I’m writing this piece as a concern Plateau youth and I sincerely hope it sends the right message. In all my articles, I’ve tried to be non-partisan and apolitical considering my respect for people’s will and opinion. As an emerging journalist, taking sides may be tantamount to setting a dangerous precedent for my future, thus, when a writer wants to write on political issues, such a person must be careful not to raise dust and make an existing crisis degenerate. My love for Plateau state is beyond description. I’m proud to be born and raised in the Home of Peace and Tourism. When it comes to determining the future of Plateau state, I think I’ve contributed my quota and will still do so without compromise. My greatest dream is to work relentlessly and make Plateau state a better place. This I hope to do with courage, faith and an unbending will to stave off what may plunge my state in danger.
LET THERE BE PEACE
Personally, I don’t need anybody to tell me that there is a cold war currently brewing between my leaders Senator Jonah David Jang and Gov. Simon Bako Lalong. This crisis has everything to do with politics. It started immediately after the 2015 general elections and may keep festering because of hot and different interests for 2019 elections. We do know, there is a problem but we can’t afford to blame Mr. A or B. What do we do instead? Our cardinal concern and goal is to broker peace in the little way we can in Plateau’s best interest. It is true that if a little leadership problem is not identified and checked, it may spiral out of control and have a corresponding consequence on the followers. The cold war between the two Plateau leaders is obviously a bad omen. It retards the growth of peace and development. It makes the followers of both leaders rise up against themselves. It causes us all to be a laughing stock before our friends from other zones. I think after the 2015 governorship elections, the first thing that should have happened was to accept the outcome by both parties in good faith and in the spirit of sportsmanship. That wasn’t the case. Instead, there were a lot of altercations, litigations and other clandestine stuffs for power sake. When Mr. Lalong settled down and started stirring the affairs of state, the crisis would not end still. The bitter rivalry continued in a truly vicious cycle. It came to a point that I wanted to know the true position of things and the revelation was obvious. According to a close aide of Sen. Jang who craved anonymity, he said The Lalong administration knows nothing but crass witch-hunting. The judicial commission of enquiry set to investigate us is a scam. It is on record that Jang’s achievements will far outweigh those of Lalong.’’ I went further to hear from Gov. Lalong’s side and his aide said, ‘’It’s noteworthy that Jang has never attended any function organized by Lalong’s administration. It’s on record that he’s the only former governor of the state and perhaps the only state stakeholder and elder statesman who has yet to honour official engagements like the governor’s regular consultative stakeholders meeting and town halls.’’
WE CAN’T BE BOUND BY THE PAST
This article is written to make a passionate appeal and clarion call. I know that crisis is inevitable as far as politics is concerned, but when a crisis of interest erupts, there can always be a way out and restitution. Rising above mundane considerations is the solution . All eyes are on both leaders to take Plateau state to the next level while the followers follow suit, but it can’t happen in an atmosphere of crisis and confusion. Plateau state is struggling to recover from its bitter past when religious and political crisis held its future at the jugular. We are not interested in any form of crisis that may take us back to the dark days of old. We are rather interested in peace, development, progress, patriotism and an abiding faith in the Plateau project. In 2019, elections may be dicey. PDP, APC and other parties will flex muscles. Politics is a game of numbers. Whoever gets the right numbers and does the right calculations has the day. Everything is about strategies and wisdom. We must crave for transparent and peaceful elections not acrimony and divisions. We are one in Plateau state and we must love and respect each other.
‘’Though tongues and tribes may differ’’, though political interests may differ but we must not allow our differences to cut short our hopes and aspirations for a better Plateau. Now is the time to make a difference. A stitch in time saves nine.