The Jos crises and the absence of leadership

One may want to ask: What are the causes of these incessant and senseless killings in this erstwhile peaceful state? I think the answer is not far-fetched. For if the same people that had coexisted peacefully for decades suddenly started killing and maiming one another, then something must have gone wrong somewhere. There is an […]

One may want to ask: What are the causes of these incessant and senseless killings in this erstwhile peaceful state? I think the answer is not far-fetched. For if the same people that had coexisted peacefully for decades suddenly started killing and maiming one another, then something must have gone wrong somewhere. There is an indication of the failure of leadership. Gov. Jang needs to reflect on his role as a leader, he should know that he is responsible for the safety of lives and properties of every soul in Plateau State. He should eschew his blatant support for his kinsmen no matter their wrong doing and his disdain for certain people in the state, he ought to be an unbiased umpire whose major occupation should be the promotion of peace and harmony and peaceful coexistence between all the people of Plateau irrespective of whether they are indigenes or settlers.
He needs to borrow a leaf from the former Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Muhammad Makarfi. When in 2001 Kaduna State was engulfed in rounds of religious crises following claims by the Southern Kaduna people of marginalisation, Senator Makarfi took the most decisive (but painful step) of arresting and punishing the perpetrators of the mayhem that shook the state. Most of those arrested were his kinsmen (Hausa Muslims). He was severally accused by his people of taking sides with the so-called minorities. But Makarfi did not mind, and he ensured that the Southern Kaduna people are carried along politically. Today, Kaduna is a peaceful state, thanks to the leadership and political acumen of Makarfi.
But compare this with Jang from the 2008 crises to date. He always blames the settlers for igniting the crises in the state while absolving his tribesmen from any wrong doing. Jang should know that no society has the monopoly of violence, and no society thrives independently on its own without the inputs and contributions of outsiders. Today, the United States is adjudged the most prosperous nation on earth due to its accommodation of people from all parts of the world.
The formation of a peace and reconciliation commission to reconcile the warring factions, the bringing to book of any one found guilty irrespective of his tribal or religious affiliation and the recognition of all those who were born and bred in Plateau State as true indigenes of the state that should be accorded all the privileges deserved by any indigene of the state will be a good road map to finding a lasting solution in Plateau State. Else we have never heard the last of the reprisal attacks.
Isah Yau, 2, Zoo Road, Kano