Plateau State especially its capital has for long been in the news for negative reason as a result of protracted ethno-religious crises on different flanks of the state particularly in Jos, where the natives Berom and the Hausa/Fulani settlers were often on each others’ throats on trivial issue that has to do with indigeneship/settlers and also employing religion to justify their stand.

The state, in the past 10 years has been so volatile that a minor misunderstanding between two people could snowball into conflagration that can spread across the state within a second like a bush fire. The pathetic situation was further worsened by the advent of the GSM telecommunication which makes it possible for people to relate outbreak of violence in one part of the town to people in other parts, thus leading to reprisal attack.  An incident which ought to be curtailed and restricted to certain area often assumed a dimension of forest fire, thereby making it difficult for law enforcement agents to arrest the situation.

Festive periods like Easter, Christmas, Eid el Fitr and Eid El Kabir were seasons of nightmare for the residents of Plateau State, especially those residing in Jos, the state capital. Some of the adherents of the two religions, specifically those behind the myriad of unfortunate incident ravaging the state always perceived the festive periods as an opportunity to make life miserable for the people. If there was no bomb blast, some miscreants would launch an unexpected attack that would shatter the festive atmosphere.

At a point, it became a threat and occasion  for counter attacks,  the Christians would claim since the Muslims did not allow them to enjoy Christmas or Easter and vice versa. This gave credence to why many often travelled out of the state during such occasions. However, the efforts of the security agencies such as the Special Task Forces (STF) and Police saddled with the security of the state started to yield good result last year as the state especially the state capital began to enjoy relative peace.

From all indications, the warring groups seem to have had  a re-think and retreat to their shells, having considered the loss on both  sides of the divide, coupled with some positive steps taken by the STF and government towards reconciliation of the warring people. There has been a deep gulf between the Hausa/Fulani community in Jos and the state government. The community has for long been a no go area to some people but the governor for the first time last year  visited the community, of which some parts were ravaged by flood. To the surprise of many, leaders of the community trooped out en-masse to receive the governor and his entourage. After the inspection, an agreement was also reached in the community on the need to open up the area for development to avoid future occurrence.

As a mark of respect to the Muslims, the governor during the last Hajj exercise appointed the Chief Imam of Jos Central Mosque as Amiral Hajj to the Holy land, thus, dousing the animosity between the government and the community. The gesture, was however reciprocated during the last bye-election for Plateau North District, when the people of the community voted en-mass for Senator Gyang Pwajok of the PDP perceived as government candidate.

Also contrary to the expectation that there would be skirmishes during the last Christmas and New Year festive periods, the two occasions were celebrated in a peaceful atmosphere.  To further consolidate on the prevailing peace, the Special Task Force in charge of the security in the state recently launched emergency telephone numbers and common prayer/salutation handbills to serve as slogan for the people of the state. This is to further reinforce the peace in the state and to nip in the bud any attempt to thinker with the existing peace. The event which was meant to be low key turned out to be big event having prominent citizens of the state including the governor in attendance.

In his welcome address at the occasion, the Commander, Special Task Force, Major General Henry Ayoola, said the launching of the telephone numbers were important and necessary for the passage of timely information to the Task Force and other security agencies to enhance quick response to any threat or security challenges. Apart from human efforts towards arresting the ugly trend, the Command emphasized the need for divine intervention. He said the need for this inspired the command to come up with a common prayer as follow “God of Mercy and Grace, Please rain peace on the Plateau and in Nigeria” and salutation “Peace on the Plateau, Peace in Nigeria. ”According to him, it was proposed to be adopted by both the Christians and Muslims, believing strongly that God will rain peace on the Plateau and indeed peace will reign on the Plateau and by extension Nigeria. General Ayoola further used the occasion to showcase the STF new outfit, saying soon, all military personnel under his command will change to the new uniform.

 In his remark at the launching, Governor Jonah Jang charged the military men deployed to the state to observe the rules of their engagement, bearing in mind that they are not fighting a war against a foreign enemy but are in the state to assist the police in the internal security and maintenance of peace. The governor congratulated the STF under the leadership of General Ayoola on the good work they are doing in the state, particularly pointing to the Christmas and New Year celebrations which he said has been unprecedented.

Also speaking at the launching, the paramount ruler of Jos, the Gbong Gwom of Jos, His Majesty, Da Gyang Jacob Buba said most of those who profess Christianity and Islam were hypocrites saying, if all could imbibe the tenets of their religion which centred on peace, there would be absolute peace in the country. The paramount ruler charged religious leaders to practice what they preached. He implored them to put their followers in check and further advised them to devise means of policing their communities, adding that there is the need for community policing to consolidate on the prevailing peace in the state.

However, there is relative peace in Jos for now, the issue of reprisal is gradually becoming a thing of the past and people no longer troop out for counter attack on getting wind of any outbreak of violence again. But the general belief among the people of the state is that both the government and the STF need to be more vigilant and as well, come up with programmes that will further consolidate on the prevailing peace.     

Note: the views expressed in this article are solely the opinions of the writer and do not represent the views of viewpointnigeria.

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Plateau on pathway to peace – Nigerian Tribune