The Jos Political Coalition Forum (JPCF) has called for unity and love for one another irrespective of differences in order to achieve sustainable development in Plateau State.
The call was made on Monday during a one-day community introspection colloquium which attracted sons and daughters of the state.
With the theme: “Rebranding politics of Jos using peacebuilding as a tool for growth”, the group said despite several crises that hit the state especially Jos North, people must come together as one and embrace each other irrespective of their religious or ethnic backgrounds.
The coalition said although crises have negatively impacted the community, its members were still confident that if the people of Jos would reorganise themselves, and have better representation, they would be able to achieve their socio-economic gains for the area.
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Speakers at the event spoke on the history of Jos, past experiences, and how peace could be attained.
Ado Jasawa, an Instructor at the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA), said that their community was marginalized because of their ethnoreligious background.
He said, “We were denied appointments. We were denied admission into different schools. I was a victim of that period. Many of our people were killed just because one of us was given an appointment. That is why it is good to have this kind of group to help us actualize our dream of living in an atmosphere of peace, harmony, and social and economic development.”
Yakubu Ibn Muhammad, a former director-general of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), on his part, said his prayer was to see the Plateau of those days when people were not discriminated against based on their ethnic or religious backgrounds.
“I was born and raised in Jos. I attended missionary schools and I was in minority but I wasn’t discriminated against because of my tribe or religion. This is the Plateau I am wishing to see,” he said.
Secretary-General of Jama’atu Nasril Islam, Sheik Khalid Aliyu, called on religious leaders to use Islamic values to promote peace.
“Although crises have destroyed a lot of things, we will continue to preach peace among us using the values of Islam. There are people who claim to be Islamic preachers but don’t know what Islam is all about. They use social media to propagate different things. It is time to wake up to preach what Islam really says rather than what people think,” he said.
One of the conveners of the event, Baba Akawu, a former member of the House of Representatives, said the essence of the programme was to sensitize the people on how to ensure the development of the community, stressing the need for all to cooperate for the betterment of the community.
