Plateau APC Elders  Vows to Resist Land grabbing, Drums Support for Gov. Lalong 

By Golok Nanmwa ,Jos

Group operating under the aegis of   All Progressive Congress  APC elders and stakeholders of Barkin Ladi ,Jos North ,Jos South and Riyom local government areas of Plateau state on Friday frowned at the politicization of security challenges in Plateau 

 They also said that  all victims of conflict from  2001 till date should be resettled to their ancestral land.

Addressing newsmen on Friday in Jos Arc. Pam D. Gyang who addressed newsmen in Jos reads that “Today, like always, our thoughts and prayers are with the direct victims of the barbaric and highly condemnable spate of killings in our land, we commiserate with ourselves and all within our society as victims of this madness and provocative display of man’s inhumanity against man, may the souls of the departed, whose blood runs down the Plateau hills and settles on her valleys rest in peace and to the wounded, both in spirit and body; quick recovery.

It has become very imperative to address the world today through you, gentlemen of the press, on the position of the natives and residents of Barkin Ladi, Jos North, Jos South and Riyom Local Governments on the unfortunate incidences that have taken place on our land and the looming danger it portends to all and sundry if reason is not deliberately injected to prevail in not only calming frayed nerves but in also ensuring the enduring legacies of a united Plateau bequeathed on us by our founding fathers is not abused, torn and discarded into sad dust bins of history.

We as a people have never recorded a greater outpouring of support on our land like in the aftermath of this display of insanity but it will be most unfortunate if we allow this to be watered down by the way we treat ourselves as components of the same society. As brothers and sisters in whose veins run the blessed blood of Plateau, we owe the souls of the dead and the scars of the wounded every form of respect they deserve, caution therefore is necessary in how we respond to attacks and conflicts, stereotyping road users at Mararaban Jama’a, Angle D and other transit corridors is not proper and goes contrary to God’s injunctions to us as adherents of faith and so this is condemnable and thus strongly condemned.

We frown at the mobilization of people from diverse shades of nativity under whatever guise to perpetuate crime and engage in lawless ventures like the forceful invasion of the seat of power on June 27, 2018 and the events of July 14, 2018 where the Governor, who was on a humanitarian visit, the first of its kind by any sitting Governor of the State, was attacked by hoodlums and miscreants who instead of providing more succor and good tidings to the ones the Governor brought to the IDP camp, ended up inflicting more mental and psycological pains on the already traumatized victims. The attacks on Plateau State Government House, Little Rayfield and Geo-Sciences Secretariat in Angle-D all took advantage of the cosmopolitan nature of these locations and manipulated people who do not share in the history of Plateau State and also who do not uphold our values as a peace loving people.

We respectfully call on all custodians of authority and leaders of thoughts across all spectrum of the society, from the Church and Mosque to the palaces, class rooms and board rooms to use their God bestowed privileges to push a narrative that encourages the need for harmony and peaceful coexistence within the realms of their powers. We should take particular instructions from divine injunctions contained in Romans 13:1-2 in the Holy Bible which says “let every soul be subject to higher powers for there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained by God. Who so therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation” these are not only restricted to the Holy Bible but certainly, found within the laws and norms of every society that holds on to God and places premium on authority.

Violence has never been an acceptable way of conflict resolution and it contravenes all known human conventions therefore we call on relevant Government agencies to ensure that those who are culpable in disturbing the peace of the land are made to face the maximum punitive measures prescribed by the extant laws so as to send a strong warning to anyone who may be wickedly misled to tow this path of savagery in future.

We painfully consider ourselves as victims of the same circumstances but what these trying times encourage is that we find solace in ourselves as being partners in progress of the Plateau project. Sadly, we notice a veiled threat to this unity by words and utterances of a certain group of people who have chosen to misrepresent the facts of the remote and immediate causes of these unfortunate happenings by rather giving it an ethnic coloration all in an attempt to ostracize these three local governments and deny them the opportunity for a continued political participation.

We find it imperative to state here that the politically savvy sons and daughters of these Local Governments are fully aware and in support of the existing power sharing and rotation arrangement in the State and hence have no interest whatsoever to rock the political boat by challenging the seat of the His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Plateau State Barr. Dr., Simon Bako Lalong and by this, we pass a vote of confidence on his leadership and support his future endeavors.

Historically, the peace loving people of these Local Governments (Barkin Ladi, Jos North, Jos South and Riyom) have contributed to the sustenance of peace in all its ramifications and thus use this medium to reassert our commitment in a bid to clear any doubts as may be found within the hearts and mind of our fellow brothers and sisters from other parts of the State.

As equal stake holders in the Plateau project, we frown at the politicization of security challenges and the seeming veiled threats of isolating these Local Governments due to the ugly post-attacks incidences, we say this with clarity and no fear of contradiction that as a peace loving people, we do not support community insulation of crime and criminality and we have a responsibility to continue being good hosts to all shades of constituted authority whose seats have by didn’t of administration been cited on our land.

We welcome pronouncements of the Governor to the effect that no piece of Plateau State land, as owned legally by her citizens will be annexed or taken away by any land grabber. We also commend efforts of security agencies that have stood out by arresting suspects who carried out these attacks and look forward to a more bumper harvest of arrests as promised; we are comforted by the fact that the Governor is pushing for their trial to be conducted here in Plateau State.

All indigenes of Plateau State from all demographic and levels of influence should come together and proffer solutions to these vicious cycles of barbarism instead of apportioning blames along ethnic and sundry divides.

We appeal to the Governor to ensure that palliative measures promised victims and affected areas be provided in time so as to reduce the burden of the crisis. Of particular mention is the Mobil Police Barracks so as to fortify the land preparatory to the resettlement of the victims.

All victims of conflicts from 2001 till date should be resettled to their ancestral land.

We assure the Governor of our unalloyed support at all times .

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Plateau APC Elders  Vows to Resist Land grabbing, Drums Support for Gov. Lalong