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.”
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
