The chairman of the Senate Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity and the senator representing Plateau Central district of Plateau State, Senator Diket Plang, in this interview by ISAAC SHOBAYO, bares his mind on the recent killings in parts of his state and other issues.
What are the National Assembly and the government doing to stop the lingering crisis in Plateau State?
We have a crisis on the Plateau, and the crisis has been there for some time. But I would like to use this opportunity to thank President Bola Tinubu for his prompt reaction to the recent killings. When the crisis happened on the eve of Christmas, within 24 hours, a very powerful delegation was led to Bokkos Local Government Area to assess the situation and console the people of the affected communities. The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, came with the National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu. The service chiefs, Minister of Defense and other top government functionaries were also in the state. You could feel the passion of the Vice President; you could see the condemnation of what had happened.
You could hear the North Central governors talking about coming together on the issue of Plateau State. All these give us a sense of belonging. Our trust in government has increased because when it happens and the government is close, it gives us hope. Apart from these, I also had a motion raised in the National Assembly concerning these issues, and several prayers that I made were answered. An additional prayer was made by His Excellency, Senator (Adams) Oshiomole, that service chiefs should appear before us. I want us to trust this new administration of President Bola Tinubu. Other people across the country have also come out strongly to condemn the unfortunate incident. If we are on the same page, there is nothing we can’t achieve.
President Tinubu has signed the 2024 Appropriations Bill into law. What is the assurance that things will get better this year?
I participated in the screening and all the processes. The appropriation bill that came to us has now been signed into law. We may not be attaining perfection now, but I want to assure you that the budget is very inclusive; it will touch Nigerians in no small measure, and there will be a lot of programmes that will touch the common man. Nigerians, and particularly my constituents, should make sure that they are fully equipped with all that it will take for them to enjoy all the privileges that will come their way. Every Nigerian must register and have their National Identification Number. All Nigerians must ensure that they are properly identified as true Nigerians because most of the programmes that will come will require every Nigerian to have their NIN to access them. So, I want to encourage our clerics, those in leadership positions, to persuade our people to register. It will benefit them in no small measure.
Still on the crises in Plateau State and other parts of the country, there are a series of reports of the commissions of inquiry set up to address these problems, but most of the reports have never been implemented, and people believe that, if implemented, they can be a solution to the perennial crisis.
Your observation is very critical. Nigeria normally sets up commissions of inquiry into issues, but when it comes to implementation, it becomes very difficult. What you are saying is very right. I want to think that we may be more nationalistic in resolving the Plateau crisis. I’m saying so because, at the end of the day, most of the crises on the Plateau end up either being religious or ethnic. And sometimes, when a commission is established, you will discover that there is some distrust about the commission.
I would want Nigerians to look at Plateau as miniature Nigeria, and the inputs of all Nigerians on the issue of Plateau will help us go a very long way. That’s why I told my colleagues from the North at the National Assembly that each one of us would need to say something on the issue of Plateau. If we all are on the same page and we want to implement a decision, it may be easier to have that decision implemented. The President and the people, where we need to rebuke, let’s rebuke. If you tell a Fulani man that you are wrong, that Fulani man will believe that he is truly wrong. But if a Plateau man is telling a Fulani man that he is wrong, even when he is wrong, he will not see the wrong. The same goes for the Plateau man.
The Plateau issue should be more nationalistic because the facts are there: indigenous people are chased out and their lands occupied. It doesn’t look like a clash any longer. It looks more like grabbing when you chase me and I run away, and you are staying at my place and I can’t come back home. It means it is not a clash but land-grabbing.
In my first motion at the National Assembly, the National Assembly agreed, except they added a prayer for me. And the prayer they added was that the Plateau State government should be able to come up with a vigilance group that will assist conventional security agencies to succeed. That motion was sponsored by a senator from Zamfara. If a senator from Zamfara believes that the local vigilantes can work with conventional police, it is a sign of trust. I want us to build trust. Now, if you have a local vigilance group and you don’t have conventional security outposts, the local vigilantes will not have strength. But the local vigilantes can have courage and strength because behind them, there are supporters. We need conventional, well-established conventional security around them. It will add strength and courage to the local vigilantes. If our villages are ventilated, it will reduce criminality. But if there is difficulty getting to our communities, criminals will have a field day. They will execute (their plan) and leave before any assistance can come. So, let’s ventilate the country. I just want to tell you that it is not as if the resolutions of the previous committees were wrong, but we need to create more confidence within ourselves. And then let us be on the same page on what needs to be done so that we’ll have permanent peace, not just on the Plateau but in Nigeria as a whole.
But don’t you think it is time for state or community police to complement the conventional police?
I believe in having state police, but we should be more nationalistic. If Nigerians are more nationalistic, the national police help a lot. But again, the national police need to learn the terrain. I desire that we have state police and national police, where the two will work together, harmonise and be able to come up with results. I was in Rwanda recently. Rwanda has decided that their tribe is Rwanda; there is no other tribe, but Rwanda and all local governments can originate from any local government in Rwanda. They are more nationalistic. When you’re offering services, you’re offering services to your country. How I wish that we would be more nationalistic. But I wish that we would develop the attitude of being more nationalistic when we think of Nigeria and work in Nigeria.
As a result of the recent crisis, the number of internally displaced people has increased, and many of them are currently languishing in various IDP camps. What do you think should be done to alleviate their suffering?
The issue of palliatives and soldiers coming and going cannot be addressed squarely. When the military left, the people became very unsafe again. When people are chased out of their places and the places are then occupied by criminals, it becomes land grabbing. What I am saying is that the Ministry of Humanitarian Service and all agencies that assist should provide building materials to the affected victims to return. But these people cannot return if they don’t have security around them. They need to be assisted with building materials to return. If the man who desires to grab does not get an inch to stay, he will be demoralised. But if he sends you out and occupies and nothing happens to him, tomorrow, he will expand. So, the issue of people staying in IDPs and giving them food to eat is not the only solution. Yes, they need food, and yes, they need medicine, but the most fundamental is that they need to return. How will they return? They need building materials to go back and reconstruct their houses, and subsequently, they need protection. And that protection cannot be momentary; they need permanent protection. By ensuring that the routes that these bandits, these criminals, and these terrorists use to gain access to the communities are blocked, confidence will come and people will walk back happily and continue. That’s my feeling.
So, what is the way out?
All we know is that it’s not about fighting Fulanis but about fighting criminality. When a crime is committed, we need to deal with it from the criminal point of view. But first of all, we must build forgiveness. Do you know why? So many innocent souls from both sides are affected. So many innocent Fulani have been killed, and so many innocent Plateau people have been killed. But it is happening because it looks like the Fulani are fighting with another tribe. So, when you see the other tribe, they become an enemy, not even knowing what is on their mind. So, there must be a very high level of forgiveness. And then, let’s live again. At the National Assembly, we also raised the issue of constitutional roles for traditional rulers. They cannot do anything because there is no constitutional role or backing for the traditional ruler to bring people together and pass judgments on people. So, I think at the next amendment of the constitution, we must create statutory and constitutional law for traditional rulers because most of these things are happening within their domains.
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