From Jude Owuamanam, Jos
The First Lady of Nigeria, Oluremi Tinubu, has urged the people of Plateau State to cease hostilities and foster peaceful coexistence.
She vowed never to visit the state again on a sympathy visit due to what she described as unnecessary killings.
Speaking when she and her Renewed Hope Initiative team visited the state to commiserate with the government and victims of recent sectarian violence in some parts of the state, Mrs Tinubu declared that this would be her last sympathy visit to Plateau.
Mrs Tinubu, who donated N1 billion and 1,800 bags of 50kg rice, expressed frustration at having to visit Plateau repeatedly because the people do not tolerate one another and fail to live in peace.
She reminisced about her past visit to a once-peaceful state when she was a senator and wondered what had gone wrong.
She said, “This position is never a permanent position. I don’t want to be running helter-skelter in old age. I want to sit and enjoy the beauty of this country. And that’s why I came to appeal to all men to stop fighting.
“We women don’t fight. Women don’t carry arms. So we came here to appeal to the men. Do something to protect us. Women want to farm. Do whatever it takes to protect them.
“I see a lot of older people here. What legacy do you want to leave behind? And that’s why I said this is the last time I will come here to give money. I want to come to Plateau to enjoy the tourism because the last time it was the speaker’s wife that represented me, I was travelling for an official assignment.
“So I asked her to come. But I saw the beautiful pictures she came with. Let our children enjoy this. That’s why I came to just appeal to you, whatever it takes, bring peace to this land. It’s a great land, a land I first visited in the days when Senator Iyorchia Ayu was the Senate President.”
She pleaded that the money and bags of rice be given to the rightful beneficiaries, adding that she would also be visiting other states affected by crises or natural hazards.
Governor Caleb Mutfwang, in his speech, pledged to take personal responsibility to ensure that the money and palliatives were equitably distributed.
He also pledged to ensure that peace reigned in the state.
The consignment was received on behalf of the beneficiaries by the wife of the Plateau Governor and state coordinator of the Renewed Hope Initiative, Mrs Helen Mutfwang.