Caleb Mutfwang, governor of Plateau state, has blamed Nigeria’s persistent security challenges on the country’s elite.
Speaking recently during a stakeholder meeting themed ‘Dialogue on Community Policing as a Panacea for Insecurity in Nigeria: The Case of Plateau State’, Mutfwang accused the elite of fuelling communal hatred.
He said they could end the security crisis through decisive and intentional leadership if they decide.
“My theory, is that more than anybody else, the challenges of insecurity in Nigeria, is an elite created problem. When the elite conspire to lead the people in the wrong direction, we will continue to have this perennial crisis,” Mutfwang said.
“Many atimes, you’ll find that even when the poisoning of the mind begins in the community, when the elite takes leadership, and say it must stop, they’ll address it adequately and it will stop.
“But when the elite fan the embers of hate, they are the people that do their analysis, that begin to spew knowledge information and poison the mind of ordinary people, then it will be sustained.”
Muftwang called on the elite to take greater responsibility in promoting narratives that foster peaceful coexistence and national unity, especially in the face of the country’s prevailing security challenges.
He affirmed his resolve to dismantle “artificial barriers of faith and ethnicity” which, he says, continue to hinder unity and development in Plateau.
According to him, none of his predecessors since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999 has done more to promote peace and unity in the state than he has done.
“As I stand before you today, I want to reiterate that I came into government with a firm resolve to restore lasting peace to Plateau. That is why I have deliberately sought to bridge the divides we’ve built across religion and ethnicity,” Mutfwang said.
“Yet, as recent as yesterday, I received reports of being labeled in certain influential circles. Still, I beat my chest and say, without fear of contradiction, that I have done more than any governor since 1999 in building peace and unity on the Plateau.”
