BY Jonathan Nda-Isaiah ISAIAH, BENJAMIN and ACHOR ABIMAJE, AHMED TAHIR
Chairman of the Northern Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Rev Dr John Joseph Hayab, has described as a welcome development the emmisary sent by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to Plateau State over persistent killings in the area and other parts of the country.
Rev Hayab gave the indication while responding to LEADERSHIP on his thoughts regarding the development.
He said, “It is a good move and very commendable. He is realising that he has been given wrong information, so he is changing tactics to obtain the correct information.
“The President cannot be everywhere. There is nothing that brings healing like showing genuine concern for those who are being killed or their families. When people dialogue and talk to one another, and when you listen to them, you will understand their feelings. Our prayer is that those sent will be honest and truthful in relating to him their findings and what the people will say.”
Hayab further stated that when killings stop in Plateau, Zamfara, Benue, Southern Kaduna, and every other part of the country, development will follow.
FG Should Admit There Is Christian Genocide in Plateau – Rev Ezekiel Dachomo
Reacting to President Bola Tinubu’s peace emissary to Plateau State, Rev Ezekiel Dachomo told LEADERSHIP that they are meeting with the federal government’s delegation on Tuesday.
According to Rev Dachomo, he expects the federal government to come out openly and admit that there is Christian genocide in Plateau State.
He stated that if the federal government admits its mistakes, “even God Almighty will help us to nip further threats in the bud.
“It is obvious that Christians are being killed in their communities. People should stop generalising it to water down the atrocities against Christians in Plateau State.
“A situation in which a particular religion, allegedly backed by the government, has decided to kill Christians is miserable.
“They are just attacking Christians without mercy. Just yesterday, they invaded farms in my community and destroyed anything in sight. Farmers spent a lot on fertilisers, and today they have nothing to harvest,” he said.
On his part, the chairman of the Plateau State chapter of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Yusuf Babayo, commended President Tinubu for the initiative and welcomed the woman who led the federal government delegation to the state.
He disclosed that MACBAN would cooperate with her to ensure that sustainable peace is achieved.
Babayo also argued that if this kind of dialogue had been held regularly in the past, the situation would not have degenerated to its current level.
He further appealed to the Plateau State government to do the same in order to ensure lasting peace in the state.
“The meeting with the federal government’s delegation to Plateau State is a welcome development,” he said.
Miyetti Allah Hails Tinubu’s Intervention in Plateau
…Urges consultations with various stakeholders**
In his reaction, the president of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Baba Othman-Ngelzarma, described President Bola Tinubu’s moves to restore peace to Plateau State as a welcome development.
The president had sent his senior special assistant on community engagement in the North Central Zone, Dr Abiodun Essiet, as a peace emissary amid rising insecurity in the state.
This came even as the House of Representatives committee is set to submit its report on the root causes of the crisis to the president.
Speaking on the development, the MACBAN president said that although he had not been officially notified, any effort aimed at ending the lingering crises is a step in the right direction.
He said the President’s intervention is critical at this point before the situation gets out of hand.
He advised intervening parties to engage all key stakeholders and hear from all sides in order to get to the root of the problems.
Othman-Ngelzarma noted that the Plateau crises are complex, with many layers: the indigenes/settlers conflict, militias versus pastoralists, and issues of alleged land grabbing.
He explained that attacks by ethnic militias and retaliatory actions by pastoralists have exacerbated the cycle of violence, while the indigenes–settlers crises, with religious colouration, have led to implosions especially in the metropolitan areas.
“The way out of the crisis lies with the people themselves. Let the parties in the crisis define their own ways to peace. All the emissary needs to do is sit down with all the parties and chart a way out of the logjam,” he explained.
He blamed some religious leaders, traditional rulers, and youth groups for their roles in the crises.
“You, the media, are also part of the problem because you often single out a particular party in your narrative,” he pointed out.
Othman-Ngelzarma noted that pastoralists are also victims, stressing that media narratives often portray them solely as aggressors.
He also faulted the governor for a lack of decisive action in stemming the tide.
“It wasn’t like this under Governors Jonah Jang and Simon Lalong. If you check, most of the problems are concentrated in the incumbent governor’s constituency. Because their kinsman is now the governor, youths from the area are busy causing trouble. It wasn’t like that under Jang and Lalong,” he explained.
He appealed to all parties to give peace a chance by learning to live together in harmony.
Tinubu Moves To End Plateau Tensions, Dispatches Special Envoy For Peace Talks
In a bid to restore peace and foster intercommunal harmony in Plateau State, President Tinubu dispatched an emissary, Dr Abiodun Essiet, to the state last Thursday.
Essiet, a senior special assistant on community engagement in the North Central Zone, spent two days in the state during which she met Christian clerics and Fulani Miyetti Allah community leaders. The visit culminated in a town hall meeting in Jos.
According to a statement by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, delegates from various local government areas, traditional rulers, women, and youth leaders gathered to discuss ways of strengthening community-based peace structures and promoting coexistence among diverse communities.
Essiet paid a courtesy visit to Reverend Ezekiel Dachomo, chairman of the Regional Church Council (RCC) in Barkin Ladi, where discussions centred on faith-based leadership and its role in promoting peace, unity, and social development. Along with Dachomo, she addressed some widows and conveyed President Tinubu’s message of fostering ethnic reconciliation in the state.
Dachomo has been the loudest voice for Christian communities in the state.
The presidential envoy also met with Fulani leaders in Barkin Ladi to foster dialogue and mutual understanding between pastoral and farming communities, reaffirming the federal government’s commitment to inclusive engagement.
Later in the day, she conducted a workshop on establishing a community peace structure for the 17 local government areas in Jos.
Dr Essiet also held a closed-door meeting with the Irigwe community, the Miyetti Allah group, and representatives from the Youth Council of Bassa Local Government Area. The engagement focused on sustaining peace and how the 17-member peace committee would strengthen dialogue, reconciliation, and coexistence between the two communities.
Dr Essiet reiterated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s unwavering commitment to peace and inclusive governance, noting that the Community-Based Peace Structure will serve as a key instrument for grassroots unity, dialogue, and long-term stability in the North Central region.
A quick win in the peace efforts was the resolution of the conflict between David Toma, owner of Agha Farm in Gyel district of Jos South, and some herdsmen.
Toma had seized two cows following the destruction of his farm. On November 15, the MACBAN chairman of Bassa LGA, Alhaji Isah Yau, paid a compensation of N500,000 to Toma, who subsequently released the cows. All parties signed an undertaking to embrace peace in the state.
