TROUBLED PLATEAU STATE: We have achieved 70 percent peace in seven months – Tagbo Ude

For a long while now, the notoriety of political and tribal uprising that has unsettled the people of Plateau state has assumed a peaceful disposition since the resumption of office of Major General Tagbo Ude as Commander of the Operation Safe Haven Commander (OPSH) last year.

Looking back in retrospect, the Commander confided that he took the Plateau crisis as a project when he assumed office.

“I took the Plateau crisis as a project when I resumed office and took time to fashion out strategies that will best address the situation I met on ground. These strategies consist of the stick and carrot approach (blowing hot and cold) where necessary. In the hinterlands where they lack basic amenities, we moved in to provide their basic needs such as bore-hole, medical facilities etc.

“On the other hand, we engage the warring factions in dialogue through  Town Hall Meetings, a fora which we use in letting them know the importance of leaving together. The mandatory compensation which we introduced is another way of us blowing hot by ensuring that herdsmen who destroys farmland with their cattle will pay compensation to the owner or owners of the farmland, while anyone caught rustling cow will be made to pay compensation to the owner of the cattle.

“The compensation exercise is done under our supervision and both parties agree on the amount to be paid. This effort has accelerated peaceful coexistence among the herdsmen and the natives. We have also introduced peace tournament football match because of its unifying nature and this effort has equally paid off.”

Reviewing progress made thus far, Commander Ude is pleased that over 90 percent of the people have been quite appreciative of his efforts, although that is not without some isolated cases of trouble shooters. He explains:

“Of course there had been some cases where some insignificant numbers of them tend to misbehave and when we investigate, we found out that those once are politically motivated. Don’t forget that there are some people in some quarters that would not want the crisis to end because somehow they benefit from these them.

“I also want to state that there are lots of illegal arms in the hands of the people and at the slightest provocation, they pick those arms and begin to rain terror. In this regard, we have started a ‘cordon and search’ operation and during one of the crisis, we recovered approximately 24 locally made arms, among other dangerous weapons.”

The Commander however stressed that the long drawn crisis between herdsmen and natives have been rested through dialogue and constant interactive discussions.

“We have trashed out the crisis among the natives. We took a very strong stand when the recent crisis broke out amongst them. We have made them to sign a peace treaty before we even allowed a section of them to return home.”

On the allegation that some uniformed men compromise professionalism by taking sides with factions during crisis, Ude dismissed the perception and explained  where the misunderstanding come in at times of crisis.

“And because everyone is beginning to enjoy peaceful coexistence, one of the fruits of the joint military/civilian relationship is that some communities that had once called for the dismantling of our checkpoints around their neigbourhood are now plead that the checkpoints be restored to nip any form of trouble in the bud.”

Ude also revealed the strategy behind the establishment of the Strike Force Base in Kurra Falls at Gashish community in Barkin-Ladi Local Government Area.

“Besides strengthening the military/civilian relationship, the whole essence of setting up the Strike Force Base there is to reduce reaction time to distress calls, which has also boosted the confidence of villagers; now, those who had fled their homes and farmlands during the time of crisis have returned home.

“When I took over as the OPSH Commander last year, I visited Kurra Falls and saw that all the villagers were nowhere to be found. I then decided to set up a ‘Strike Force Base’ that will provide prompt security within the area to boost the confidence of the villagers, so that they can return home. The Base is to guarantee the safety of the villagers at all times, and the idea worked marvelously.

However, the victory song is not without visible challenges, the Strike Force boss is confident the major challenges have been overcome.

“The challenges are not much, really. As it is now, I can tell you that we have achieved over 70 percent of peace within the space of seven months. My strategy has been to reach out to the people.

“I am not an office person; I go out there to see things for myself. I am always in the field talking to villagers on the need to accommodate each other. So with this approach you can see that my challenges are minimal because as a field person I have this quick approach to issues before things get out of hand.”

With this Easter season, has the military boss explored his strategies to ensure a hitch free celebration, especially in those flash point villages under his watch?

“With God on our side, we are going to have a good Easter celebration devoid of rancor. We have concluded our strategies which I cannot disclose to the press, but I can assure you that the people of Plateau can sleep with their two eyes closed during the Easter celebration.”

Baron scholars of the state are pleased with the development thus far and it is hoped that the Operation Safe Haven initiative that birthed the Strike Force Base will be the panacea for lasting peace to the Plateau people.