Plateau killings – Critical stakeholders lament inability of Governors to control security operatives 

By Golok Nanmwa ,Jos

Critical Stakeholders at a Peace summit organised by  Plateau State Peace Building Agency PPBA on Wednesday   said that the inability of state Governors to have direct control over security operatives has grossly undermined their role as chief security officer at the state level .

This was contained in communique issued at the end of a three day peace and security conference in Plateau state with the Theme “Resurgence of Violent attacks in Plateau ,forging a Multi Stakeholder Partnership for peace and Security organized by the peace agency in conjunction with the United States Institute of Peace USIP and with support from mercy corps in Jos .

The conference observed that although traditionally , the protection of lives and properties is the responsibility of government ,however in view of the complex nature of emerging threats to social stability in contemporary times ,government alone is practically unable to effectively deliver on the promise of peace and security to a vast majority of its citizens ,this would require the collaborative support of relevant stakeholders at all level ,however government has a responsibility to create the enabling environment for people to live in peace while the people drive and own the peace process .

Joseph Lengmang the Director General of the Plateau peace building agency who read the communique  said “therefore state governors should be allowed to create state police which should be placed under the direct control of state governors in order to further enhance their capacity to protect lives and properties of their people .”

The communique reads that ” We demand that the federal and state governments should strengthen the operational capacity of all existing security outfits in the state to be more proactive in carrying out their statutory duties ”

The conference also called on Politicians and other conflict merchants who are fond of using the youth  as agents and means of violence in furtherance of parochial interests to desist from such unpatriotic acts .

We endorse the roadmap to peace document and call on government at all levels as well as other relevant stakeholders to give the implementation of the document the necessary support it deserves .

We unanimously call on the state government to demonstrate the political will to implement viable recommendations of some white papers and reports of past commissions of inquiry  into violent conflicts in the state ,as this would add value to the peace process in the state there is the need for the state government to muster the political will to checkmate rampant cases of impunity and the weakness in retributive justice with regards to crimes and criminalities as this will greatly serve as deterrence  and also curtail reprisal attacks .

”  Conference unanimously agreed that  Traditional rulers are very critical stakeholders in the peace process and also  made a strong advocacy on the need to give constitutional roles to traditional rulers as this would go a long way in dealing with some of the security challenges in their domains .

There is the need to build interagency coo operation among security agencies  as the lack of its exacts a massive toll on the efforts of government and other relevant stakeholders to mitigate the risk of violence particularly in communities that are prone to attacks .

The communique further reads that “Women should be integrated into critical decision making process in the context of conflict prevention and peace building efforts of government . 

We implored the Governor Simon Lalong to remain steadfast in the face of the deteriorating security situation by providing quality leadership that is just and fair to all regardless of ethnic and religious considerations .

“building a stable society in modern era is a collective task ,as such efforts of relevant stakeholders should be synergized and channeled towards developing practical strategies that can further complement the efforts of government to deliver on the promise of peace and security  to its teeming population .

The meeting also appreciated the significant role and contributions of non state actors such as the CSOs ,religious bodies ,cultural associations and security operatives in the peace process in Plateau .

They also lamented the hateful and inflammatory speech particularly in the social media stressing that it exacerbates other issues of conflict as such there is the need for all and sundry especially the youths to be properly sensitized on the danger of the negative use of the social media .

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Plateau killings – Critical stakeholders lament inability of Governors to control security operatives