We are each other’s harvest; we are each other’s business; we are each other’s magnitude and bond. – Gwendolyn Brooks

My heart and prayers go out to all the families that lost loved ones in Miango, Bassa, Riyom, Jos North and other parts of our beautiful state at the wicked hands of Fulani herdsmen. May God continue to be our comfort.

To the families of all the innocent commuters, students and passers-by who lost their lives in and around Jos; and also the family of DSP A.I Dan’zakara, may God be our comfort.

To the family of Major Datong and all the people who live in constant fear of being attacked throughout the state, God shall continue to prove Himself our protector and liberator as He has faithfully done in time past.
This series is titled A WORLD IN TRANSITION, it makes reference to how the world is moving, progressing at an alarming rate – while we are still stuck in the same cycle of violence.
This is indeed a sad time for us as a people. Everyone is grieved beyond words.

“PAIN HAS NO RELIGION”

I read this statement in an online post, and it got me thinking – deep down we are all human, we all have the same aspirations.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; a theory that postulates factors that motivate and dictate an individual’s behavior, are physiological (food and clothing), safety (security), love and belonging needs (friendship), esteem, and self-actualization.
Breakdown all our individual desires and you will realize that in essence these are what we all want – Muslim, Christian or Pagan, Berom, Ngas or Tarok, Northerner or Southerner, men, women or children – we all have basically the same needs. The American constitution sums it up with this comment in the declaration of independence – ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness’.

Occasionally the quest to attain these needs will bring us at crossroads with another’s’ aspirations – and that is where compromise within the bounds of respect (especially respect for the right to live) is essential.
Afterall WE ALL BLEED RED.
NO ONE IS IMMUNE TO PAIN AND GRIEF.
In this month of August, we were inundated with pictures of the wedding of the Presidents son, I must say I was angry because our political elite lavishly partied while the country burned (and is burning) – what kind of leaders show public joviality while, as at the time of writing this, more than 60 students (our children) of Bethel Baptist School, Kaduna and countless others, are still in the hands of kidnappers.
Occasionally I wish to have God’s power for just 1 hour, to deal with the kind of evil persons we have in this country…but God knows better than to grant me that wish.
Back to the wedding – looking the at the images presented to us on social media, it is amazing that the same political elites from different party affiliations – ethnic, cultural and religious divides, who will call themselves unprintable names in the media and stir up strife, were busy bumping fists with boisterous laughter, showing no visible evidence of the pseudo-differences they will want us to believe exist. There was no PDP nor APC at the event, North nor South, it was just a collection of individuals feeding fat of our sweat and having the effrontery to flaunt it to our faces.
Should we hate them and live in bitterness? NO
Instead lets learn from them – see how, despite our perception of them as being adversaries, they are actually UNITED ‘cos of the common goal they have of perpetual hold on the political levers of power buoyed by the largess that flows from our democratic experiment.
‘When spiders unite, they can tie down a lion’ – Author unknown.
I call on us the Plateau people to unite – for in our unity lies strength, in our unity we are better able to plan strategically and put up defensive structures within the dictates of the law, only in unity can we be resolute – to boldly stand firm and not cower in what we believe, and finally only in unity can we pray effectively – for we cannot deny the spiritual component of this battle.
This should be a primary focus as a people. This should be our drive; the unity within, and afterwards we will be in a stronger position to face the enemy without.
In closing, to those who wish to eliminate us, paraphrasing one of my favorite quotes, know that Plateau State as a united front ‘…will not go quietly into the night…we will live on’.

Alfred Dapal DAMIYAL

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A world in transition: ‘We will not go quietly into the night’ – By Alfred Dapal DAMIYAL