Attacks in Plateau have economic undertone —Plateau SSG, Jatau

The secretary to Plateau State government (SSG), Samuel Jatau, an architect, speaks with ISAAC SHOBAYO on the recent attacks in parts of the state and the devastation they caused, the motives of the attackers and efforts of the government to arrest the situation among other issues. Excerpt:

 SIR, what is your perception about the recent killings in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State where over 60 innocent people were killed at in about six communities?

My perception … it is a very sad thing, for me, as a top government official. I was asked on TV the other day that what is the root cause of this thing, and, for me, it is land grabbing. It is about taking people’s land and occupying it. It has economic undertones. There is banditry in it, just like we have across the length and breadth of Northern Nigeria. It is more heightened in North-Central Nigeria: Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Southern Kaduna, parts of Taraba. Virtually, all these states are experiencing these occurrences. So it is not peculiar to Plateau State.

I said labelling it as Plateau killing gives a negative narrative to the state and I would rather say these [killings] are happening across Nigeria. It must be handled holistically if we really want to tackle it. This is because if you isolate Plateau State alone, these same human beings can move or migrate elsewhere to continue their nefarious activities. They can relocate to a nearby state like what happened in Bokkos. I went to the scene; the communities share a boundary with Nasarawa and one other state. So these people can easily move into the next state, hibernate there, regroup in another state, and come back here. So there must be a coordination and collaboration between all these states. It must be a holistic approach to resolve the problem. Our security agencies are overstretched. So the communities themselves must build resilience. That is why the state government has encouraged hunters in different communities to go on hunting expeditions regularly to comb their forests and bushes. That way, you can identify or notice any unwanted person or group hibernating in your forests and so on. It is a kind of vigilante exercise.

These are the things we are encouraging. Operation Rainbow, in conjunction with the NSCDC and other security agencies, is encouraging hunters and vigilante groups to participate in these continuous expeditions so we can help them to comb our bushes regularly and ensure there are no unwanted persons or groups hiding in them.

 

In most of the places that are prone to attack or have been under attack for quite sometimes in Plateau State, they lack good access roads and telecommunications in case of emergency. What is the state government doing in this regard?

That gives credence to my theory that these attacks are well-planned, well-coordinated, and [things] are at a higher level than what we are seeing. Because, just like you said, there are certain traits you notice in the communities that are attacked, no communication, bad roads, so they are kind of isolated. If you go to Hurti community, one of the villages that were attacked recently; on your way, you’ll see an abandoned project, a very big, large box culvert which was started by one of the past administrations. But because of the way politics is played, there is no spirit of sportsmanship, I mean continuity. This governor comes; he doesn’t continue the project. Another one comes; he abandons it and starts his own. That project was supposed to link that road very well.

However, what is our own administration doing? If you go around the villages in Plateau State today, you’ll see that we are embarking on a lot of rural road projects. We are trying to open up rural areas for two reasons: one, for security; two, so that agricultural produce can come in easily and at a cheaper price.

So we are doing extensive work on rural roads across the length and breadth of the state. Very soon, during our second year anniversary celebration, we will carry journalists and take you around these places so you can see them, so that  you can have the facts. We are doing a little, but, of course, again, there is the issue of cost. The Nigerian economy is currently very volatile. The state cannot handle all these things at once. It must be done gradually—one at a time. That is what I can say about that. The local government also has its part to play—they are doing their bit—but funds are difficult to get right now.

 

Based on the recent pronouncement of Governor Caleb Mutfwang that close to 64 villages in the state are being occupied by terrorists owing to the quest of the marauders for more land grabbing, what is the state government doing to ensure that the natives whose villages are under occupation return home?

 Yes, we set up a committee headed by Air Commodore  Pam on the displaced people. The committee has submitted its interim report.  I think I have a draft of their report somewhere on my table. So we are doing what we can. We are trying to ensure these IDPs return to their displaced lands. But they cannot just return like that. We must provide some kind of security for them to go back and begin farming. There are different stages to it. There are villages [where the residents] cannot return to because their houses have been destroyed; so, such houses will have to be rebuilt before they can return. We are encouraging many of them to return and as well doing our bit in this regard. That is why we have Agro Rangers doing surveillance around different villages and farms to provide some level of security for our people to till their lands. So those ones will go. The ones whose houses are still intact—we encourage them to go back to their houses and occupy them, and we’ll provide some security to keep them there for some time. That way, gradually, there will be peace, and people will return. As I said, the committee has finished its work. The report will be received next week. I met a member of the committee during the inauguration of the interreligious committee, and she reminded me they want to submit it this week. I told her yes—let’s agree on a date so that the governor can receive the report. Once we get it, we’ll give it to the White Paper Drafting Committee. They’ll look at it and make recommendations. Once the White Paper comes out, we will implement it to the best of our ability.

Of course, this will include rebuilding houses, putting security structures in place, and providing basic amenities and, as you mentioned, access roads, so security forces can reach these communities quickly whenever issues arise. These are key things to restore confidence in government.

