Some things don’t make sense on the surface, like the recent claims by one Taibat Abubakar of Ilorin that a certain Abubakar Salihu, whom she neither liked nor had any physical relations with, had called and informed her that she was pregnant for him and should therefore marry him. He warned her not to abort his child.
She had laughed it off since, according to her, they had never been intimate. Then days later, she realised that she did not see her monthlies and started to panic. She was indeed pregnant.
As the story is reported by Daily Trust, the Guardian and others, there is no clear trajectory between that bizarre claim and a wedding but apparently, Taibat is in court seeking a divorce from this man who in his testimony claimed to have had “conscious” sexual relations with her with no spiritual intervention as is being insinuated.
I suppose at the end of the trial, the court will establish the paternity of the child and just how exactly Taibat came to be pregnant.
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All things considered, this would be a far simpler case to unravel than the mysterious pregnancy that Plateau State has been carrying for the last two decades. Unlike Taibat’s which is expected to bring forth life, Plateau’s condition is such that has been spawning death for 22 years.
The latest killings occurred on Monday evening when blood-thirsty criminals or terrorists raided Kerang Village in Mangu Local Government Area and hacked to death a couple and three other people.
This is following recent outbreaks of violence in which dozens of people have been killed in night raids on villages in the state. Having experienced some period of relative calm in the state, a period in which the state, once known as the home of peace and tourism, was not constantly in the news for killings, violence and outrage, this turn of events is unfortunate.
Only last week, Daily Trust calculated that 201 persons have been killed in reported incidents of violence in the state in the last five months. Mind you, this does not include unreported incidents. That figure is one too many and unacceptable. And it has just gone up by five.
If you add this to the hundreds or thousands that have been killed in the state over the years, the numbers become staggering and it becomes clear that the bloodbath on the Plateau has gone on for way too long and has cost us way too much. It is enough. It must stop. It must be stopped.
There are questions to be posed here. Why has this conflict defied ministration so far? Why have the warring factions repelled prospects of peace? Have there been genuine gestures of peace made? Why have the authorities failed to put an end to this madness? And 22 years later, I suppose it is bizarre that one of the most crucial questions we are still asking is who exactly is at war here?
You see, since 2001 when the violence first broke out, the authorities have failed to successfully arrest and prosecute the perpetrators of the violence. (I mean the genuine perpetrators of the violence. Because I remember as a reporter in Jos back then, I sat in the trial of an illiterate homeowner who was “arrested” in his Rikkos home, which he built from scratch, tortured and made to sign under duress a statement claiming that he was a mercenary hired from Niger Republic to come cause mayhem in the state. He had no idea what the statement said until the judge read and translated it to him.
He showed scars from the torture administered to him to force him to sign the document. It was a stunning day in court, one that confirmed that the authorities have no genuine interest in actually finding the perpetrators and are content to railroad naïve and innocent people into false confessions and show trials that amount to nothing. It demonstrates the complete lack of desire to do due diligence, investigate the crimes and the criminals, pursue, apprehend and prosecute them.
It is this lack of commitment to justice that has essentially guaranteed the continuation of this violence on the Plateau, it is what guarantees the continued impunity of mass murderers to come and go as they wish, without consequence. If there are any doubts about this, check the records for who and who exactly have been convicted for their crimes on the Plateau? None that I could find, but then again, maybe I need to dig deeper. But that too is the problem because I don’t need to dig deeper. After all, justice should be seen to be done. Everyone should know that mass murderers will face consequences for their actions and they should know when this happens. They haven’t and until they do, the prospect of people resorting to self-help to seek justice and revenge will always be present. This guarantees the perpetuation of the endless vicious cycle of violence, blood and deaths.
There are parties responsible for justice on the Plateau and for decades these parties have failed the people and the state. While the governors remain the chief security officer of the state, we all know the limitations of their powers in these matters. At the same time, we all know the extent of their influence on such issues. While they may not be fully in control of the police and the military in their states, they have significant roles in colouring the political ambience in the state and if there is an atmosphere conducive for hate to grow, the governor or those around him must have a certain level of accountability in the matter.
We saw how the violence in the state heightened under the watch of Governors Joshua Dariye and Jonah Jang while it mellowed significantly under Simon Lalong, until the last few months of his administration when he seemingly lost the state or at least control of it.
Governor Caleb Mutfwang is exactly a month old in the seat but he must act quickly to set the tone and control the resurgent climate of hate in his state. His actions and words must convey both conciliation and authority, a tolerance for peace and peoples and intolerance for violence, incivility and injustice. He must also ensure that security reports and threats are taken and treated seriously, and ensure smooth coordination of security operations in the state to protect the people.
Most crucially, however, he must consciously adopt a strategy to move the state away from this police state mentality, one that relies on armed military presence to secure the lives and property of the people to one in which the people are genuinely content to live peacefully and be happy to see each other, or at least not want to murder each other. To achieve this, he must be a father figure to all the nationalities in the state, ensure equity amongst the people and create a sense of belonging and peace. Peace is an attitude and the governor must be the first person to adopt it.
Typically, the approach would be to turn to the government at the centre to lament and complain about the failings of security in the states. We must not absolve both the state and the federal governments.
President Bola Tinubu has promised to improve security in the country. If he has a strategy to achieve this, perhaps Plateau State would be the ideal test ground for it.
The good thing here is that, if honestly investigated, we will find that the crisis in Plateau State is not exactly like Taibat’s virgin conception that, if claims are to be believed, is a product of some spiritual shenanigans. There is a rational explanation for the violence, for its perpetuation and there is also a logical way to end it.
May the rest of your Eid feast be peaceful and full of love.
