Obasanjo approves Alli's peace programme for Plateau
From Isa Abdulsalami (Jos) and Saxone Akhaine (Kaduna)
IF a peace programme drawn up by the Plateau State Sole Administrator, Maj-Gen. Chris Alli (rtd) succeeds, then the emergency rule imposed on the state may end in November this year.
Also, President Olusegun Obasanjo has endorsed the time-table aimed at restoring enduring peace to the crisis-torn state.
According to the programme drawn up by the Administrator, it started from May and will end in November.
The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. John Gobak, disclosed this while distributing the timetable tagged: "The Plateau Peace Programme of Maj-Gen. M.C. Alli (rtd) May - November, 2004."
The programme covers all measures necessary to ensure permanent peace restoration in the state.
In November, which is expected to be the month of disengagement, activities will include Plateau State Peace Festival/Carnival to celebrate the return of peace, consolidation of the peace process, completion and presentation of a report and broadcast.
Activities in August will include constituent Assembly/Plateau Peace Conference to be attended by representatives of all ethnic nationalities and other interest groups to debate and mutually agree on the critical issues of citizenship /indigeneship/ settles, Christian/ Moslem, land use /ownership etc. and implementation of the resolutions of the conference.
Gobak said the administrator has called on all citizens in the state to co-operate and join hands with the state government towards the successful implementation of the peace programme.
He said the peace programme has been approved by Mr. President to "ensure the speedy restoration of normalcy and peace within the planned period in Plateau State."
Also, hearing begins today in courts designated to try crisis cases so far recorded in the state.
A statement by the Director of Press Affairs to the administrator, Mr. Ezekiel Dalyop, urged members of the public to witness the proceedings expected to begin this morning.
In a related development, wives of the 19 Northern governors rose from an emergency meeting yesterday, urging the resettlement of victims of the Plateau and Kano states' crises.
The governors' wives also asked the Federal Government to take decisive measures against the eruption of communal clashes in the region.
The wife of the Katsina State Governor, Tura Umaru Yar'Adua who chaired the occasion, read the statement issued at the end of deliberation. She said that women are the worst hit in most of the crises that have been recorded in recent times.
Said she: "We urge the Federal Government and the National Assembly to urgently do something to halt the carnage and bring sanity to bear in the region."
Hajiya Yar'Adua who lamented over the unpleasant records of deaths and destruction of property in the crises said that during such bloody riots in the North, women and children are often the victims.
She stated that the wives of Northern governors have resolved to send a delegation to the affected areas of the recent crises with a view of assisting the victims.
She condoled the victims of the two crises and prayed that such violence never occurred in the region again.
According to her, the aim of the meeting was to complement the efforts of their husbands for the over-all development of the region in particular and the country in general.
Meanwhile, to forestall further breach of peace in the state, the Kaduna State government has directed that security and peace consultative committees be set up at the ward level.
The committees, which will comprise of security agents, traditional rulers, religious and opinion leaders are expected to meet every month to review the security situation in the various wards.
The directive for the setting up of the committees was contained in a message from the governor, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi to the people of Southern Kaduna, delivered by the permanent secretary, Bureau for Religious Affairs (Christian Matters), Mr. Elisha Buba Yero.
According to Makarfi, he was impressed by the degree of vigilance exhibited by the people of Southern Kaduna.
To him, such degree of alertness by the people helped to prevent the recent crisis in neighbouring Plateau from spilling to the state.
The governor urged the people to be more vigilant and not to allow any group or individuals to snatch away "our hard earned peace and democracy."
In his response, the chairman of Jema'a and Zango-Kataf Local Council, Mr. Abraham Jatau assured the government of his commitment to all peace initiatives in the state.`