 

The Bokkos Local Government Area, no doubt, produces large quantity of Irish potatoes consumed by Nigerians beyond Plateau State. At the moment, most of the farmers have been displaced and hibernating at IDP camps. What then becomes the fate of the farming of this crop this planting season?

We call it Plateau potatoes, no more Irish potatoes. The governor launched it two weeks ago—maybe you didn’t catch it. That is what we call it now,  no longer Irish potatoes anymore.  I agree with your theory. We have statistics; we have data over the years. You will see that at the beginning of every planting season, there is a spike in killings and attacks in the villages. So it is easy to deduce that maybe it is aimed at discouraging people from farming.

This is what lends credence to the fact that this thing is about land grabbing. Because if you are able to continue farming, you will continue to stay in that location. But if you are not able to farm or do anything, one, you become poor. Two, you might leave and look for another vocation or safer land to farm. And what happens? Communities like Mahanga has been taken over. That is why we say it is land grabbing. They come, occupy your houses, take over your farmlands, take over everything. So yes, it is aimed at discouraging farmers. That is the reason we are bringing in the Agro Rangers—going to farms with tractors. If you have a large expanse of land, a tractor can do a lot in a day.  Under surveillance by security, [these farmers] will plant and leave. That way, we still try to tie down these lands for our farmers. These are the steps government is taking to checkmate these bandits.

 

Based on my investigation, no one has been prosecuted all this while and this might have emboldened these elements to continue to perpetuate this evil act. What is your take on this?

Thank you. There are reports on that, White Papers and the rest. It is not even about White Papers. There have been arrests over the years. But where are the people that were arrested? Where have they gone? That has been a prevailing problem. If you listened to the governor’s broadcast, he said a few persons have been arrested, and that the government will pursue it to a logical conclusion. But we have also been wondering why such people were released in the past. Nobody knows. So there is a problem somewhere.

That is the reason I said the issue sometimes appears bigger than the localities that are being attacked. There seems to be a grand design for something larger. Even in Hurti, an old man we met was crying. He was very upset and angry. He said his own son was among the attackers. They came; they killed; his son killed his own mother. He told us that if government catches the boy, they should do whatever they want. He has disowned him. So definitely, there is collaboration. That is where the banditry aspect comes in because some of them do it just for looting. A farmer told us that he had 26 bags of Plateau potatoes in his house. By the time security agencies and the local government chairman got there, less than two bags were recovered. What happened to the rest? The bandits had likely organized a vehicle in advance to carry their loot. And that’s the banditry we’re talking about. There are solid minerals underground. Maybe they’ve been identified, and that’s why they want to clear out the people so that illegal mining can begin later.

 

Some people have argued that the recent crisis had something to do with the ban on illegal mining. Do you subscribe to this?

That is not logical. In the village attacked, there is no mining taking place currently. Yes, we saw a mining site on the way, and we passed through it. But it’s not in that village. So why attack people because of a ban they didn’t impose? It was the government that imposed it. The ban was necessary because our artisanal miners were being short-changed. These products are not being bought at their true value. Do you know more people have died in mining pits than in the crisis? But no one talks about that. Those saying the attacks are linked to the mining ban are not being sincere. Look at the number of underage girls who have turned to unplanned prostitution due to mining sites. The amount of drugs being sold at those sites is alarming. In some cases, arms too. So, it is an unruly space. We are trying to sanitize the process and put more money in the hands of our miners. It is a temporary ban, not permanent. The governor has explained this many times. It is meant to correct the wrongs. There are foreign nationals making the money; our people are not [making money]. We want to identify those mining on our land, and what they are taking. These are critical issues. That is the reason for the mining ban.

 

Another impression some people have is that Plateau people are not friendly, hence reason there is persistent crisis in the state. Do you agree with that impression?

I  told some visitors yesterday that Plateau is one of the easiest states in Nigeria to buy land. Is it because the people are unfriendly or don’t like business? We have lived peacefully with Igbos, Yoruba,  Ijaws, and others from time immemorial. Many who came here for youth service stayed, became entrepreneurs, and even millionaires. There is no sign of hostility. Plateau is simple, friendly, and hospitable. But there is a deliberate narrative, “giving the dog a bad name to hang it.” Whenever there is a clash 100 kilometres away, the headlines would read: “Plateau boils again!”. Meanwhile, people in Jos, Bukuru, or environs may not even know that anything happened. That negative narrative is what we are fighting. And, by God’s grace, we are making progress.

 

There is the allegation that this administration is not willing to take over the uncompleted projects it inherited…

(Cuts in) As for the allegation that this administration won’t complete inherited projects, let me ask: did our predecessor complete the ones he inherited? That is a question that should be answered first. However, Governor Mutfwang has said repeatedly that we will not leave abandoned projects unchecked. Show me a project the previous government left that we haven’t touched. Take the legacy projects, for example—I just left a meeting concerning that project. It is a tangled mess. If we were to follow the same approach as the past governments, many people would be in jail today. There is a lot of rot in those projects.

They recently claimed to have left N18 billion in the coffers for legacy projects. That is a big lie.  We are working to untangle the mess and restart those projects. Some of them will begin soon. But the available funds can’t complete all the projects—we will need to rework the bills and structure.

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