-Fitr festival indoors. Yet, the worst case scenario was to follow later.
According to reports, some suspected herders went on rampage in Heipang near Jos on Sunday, September 4. 2011. By the time they were through, the family of one Chollom Gyang, including his wife Hannatu, six children, and a four-month-old baby, were dispatched to their ancestors. And in a subsequent sweeping strike by suspected Berom terrorists, a Fulani family of eight and a visitor were hacked to hideous death at Foron village in Barikin Ladi local government area on Friday, September 9, 2011. It was the fourth of such beastly attacks in Plateau state within a week!
If that was more than a decade ago, what do we make of the approaching 2026, with regards to the safety of the people on the Plateau? As if the destruction of farmlands by suspected armed herders and cattle rustling by suspected natives and destruction of properties by ethno-religious jingoists were not enough, and as if re-enacting a midnight horror film as the 10th Anniversary of the past tragedy, some assailants attacked Tafi Gana village on August 17, 2021. There they descended on their victims’ and posted them to their ancestors. And in another attack at Dong village, gunmen murdered residents.
At the sleepy village of Dalwan, Ganawuri Chiefdom in Riyom local government area, in broad daylight, former Minister for Sports in the Obasanjo administration, Damishi Tonson Sango had severally been attacked and two of his police orderlies murdered by suspected natives of neighboring hostile community.
Similarly, on Wednesday, August 18, 2021 there was an attack by unknown gunmen on an Irigwe community with five persons killed while four others were missing despite an imposed curfew on Bassa.
The vogue by Berom natives (Turu) in times of crisis whose communities are located by the federal highway is to attack and murder innocent travelers in retaliation to attacks by either herders or their common enemies within. Instead of reprisal action on perpetrators of the attacks, they cowardly ambush, and murder innocent travelers.
Federal establishments located within Berom communities are not safe for Muslim staff all the times. Without provocation, those establishments are attacked with Muslims targeted for murder. National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) is a case study. Pastoralists cannot access services of the institute for fear of attack by cannibals as natives.
The natives in their wildest imagination forget that those murdered without reason, have relations elsewhere that can equally retaliate. For instance, the gruesome murder of Gen. Idris Alkali by suspected Berom terrorists whose known offence was passing through Berom communities as a free citizen. He was stopped, robbed, humiliated and subsequently murdered for the sake of his religion (Islam).
Funny enough, same murderers expect to live in peace without tasting the bitterness of their brutal action in due course. That’s an illusion!
So, what is the way forward to the spate of killings not only in Plateau State but in several other areas across Nigeria? These apart from killings related to secessionist agitations in the Southeast geo-political zone by IPOB and ESN.
Going forward, it has become imperative for political leaders to demonstrate, more by actions than by words that they are in power for the entire country, state or local councils and not for their ethnic nationalities, religion or kith and kin as is the case in Plateau State.
We must do away with king-servant relationship. No ethnic group or any part of the country, or state should be seen as superior to others. Plateau State natives are not superior by any standard to the Hausa/Fulani Muslims on the Plateau. The only difference is that the Hausa/Fulani are more into commerce and trade than civil service. They believe in the spirit of self reliance than dependency. They built fortune on the Plateau out of their sweat.
Security operatives not the Operation Rainbow of Plateau State should do much more on intelligence information gathering, articulation, interpretation and taking proactive actions. That is, when and where it matters most. The pain in all of these is that most of the attacks were preventable.
It could be recalled that Mario Machungo, in his thought provoking lecture entitled: “Good Leadership Counts” presented at the 1999 Kampala, Uganda Conference for Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa (CSSDCA) focused on the imperative of strengthening internal security. He stated that the interrelated problems of security, stability, and development must be solved through homegrown methods.
This, dovetails to the need for the security architecture and apparatus to be made holistic to engender the trust in the people to see it as their own. With that they will be willing to divulge relevant information which security agencies should act on promptly without politicizing them. And with that in place, it would be easier for them to identify and mop up hundreds of thousands of small arms and ammunition hidden all over the country by prospective trouble shooters most especially in Plateau, Taraba, Southern Kaduna, Bogoro and Tafawa Balewa axis in Bauchi State.
Besides, we should also do away with the persisting culture of impunity. The government should stop slapping perpetrators of evil with amnesty programs that insult the intelligence of their helpless victims. As Arewa Consultative Forum highlighted, this is the time to deal decisively with killers; to pay for their crimes against humanity instead of being cajoled by the powers that be. Only that would serve as a form of deterrence to others with similar evil inclinations.
Governor Caleb Mutfwang in the embattled Plateau State should not allow himself to be caught napping or his thoughts for a better and peaceful state beclouded by ethno-religious sentiments as was the case with some of his predecessors who sustained what we are witnessing today.
There are several devilishly claimed religious leaders parading the streets of Plateau that should be arrested and prosecuted for misusing the pulpit and podiums to fan the embers of hatred. One of such clowns, known through his actions and preaching claims to be a Prophet while hiding his past antecedents, needs public exposure by relevant security agencies.
A discreet investigation may expose his past as a disciple of the late devil, Muhammadu Marwa Maitatsine and now a stationed ‘disaster’ on Plateau State that should be seriously monitored and possibly disconnected from preaching a religion he is misinterpreting.
He lost access to power after the defeat of his master’s sponsored gubernatorial candidate in 2015. He has been lost midstream since then but so desperate to breach the peace for recognition and return of business as usual. Injustice breeds violence that should be the watch word of any responsible government in Plateau State.
There was justice by successive governments in Plateau State as all were treated equally before the peace was disrupted by area boys and vagabonds in power. Late Police Commissioner Joseph Deshi Gomwalk, Fidelis Nanmi’apTapgun, and Simon Bako Lalong were good and straightforward leaders who governed with respect to all.
Lalong almost returned the lost glory but the blood thirsty beasts were not supportive as if they could realize their inordinate ambition with ease. Typical Plateau native sees the APC as a Hausa/Fulani Muslim dominated party not for them. The 2023 voting pattern in the presidential election says it all!
Lalong resisted and ignored their advances and refused to subscribe to their evil plans of Christianizing the state. Now, there is Barr Caleb Mutfwang, a Christian running helter-skelter to bailout the state from further bloodshed. But the crisis seems to have returned in full swing.
The devils are back to the trench, thirsty for human blood. If Governor Caleb applies the right soothing balm objectively, the wounds may heal within a short period. If not, one has to pity the once peaceful and progressing state loved by all as the bastion of tourism and hospitality.
Finally, for the truth, you cannot kill mine unjustifiably and still expect yours to live peacefully not minding the societal status you enjoy. It is a tit for tat game. I have the numerical strength to rely upon, I know the terrain better than you and I have the capacity and wherewithal to retaliate at my own pace. A Stitch in Time Saves Nine! I Come in Peace!
Muhammad is a commentator on national issues
