The Tasks Before New Govt in Plateau

Text of a farewell speech by the Administrator of Plateau State, Major-General Chris Alli, to mark the end of the six months emergency rule 

FELLOW citizens of Plateau State, six months ago, a state of emergency was declared by the Federal Government to forestall the mayhem and bloodbath that plagued the state for the past three years.

I was subsequently appointed to serve as the administrator of the state for the period of the emergency rule. Today, we stand at the threshold of another major event with the restoration of democratic institutions that were previously suspended. This follows the successful implementation of most of the programmes outlined to achieve peace under the state of emergency. It was equally in line with my conviction that the state of emergency should not exceed six months, and that is why on October 2, 2004 while in the same aircraft with Mr. President to Kano, I personally made known these views to him. Mr. President was quite receptive to this idea and that has brought about the cause for the restoration of the suspended structures.

I wish to express my profound gratitude and appreciation to Mr. President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo for offering me the opportunity to serve Plateau State again, particularly at the moment of its difficulties. Mr. President has shown a lot of concern for Plateau State and made tremendous sacrifices to ensure that the state is out of the woods,I equally acknowledged the support and co-operation from the Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the frantic effort to normalise the situation in the state. The National Assembly has also shown a lot of understanding and sense of responsibility on the Plateau crises. I commend their sincerity of purpose, maturity and commitment to the peace and security of the state.

Today, Plateau State has taken a giant leap in the pursuit of peace and tranquillity. This feat has not been achieved on a platter of gold. It was a combination of factors such as God's intervention, hard work, sincerity of purpose, encouragement and support from all stakeholders that offered the tonic for success.

I can recall vividly that from the on-set of this assignment, I made three important supplications in search for the way forward. The first supplication was to God for guidance and wisdom. The second was to the people of Plateau State for understanding and support. The third was to myself, friends and the family for patience and prayers. My dear people of Plateau State, the good news is that I received overwhelming response to all my supplications. This has made my brief stay on the Plateau historic and eventful.

Plateau State has gone through its hard and rough times. This has caused incalculable harm and damage to the psyche of the people arising from disputes and conflicts that ought to have been properly handled and managed. These conflicts were not immediately contained as a result of the failure of institutional mechanism to perform their roles. Conflict is part of the dynamism of life. It is natural for people to always seek to understand their differences, as doing so will enable them find ways of managing such differences. From time to time, doubts, fears and apprehensions become the spice of life. This is obvious because of the glaring inequalities in the society. The weak is therefore afraid of the mighty. The downtrodden will always feel insecured and threatened by the prevailing socio-economic competitive forces. A lot of societal problems are therefore generated by the fears and conflicts of marginalisation, political dominance, poverty, resource distribution and control, land ownership and leadership tussles. These were some of the factors that led to the upheavals on the Plateau, which restrained our capacity to exploit new opportunities for development.

Fellow citizens of Plateau State, events of the past are too painful to be recounted. Plateau the toasted bride of the nation had her pride and reputation smeared by the monstrous blood of profanity and sacrilege. We were thrown into a melodrama theatre in which Plateau embarked on a role reversal. We have not hidden our disgust and bewilderment at these events. The benefits of history is determined by our capacity to learn from past mistakes. History is therefore in the making as Plateau State is being launched backed to the path of its traditional values.

I address you today as fellow pilgrims on the six months therapeutic journey leading to the restoration of peace on the Plateau. I commend you all for being part of the journey, and for believing in our mission and the certainty of our destiny. Your contributions, advise and suggestions were instrumental to whatever successes that were achieved.

On arrival in the state, we devoted time and energy towards assessing the remote and immediate causes of the crises so as to gravitate from a well-informed position. That is why we embarked on extensive consultations, dialogues and interface sessions with the various interest groups in the society. That initial effort paid off as it generated the needed insight into the multifaceted problems of the state. We were therefore, properly guided by the manifest desire and concern of the people, whose perfect yearnings for peace and reconciliation dominated every level of interaction.

The formation of census and peace committees was therefore a by-product of this initiative, which has proved that co-operation and understanding can be achieved when issues are freely and openly discussed. One of the legacies I would like to leave behind is the exchange of visits by traditional and religious leaders, which helped in diffusing tension, and pulling down the invisible walls of prejudices, misconceptions and mutual suspicion.

A crucial landmark of the peace process was the successful conclusion of the peace conference and the subsequent commencement of the implementation of its resolutions. Government wants to as much as possible avoid imposing solutions on the people as they are capable of taking decisions on their own. The peace conference should therefore become a recurrent pattern of settling local disputes and conflicts after the exit of this administration in order to ensure that the gains of this effort are consolidated and maintained.

