The recent visit by President Olusegun
Obasanjo to Plateau state marked a mid-term point in the six months state of emergency operating there. As most people can recall, the declaration of a state of emergency on May 18, 2004 in Plateau followed the continued ethnic and religious clashes especially in Southern Senatorial district of the state which Governor Joshua Chibi Dariye seemed unable to stop. The proverbial last straw was the Yelwan Shendam attacks in which hundreds of men women and children were killed in cold blood. The systematic way in which the attack was carried out raised the spectre of ethnic cleansing in the state. Nationally, matters were not helped by the alleged reprisal killings which broke out in Kano and threatened to spread to other parts of the country. It is no exaggeration to say that for one brief moment, Nigeria was on the brink of a major conflagration.
It could be said that but for the declaration of the state of emergency in a situation where the state governor seemed unconcerned about the security and well being of the bonafide citizens of his state, it was unimaginable what could have followed the charged atmosphere nation wide.
Going by recent reports, the governor is now full of remorse about his record of stemming the crisis on the Plateau. It is not clear whether he is not sounding conciliatory because he has an eye on a possible return to the government house in the next three months. This newspaper is aware of the fevered calculations about the return of the suspended governor.
What is clear is that since the declaration of state of emergency, the situation on the ground has improved,although the overall picture is mixed. Judging by the media reports from the area it appears that the security situation has changed,though not dramatically. It is no longer the state of lawlessness that obtained in Langtang, Wase and Quan Pan local government areas where local militias displaced law enforcement agencies and took over major highways after the state’s abdication of its responsibility. There has not been any major incident in the troubled areas since the declaration of the state of emergency. But of course a large number of people displaced by the crisis are yet to return home and start rebuilding their shattered lives. Scores of thousands are still in camps in neighbouring states of Bauchi and Nassarawa.
Equally the root cause of the problem which is the indigene/ settler dichotomy has not been addressed. It is however gratifying to note that a state wide peace forum is right now sitting and discussing this and other issues which have combined to rob Plateau state of the atmosphere of tolerance and peaceful co-existence it was once known for. This newspaper believes that the Plateau issue is one that we need to get right so that long after the state of emergency is lifted, we can all say Nigeria as a country of diverse cultures and beliefs has learnt something from it.
This newspaper believes that given the different cultures and beliefs, we have no option but to find ways of living together peacefully and in a way that is just and fair to not just among the majority groups anywhere but the minorities in their midst as well. Afterall,the same majority group in one place could well be in minority elsewhere. A solution will need to be found for the indigene/settler issue which has been a source of friction not just in Plateau state, but all over Nigeria.
