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From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Plateau State Governor-elect Caleb Mutfwang has declared how he would tackle insecurity, saying he would incorporate local hunters and vigilantes into the peace and security architecture of the state.
While promising to build bonds of unity, the Governor-elect said the relationship between herders and indigenes was only one aspect of the crisis in Plateau State which sometimes gets blown out of proportion for different reasons.
Mutfwang stated this during a farewell courtesy visit on the outgoing British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing by a team of peace advocates led by Revd Dr Gideon Para-Mallam, President and CEO of the Para-Mallam Peace Foundation.
“The relationship between herders and indigenes is one aspect of the crisis of the Plateau that sometimes gets blown out of context for different reasons.
“I believe that the people of Plateau have lived well in times past and we will ensure that this historical reality will continue.
“Again, from now on; going forward, we’re going to make sure that the people take ownership of the security processes or architecture by making sure that from the grassroots, we built structures for peace, right from the grassroots between communities amongst communities, and make sure that they themselves begin to trust themselves, and gradually all the potential areas of conflict will be eliminated.
“Of course, if you’re asking for specifics of the kinds of deployments we’ll make, we’ll make sure that the vigilantes and the hunters and all the security architecture on the ground today effectively are mobilised and mainstreamed into the security architecture.”
According to him, his victory in the governorship election is a victory for the Plateau people who, he said, performed credibly.
“These Plateau people did wonders, they voted and defended their votes. That’s why we’re here today. With God on our side, we’ll be victorious.
“Plateau people, I believe, are peace-loving people. I know that people have taken advantage of these volatile moments in the past.
“But I can see people that are ready to have a change of their narrative. I can see people who are saying enough is enough and therefore leveraging on that, we’re going to build bonds of unity.
“We are going to lead by example and show that we mean well. We are going to govern with the principles of justice, we are going to govern with the principles of equity and fairness. And I believe that before long, people will see that we are sincere, and they will come and join hands with us to build a new Plateau,” he said.
Earlier, Professor of Gender Studies and Director of Studies, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru, Jos, Funmi Para-Mallam, highlighted a number of grassroots peace interventions held in a number of States in Nigeria as a result of the partnership between the Peace Foundation and the British High Commission, since July 2019.
Also, HE Catriona highlighted the delight of the High Commission in receiving some of the reports and the outcomes in terms of impact by various community stakeholders in some of the states.
She expressed deep appreciation at the commitment to see that the composition of the delegation to say goodbye to her suggests hope for stronger peace-building initiatives and reconciliation going forward in Plateau State and the nation.
Other personalities in the entourage included a Plateau State Senator-elect Simon Mwadkwon and the Director of Research, Planning and Strategy in the Christian Association of Nigeria, Mike Akpami.
