Youths are misguided to ferment trouble — STF boss

Maj. Gen. Augustine Agundu, Commander, Special Task Force (STF), code named Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), has said that youths are misguided to ferment trouble in Plateau. Agundu made the disclosure on Tuesday in Jos at a youth summit organised by OPSH and Civil Military Relief Initiative to foster unity and peaceful coexistence. He said within his five months as OPSH commander, he was able to interact with different groups (ordinary/elite) and he understood the true situation of things. “My deduction here on the Plateau is that the youth have been manipulated and misguided into violence. “Some mischief makers are exploiting the vulnerability of the youth population to unleash mayhem on law abiding citizens,” he stated. Agundu stated that according to UNICEF figures, 45.8 per cent of Plateau population are youth under the age of 30 years. The commander said that with almost half of the population being youth, it therefore means that the youths should be prepared to take up leadership responsibilities and not indulge in the act of violence. “Some claim to be representing you, but in truth they prosper in atmosphere of chaos and bloodletting. “May I arouse your consciousness and urge you to never allow yourselves to be used as agents of disintegration. “This crises on the Plateau has lasted for too long and must stop now if we all agree in unity of peace purpose,” he added. Agundu described average Plateau youth as being energetic, vibrant, hardworking, focus and result oriented. The commander stressed that are determined people, willing and able to positively contribute their quota if properly guided. He urged them not to allow anybody to belittle their capacity to positively change the society. He appealed to them not to indulge in drugs, stating that the crises is perpetrated as effect of drug consumption. Agundu expalined that the summit by OPSH, the military taskforece in charge of security in Plateau is a non kinetic approach to entrench enduring peace in Plateau. According to him, he convened the meeting so that eyeball to eyeball, the youth who have bore the brunt of most crises who most often were used to foment the trouble to understand that it would take them no where. Dr Fabong Jemchang, Chairman, Youth Council of Nigeria, Plateau chapter thanked OPSH and Civil Military Relief Initiative for the meeting. Jemchang said that the initiative would contribute significantly in entrenching peace which people of the state were craving for. Mr Joseph Lengmang, Director General, Plateau Peace Building Agency (PPBA), said that peace is not an event but process. “We must keep building on thr successes so far made. There is absolutely no alternative to peace. “PPBA is happy to work with initiatives like this because nobody can achieve peace alone,” lengmang said. Our correspondent reports that the youths that attended the summit were drawn from the 17 local governments of Plateau. By Kingsley Chukwuka