By Akinwale Kasali
As the #EndBadGovernance Protest enters day seven, Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has revealed plans by mischief makers to hijack the peaceful protest, by causing violence and wreaking havoc in the State.
The Governor stated that intelligence reports has it that hoodlums from neighbouring States are being sponsored to cause violence in the State and cause unnecessary unrest.
Mutfwang added that the hoodlums are hiding under the guise of the protest to perpetrate their evil plots.
In a State-wide broadcast on Tuesday morning, the Governor insisted that merchants of violence are not happy about the peace the State is enjoying, and are infiltrating the peaceful exercise to cause chaos.
Mutfwang highlighted some of the steps his administration is taking to mitigate hardship, promised to meet with leaders of youth groups for dialogue, and commended stakeholders’ roles in containing the activities of the hoodlums who looted shops and attacked innocent citizens.
His words:“… I am grateful for this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all of you for your understanding and dignified conduct over the last couple of days during the ongoing national protest tagged #endbadgovernance.
“Since the commencement of your constitutionally guaranteed right of protest, you have demonstrated, to the admiration of other Nigerians and even the international community, that the glorious days of the beautiful and peaceful Plateau are back…
“I am more grateful that the message we have been preaching of acceptance and mutual respect towards one another has sunk in. I am glad we have decided to live as brothers because that is who we are, irrespective of our diversity
“While we have taken measures to create a peaceful and prosperous Plateau, we must admit there is still much to be done. Our efforts in public transportation, investments in agriculture – including training 20 youths per local government in modern agribusiness – improvements in the health and education sectors, etc., have all been geared towards laying the foundation for poverty alleviation.”
He added: “We gave out over 200 trucks of fertilizer and other palliatives in conjunction with the Federal Government. We are very hopeful that we shall reap a bumper harvest this season, which will go a long way in providing food security.
“We have started the empowerment of several Plateau State citizens with a token of N50,000 through the Plateau State Microfinance Development Agency (PLASMIDA), which is aimed at supporting Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
“The gesture was to ensure measurable improvement to the quality of life of MSMEs in the State by providing business development support to indigent persons. I assure you that we will sustain and improve on this intervention.
“I am passionate about ensuring that no one living on the Plateau goes to bed without food, no child is condemned to illiteracy because their parents cannot afford to pay their school fees, and no one dies prematurely because they cannot afford to pay their medical bills.
“For these reasons, we have invested in technology to address the orchestrated distractions of insecurity, banditry, and insurgency, distractions which have significantly strengthened our common and major enemy – poverty…”
On the protest, he stressed: “I have heard you clearly, and we are in this together. I, therefore, appeal to you to stay further protests so we can dialogue with your leaders to add value to our thinking and plans for poverty alleviation since we do not possess a monopoly of wisdom. As soon as the protests are over, we shall meet with the leaders of the youth groups across the state for further dialogue.
“The more we continue with the protests, the more the likelihood of being hijacked by sponsored criminals and hoodlums like we began to notice from Sunday evening.
“Based on the intelligence at our disposal, we know the lawful protests have been infiltrated by criminals who were waiting for an opportunity to loot shops, attack and rob innocent citizens of their hard-earned belongings.
“We even saw the display of foreign flags by some of these criminally minded intruders. So as a responsible Government, we had to take proactive steps to prevent further acts of criminality; thus, the 24-hour curfew we imposed on Jos-Bukuru metropolis starting from Sunday midnight.”
Mutfwang noted: “The resistance by hoodlums in some parts of the Jos North area from Monday morning till late afternoon proves that our action of imposing the curfew is justified. Credible sources have revealed that because of the peace that Plateau is enjoying, merchants of violence invited hoodlums from neighbouring states to disrupt the peace in Jos.
“Let me appreciate our traditional, community, and religious leaders, as well as civil society organizations who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to assuage the justifiable anger and frustrations of the protesters. We urge you not to rest on your oars until normalcy is restored so we can take more reassuring steps in the right direction.”
