These Killings predates me, you, Gov Mutfwang tells former Plateau governors
By Kingsley Chukwuka
The Plateau State Governor, Barr. Caleb Mutfwang, has told former governors of the State, that the incessant killings bedeviling the State, predates his administration and that of his predecessors.
Calling the brutal killings, a genocide, land grabbing mission, and not communal crisis, the Governor called on his predecessors and other State actors to drop party affiliations and unite against the wicked intentions that seeks to take their inheritance away.
Mutfwang was speaking on Easter Monday in Jos during an expanded security stakeholders meeting involving all State actors irrespective of political parties.
He decried the pattern of violent attacks which, according to him, have persisted for over two decades with the same sinister objective to annihilate the defenseless communities.
According to him: “The orchestrated violence in Plateau State predates my administration and those of my predecessors, Sen. Joshua Chibi Dariye, Sen. Jonah David Jang, and Rt. Hon. Simon Bako Lalong.
“The time has come for Plateau people to rise above political, ethnic, and religious divides to end the gruesome killings of innocent citizens once and for all”, he said.
Dismissing the long standing narrative that the attacks were mere herder-farmer clashes, Mutfwang described the crisis instead as acts of genocide with clear land-grabbing motives.
He informed that several local government areas, including Wase, Kanam, Mangu, Bokkos, Barkin-Ladi, Riyom, Bassa, and parts of Jos South, have suffered repeated and brutal assaults over the years, leading to several loss of lives and property.
He continued: “No senatorial district has been spared, from kidnappings in Shendam and Kanke to terror cells operating in Kanam and Wase. Criminals have taken advantage of a weakened state capacity and growing communal disunity.
“How can bandits occupy the Wase grazing reserve and someone still calls that a clash? When gunmen attack defenseless communities on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, what kind of clash is that?” he asked.
The Governor urged Plateau diverse ethnic and religious communities to unite in confronting the crisis and cautioned against politicizing the bloodshed or adopting an every-man-for-himself attitude.
“When this crisis began, it was viewed as a Tarok problem. Then it was seen as a Berom issue. Today, no one is spared—but we are still behaving like it’s not our collective concern. Let us preserve this land so that future generations can inherit a Plateau we can all be proud of.
“I didn’t come into office just to govern. I came to break the cycle of poverty and elevate our people into prosperity. But we can’t achieve that if we don’t confront and tame the elephant in the room.”
READ ALSO: APC National Chairman inaugurates France chapter, drums supports for Tinubu
“I have no other vested interest than to ensure that not an inch of this land that God gave our forefathers is lost. Let us reclaim it, preserve it, and nurture it for generations to come. I stand before you today not as a master, but as a servant to push your collective agenda, the agenda of the State”, he said.
Our correspondent reports that the meeting, held in Jos, brought together an array of distinguished Plateau citizens, including former Governors, serving and former Senators, current and former Members of the House of Representatives, former Ministers, traditional rulers, religious leaders from Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and other key stakeholders.
