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From Jude Owuamanam, Jos
An Islamic cleric, Sheikh Lawal Ishaq, has advised Plateau Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, to be proactive and adopt the strategies used by his predecessor, Simon Lalong, in curbing the spate of crises in the state.
Ishaq, who spoke to our correspondent in an interview on Jos, said that part of these strategies, included the arrest of some perpetrators of crises in the state.
According to him, Plateau state enjoyed relative peace on the Plateau during the past administration because of Lalong’s proactive approach in arresting these perpetrators and bringing them to book.
He also advised Mutfwang to make use of early warning signals in nipping sudden attack in the bud.
He said that the crises on the Plateau had resurged because of insincerity in getting to the root of the problem.
Ishaq, who is also a legal practitioner, said, “From my perspective and my community, previous governments were insincere in tackling the crisis in the state. We believe the past governments were in some ways part of the problems. We also believe that the relative peace we enjoyed during Lalong administration was as a result of his sincerity in addressing the causes of the crisis in the state.
“We note specially how he handed the crisis in Bokkos where he caused the arrest of some key actors from the communities for complacency.
Ishaq also blamed the Jonah Jang administration for the lopsided nature in the setting up the Operation Rainbow.
According to Ishaq, “When Operation Rainbow was set up, the lopsided nature of it’s personnel made the Muslim community in the state uncomfortable and viewed it with suspicion. Only recently in the Mangu crisis, Miyetti Allah accused the same operation rainbow of taking side in the crisis.”
He described Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) as a child of necessity in the security architecture in the state, stressing “It is a must and that it should continue to stay for as long as when we have an acceptable security networks in the state.
Ishaq added, “What all these means is that there is need for a holistic approach in the security set up in the state that will ensure balance and fairness. This, with the necessary political will and ensuring justice will bring about lasting peace in the state.”
