As I write this piece, Charles Taylor, the former President of Liberia has just had his conviction of 50 years upheld by the international court of Justice in the Haque, Netherlands. Charles Taylor was convicted on 11 counts of war crimes and terror, including murder and terror. Taylor who is already 65 years old, would undoubtedly live and die in prison, atoning for the grief he caused millions of Africans in Liberia and Sierra lone.

The case of Charles Taylor brings to mind that of rtd. Air Commodore Jonah Jang –a fine military officer and astute gentleman, whose dedication to service has earned him accolades and commendation from all quarters during his years of service. Being the Governor of several states in Nigeria, Including the Old Gongola State and Benue, he distinguished himself in the areas of human capital development and project delivery. As such when he finally retired in 1990, his people found him worthy of leadership of his state, Plateau. He was therefore elected Governor from 2007 till date.

As I write this piece, Charles Taylor, the former President of Liberia has just had his conviction of 50 years upheld by the international court of Justice in the Haque, Netherlands. Charles Taylor was convicted on 11 counts of war crimes and terror, including murder and terror. Taylor who is already 65 years old, would undoubtedly live and die in prison, atoning for the grief he caused millions of Africans in Liberia and Sierra lone.

The case of Charles Taylor brings to mind that of rtd. Air Commodore Jonah Jang –a fine military officer and astute gentleman, whose dedication to service has earned him accolades and commendation from all quarters during his years of service. Being the Governor of several states in Nigeria, including the old Gongola State and Benue, he distinguished himself in the areas of human capital development and project delivery. As such when he finally retired in 1990, his people found him worthy of leadership of his state, Plateau. He was therefore elected Governor from 2007 till date.

During his time as Governor of Plateau state however, he was accused of a heinous crime by a section of the Hausa Fulani community. They alleged that he committed genocide, ethnic cleansing and mass killings, by giving a shoot-at-sight order after the announcement of results of the 2008 Local Government elections –elections, which led to severe violence. The community filed their complaint at the international court in 2009, praying the court to rule that he had committed crimes against humanity.

Following the filing of the case at the Hague, the International court proceeded to institute an independent investigation into the matter, to determine whether the allegations were true or false. It constituted a high powered investigative delegation, mandated with the task of travelling to Jos on a fact-finding mission. Their time in Jos, was indeed worthwhile, as all the allegations against the Governor were found to be mere fabrications and baseless. For instance, allegations that up to 750 Muslims were killed in the shoot-at-sight order could not be proven. The number was found to be significantly escalated and a figment of someone’s imagination. Most people who lost their lives in the violence were armed youths who took to the streets maiming and killing innocent Nigerians. They therefore could be termed to be unarmed citizens because they were armed with various weapons which they used to wreak havoc. Additionally, soldiers/policemen owe the society a duty to protect both the lives and property of citizens –so if the lives of innocent citizens is threatened by armed miscreants, the police and soldiers ought to step in and bring calm. There is no doubt that the loss of lives on all sides is regrettable and unfortunate, because of the sanctity of life; but I am a firm believer in taking lessons from all events.

In my opinion, the over-arching lesson from these happenings is that leadership is a herculean task –it is no easy feat and definitely not for the faint hearted. Here you have a Governor trying hard to deliver the dividends of democracy to his people, and on the other hand you have others who wish to make governance impossible. Even if the 2008 election was totally flawed with massive fraud, surely attacking innocent citizens on Friday after afternoon prayers is not the way to go about it. Killing people who had nothing to do with the election will amount to nothing.

In conclusion, I must say that the victory at the International court is not just one for the vindication of Jonah Jang, but a victory for all Plateau people, for defiance, for freedom and for peace and tolerance, for all people on the Plateau, including the people who filed the suit. If Jang was found guilty of these allegations –it would have been another blow to our collective destiny as a people –just like J. D. Gomwalk was innocently killed by malicious individuals who hated his guts, because of his vision, foresight, defiance, and love for Plateau and therefore they falsely roped him into the Dimka coup.

As such, if you are reading this and you have a drink close-by, pour yourself a cold drink; And let us toast –”To vindication”, “To Defiance”, “To Truth”, “To Honesty”, “To Forgiveness” “To Harmony”, “To Tolerance”, “To Peace” and to “One Plateau”………Cheers and God bless you all.

By Nanven Jatau (NPA – Lagos, Nigeria)

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Do we say Jonah Jang – 1 Vs Hausa Fulani – 0? Not really, we are all winners!