In a press statement signed the Director General of the Plateau Peace Building Bureau, Joseph Lengman has expressed regret at the dastard and unfortunate
killings that have been a recurring decimal in Benue for the past few
months.
Joseph Lengman pointed out the common destiny and shared heritage
between the two states and cautioned that the politicisation of the
attacks should not be allowed to scuttle the shared heritage of the two
states.
PRESS STATEMENT
The Plateau Peace Building Agency (PPBA)
wishes to express its deepest condolences to the government and people
of BENUE state over the unfortunate series of attacks that took place in
the wake of this New Year, 2018.
We on the Plateau feel particularly saddened
by this avoidable and unnecessary loss of human lives and properties.
We do understand more than anyone else the pains and hurts that the
people of BENUE are subjected to. We understand because we have been
there before and the risks we face are still as stark as ever. Yet, we
must not lose hope and faith in the promise of a better tomorrow. Our
destiny as a people offers not a cup of despair, but of multiple streams
of opportunities and blessings.These ugly incidents should not serve as a
motivation for vengeance or incentive for hatred. On the contrary, let
the memories of the loved and lost inspire deep ratiocination in our
minds such that never again will evil prevail as it has for all those
who lost their lives to brutal attacks on the eve of 2018.
As an agency of government saddled with the
responsibility of promoting the culture of peaceful and harmonious
coexistence through advocacy, research, multi-stakeholder dialogue and
partnerships, we fully appreciate the magnitude of the existential
threat facing our people in Plateau state, Middle Belt and across the
country. We submit that we can only triumph over this evil when we are
united over a common purpose and also strategic in our thinking as
opposed to being merely reactionary.
We must find a solution to this problem
through systematic dialogue, strategic engagement and appropriate policy
response rather than allowing mutual hatred to take a better part of
us. There is neither a short cut nor strategies that are embedded in raw
sentiments that can edge us closer to finding a lasting solution to
this menace. The right thing to do is to think through all available
options and decide on a position that will not return to hunt us or our
children in the near or distant future. The government and security
agencies must also rise up to their responsibilities such that this
somewhat senseless orgy of violence is permanently arrested.
In this light, the Peace building agency
wishes to advice against arbitrariness in policy formulation,
politicization and sensationalization of the issues underlying the
growing tension between Fulani herdsmen and indigenous communities in
the North central part of Nigeria.
We strongly covet the support, prayers and
collaboration of our people in finding a lasting solution to this
growing problem while also working hard to solidify our resolve to
ensure that we bequeath a Plateau that is at Peace with itself and the
rest of the world.
And in the words of the iconic Nelson Mandela, “May your choices reflect your hopes and not your fears”
Joseph Lengmang
Director-General
Plateau Peace Building Agency