By Peter Akpah
Da Gyang Dudu, National President of Berom educational and cultural organization (BECO) has said that the Plateau crisis demands proactive measures and not just the setting up of committes as demonstrated by the National Assembly.
The BECO’s president made the assertion on Thursday while speaking to newsmen in jos on the security situation on the Plateau.
Dudu, who doubled as the Vice President of Plateau Initiative for the Developmental and Advancement of Natives (PIDAN), called for a shift from endless committees to genuine political will and free, fair elections as the only sustainable solution to Plateau’s security challenges.
Speaking on the recurring visits by National Assembly committees to the state, the elder statesman questioned the impact of such engagements.
“Over time, the Senate and House of Representatives committees have repeatedly been meeting with Plateau stakeholders, yet the insecurity in the state persists.
“We are so worried that up till date many communities have not seen any tangible result from the series of dialogues and fact-finding missions of those committees.
“This is simple because the security crisis in Plateau is complex, and driven by multiple factors including land grabbing, mineral exploitation, political control, and economic interests that thrive on instability.
“That is way attacks are not random, but targeted at displacing natives from their ancestral lands as a systematic land grabbing that is beyond mere communal clashes, ” he asserted.
He criticized the politicization of security, warning that introducing politics into security management derails solutions.
According to him, committees on security should not be populated by politicians but affected natives because only he who wears the shoe knows where it pinches.
The stakeholder identified good governance and credible elections as the foundation for peace and insisted that Nigerians must be allowed to freely elect the president, governors, local government chairmen, and lawmakers of their choice.
He added, “Only leadership with genuine popular mandate and the will power to confront insecurity head-on can end the cycle of violence in Plateau and Nigeria as a whole. ”
The elder statesman also called for unity among Plateau people, noting that division has been weaponized by enemies of the state, which demands wisdom on handling issues.
He recalled that when attacks began in Berom land, false narratives blamed the Berom for cattle rustling despite the community’s long history of cattle rearing, stressing “Such lies are tactics used to justify violence and deepen mistrust.”
Dudu urged President Bola Tinubu to give full cooperation and support to Gov Caleb Mutfwang in tackling the crisis in the state.
He, however, advised Gov Mutfwang to sustain close collaboration with traditional rulers, village heads, and community association leaders in addressing the menace.
While acknowledging the President’s recent visit to Plateau, he expressed disappointment that the trip ended at the airport without direct engagement with affected communities.
He said that stakeholders had hoped to brief the President personally, believing that the federal government holds the key to ending the crisis if it chooses to act decisively.
He argued that the truth about Plateau’s security situation was clear to all, including the international community.
“But what remains is the political will to implement solutions and stop the displacement of indigenous communities from their ancestral lands, ” he argued.
