The unending massacre of human beings and total destruction of property, including churches and mosques, have continued to be a source of major concern to all well-meaning Nigerians and her allies all over the world. Of recent, there have been reports that the ugly incident has resonated again in some parts of Jos metropolis, the capital of Plateau State, leaving not less than 18 people dead. This was as a result of a night attack by persons suspected to be members of Boko Haram on Belle, a village in Barkin-Ladi Local Government Area of the North Central state.

According to Plateau State Police Command, about seven persons were also injured in that attack while some cows were rustled and houses burnt.

However, Federal Government swiftly inaugurated a Special Task force (STF) headed by Brig. Gen. Umaru Hassan to nip the present crisis in the bud. Although the Special Task Force (STF) has swung into action, and has effected the arrest of about 60 persons in some hostile communities of Jos, the arrests are said to be based on intelligence reports.

Indeed, The Tide doubts if this is the Jos, Nigerians used to know as a heterogeneous city popularly referred to as Nigeria’s “Tin City”, because of the concentration of tin mining activities there. In fact, the Jos, Nigerians were hitherto used to is that hospitable and alluring city, where people from different ethnic groups across the country and beyond thronged to for tourism, investments in tin mining and ancillary production activities. Jos of old was a city that was the envy of all: Christians, Moslems, and even the atheists.

Historically, Jos was the sixth largest tin producer in the world, with the greatest part of this output coming from the Jos-Plateau minefields. The activities of miners triggered the springing up of settlements at Naraguta and Guash, out of which Jos allegedly originated with an indigenous population of the Beroms, Anagutas and Afizeres, among other indigenous ethnic groups. Of course, the commercial importance of Jos also attracted people from the South, including the Igbos, Yorubas, Urhobos, Ibibios and Edos, amongst others.

Since the days of tin mining, the growth of Jos city has been phenomenal. The creation of Benue Plateau State in 1967 with Jos as its capital led to influx of civil servants and other businessmen into the city.

Unfortunately, rather than take advantage of the cultural and ethnic mix as a springboard to foster national integration, stability and sustainable economic development, the cross-fertilisation of populations has suddenly created an unending inter-ethnic and religious feuds amongst the people for years now.

The Tide recalls that Jos first experienced violent ethno-religious crisis on September 7, 2001, which destroyed her innocence as religiously tolerant state. Since then, Jos has lost its acclaimed status as the city of “peace and tourism”. With intermittent clashes at the slightest provocation, and sometimes, even without any cause, Jos has now become a city of “pieces, killings and terrorism”, with thousands already sent to their early graves, some permanently maimed while  property worth billions of Naira have been lost.

We regret the resurgence of ethno-religious violence and killings in Jos, even as the Special Task Force is still in control in the city. This is not the right way to go. We believe that the resort to armed attacks on Nigerians by some disgruntled elements in Jos is not the path to peace and progress. On the contrary, it is a most uncivilized, dishonourable and ungentlemanly approach to the settlement of any dispute, where one exists.

The Tide, therefore, condemns the continued mayhem in Jos and other parts of the country, especially at a time like this, when the country is gearing up to overcome one of the most trying periods in its democratic transition, with the conduct of free, fair, and credible elections at all levels of governance. This is because, apart from depleting the nation’s overall population, any killings in any part of the country at this time could trigger serious consequences for the nation.

This is why we think that the only way to restore confidence in our democratic sojourn is to ensure that all those found wanting from previous mayhems, and of course, the current unfortunate events are brought to book. We recommend that those already arrested in connection with the various crises should be prosecuted, and if found guilty, jailed. This will serve as a deterrent to others who may want to unleash unnecessary terror on innocent citizens, in future.

This, to our understanding, is not the time to flip-flop, and dilly-dally over the prosecution of common criminals, who have taken this nation for a ride. Both the Plateau State and federal governments must stand firm, and proactively address the fundamental problems already identified as the remote and immediate causes of the killings in Jos. The discreet implementation of reports of commissions of inquiry could help tame the monster of ethno-religious killings in Jos.

It is only by so doing that government could be seen to be protecting and safeguarding the lives of innocent, law-abiding citizens of this country, while guaranteeing the influx of investments, and encouraging national integration. These should be the cardinal thrusts of government’s actions.

-Tide

Posted by admin on Mar 8 2011. Filed under EFCC Politics, Plateau, State News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry