We’ve been massacred. We’ve been murdered. Our women and mothers raped. Our young men ambushed on their farms and our children exterminated in their sleep. And yet it is not over. I hate to break it to you, but there is almost a sure certainty that we are yet to see the end of the attacks on the Plateau. I use the term “attacks” deliberately, i.e., as opposed to the rather political and dubious term “clashes”, which many journalists, politicians and commentators use to give the impression of two warring factions instead of the deliberate, careful and orchestrated extermination of Plateau and middle-belt tribes

It is “foolhardy” and a mistake to assume that because the perpetual attacks of 2013, 2014 & 2015 have subsided, that peace has fully returned to Jos. Undoubtedly, there is a semblance of tranquillity, calm and placidity but does that really equate to peace? Stay with me as I explore how tranquilly and calm may differ from peace.

Firstly, the concept of peace on the Plateau is a political one. Meaning, depending on your political leaning, you’d likely argue “for” or “against”. So for instance, those in support of the current administration will argue that peace has been fully restored and that the troubles of the past have largely been resolved. However many on the other side will dispute this, pointing to renewed conflicts in Ancha (Bassa), Manguna (Bokkos) as evidence of the contrary.  With the politicisation of this concept, it is difficult to objectively answer the aforementioned question of whether or not peace has returned.

However to do so, one must first de-politicise the issue and view the concept from a pragmatic standpoint.

Fundamentally, in the context of Plateau, the presence or absence of peace can be measured by – how secure the women and children of Jol village feel when they go to sleep. Peace is the confidence that villagers in Manguna (Bokkos), have when they sleep, knowing that they will not wake up to a hail storm of bullets and matchets. Peace is the assurance-of-safe-return that farmers of Sho village (Gwol) and Ancha village (Bassa) feel when they go to their farms.

Peace is not the calm/placidity that arises from the presence of a garrison or battalion of STF soldiers stationed in Sho village to prevent further attacks or retaliation. Peace is not the claims and rhetorics of politicians telling us that Ancha village is now safe –suffice it to say that none of these politician dare visit Ancha themselves. Peace is actually a tangible thing, which is measurable and actionable. It is beyond political rhetorics and platitudes.

In summary, peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice and fair play. So essentially, without justice i.e., recompenses for victims and punishment of offenders, peace will be absent. And so I ask the question – how many prosecutions (justice) has arisen from the various attacks on various villages in the middle-belt and Plateau in the past few years? If your answer to this question is none, or only a few. Then, frankly –we are still searching for peace. And we shall only find her when justice is served to the numerous victims dotted all over Plateau villages.

Government owes it citizens the right of protection and the right to life. It is the fundamental tenet of democracy and must not be subverted.

By Dr. Chinan Mclean

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The politics of “peace” and the ordinary Plateau man – Dr. Chinan Mclean