There is no society in the world where conflict do not exist. But we can prevent these conflicts from degenerating into violence if the right conflict resolution mechanism are utilised. I crave the indulgence of the people of Plateau State to always employ peaceful means of settling issues rather than resorting to bloodshed and violence at the slightest provocation. There is no where that violence has helped in promoting progress and development.

Our six months experiment is a clear proof of what dialogue can achieve towards the forging of unity and the diffusion of tension. The greatest honour that the people of Plateau State can accord me is to extol the virtues of dialogue and constant interaction above primordial and clandestine considerations. This is the only way that our present effort will not be rubbished into the junks of history.

One thing we have succeeded in doing is to strengthen the mechanism for conflict resolution by making them move responsive to the peculiar needs of the state. In that connection, the local government system, traditional institutions, religious bodies and the security apparatus have been repositioned to deal with security situations of the state more efficiently and effectively. It is my earnest desire that the next government will continue to harness the enormous resources of these institutions for the promotion of peaceful co-existence in the state.

The problem of poverty is so pronounced in Plateau State. This is heavily compounded by a debt burden that reduces the capacity of the state to make clear-cut achievements in the area of physical development. There are no new outlets to accommodate the large number of skilled unemployed youths coming out from higher institutions yearly.

This has rendered the youth vulnerable instruments for the perpetration of heinous crimes. Plateau State has dwelt too long in the murky water of poverty, unemployment, economic stagnation and over-dependence on the public service sector. We therefore, have more serious issues that ought to engage our attention rather than concentrate on the shameless and destructive vices of arson, looting, maiming and killings. The youth have often been used as cannon fodder for the execution of such destructive activities. However, the sponsors of violence in the society are never victims of the probable carnage. This makes it incumbent on us to evolve a youth policy that will insulate them from falling victims to those mischief-makers and agents of destabilisation.

We have laid the foundation that ought to be utilised in moving the state forward. This we have done by regularly and promptly paying workers their entitlements. We have also ensured that students on scholarship are empowered to meet up their educational obligations, bearing in mind that a lot of parents find it difficult to sponsor their children. We equally embarked on infrastructural development to make life more comfortable for the people. We were also able to raise the level of internally generated revenue profile of the state from forty six million naira (N46 million) to one hundred and forty million naira (N140 million) per month. This development has strengthened the financial position of the State in the wake of increasing social responsibilities. These plausible moves can only serve a better purpose if the current peace in the state is sustained and maintained.

Fellow citizens of Plateau State, it has not been possible for us to realise some of our intended objectives due to time constraint. You will recall that we awarded the contract for the reconstruction of the burnt down Jos Main Market. It is our hope that the in-coming administration will give this project the priority attention it deserves. Similarly, the Peace Conference was a significant milestone achieved by this administration. Government has just commenced the implementation of the various resolutions before our tenure elapsed. The incoming administration is hereby called upon to continue with the implementation to its logical conclusion in keeping with the wishes of the people. The bill for the constitution of the Reconciliation Commission has to be passed by the legislature so that the incoming administration can put in place structures that will facilitate the granting of Amnesty to offenders.

Fellow citizens of Plateau State, your love, concern, commitment and co-operation with our administration was quite helpful in keeping us balanced and focused. I wish to extend my appreciation to the entire civil service for faithfully translating government objectives into tangible ends. The state civil service is the bastion of accelerated growth and development. I will always cherish and appreciate the warm and reciprocal relationship extended to me during my brief stay by civil servants in the State. I am sincerely grateful to our traditional rulers, religious leaders, Local Council Chairmen, elders, youth, women organisations and the various security operatives for actively participating in bringing back peace to the troubled state. The Press equally deserves commendation for effectively publicising issues for the benefit of the society. Above all I am highly indebted to my wife, Mrs. Dorothy Alli, who laboured day and night to make me comfortable while bearing the burdens of the State. She has been a wonderful, supportive companion and counsellor who is having the interest of the state at heart.

Governments will come and go but the interest of Plateau State supercedes all. The State is greater than any individual or sectional interest for that matter. It is time to rise up to the challenge of developing a collective consciousness that makes Plateau State the centrepiece of our advocacy and aspirations. Otherwise, we will continue to give room for the development and expansion of local cronies whose loyalty is not to the state, but to the captains of their self-serving ambition. We should redefine our roles in the new dispensation and ensure that the past is not allowed to repeat itself. The new government must develop the necessary security consciousness that will help prevent further conflicts. A lot of damage has been done to the collective psyche of the people of the State. We cannot afford to continue to take things for granted because that would amount to toying with the people's destiny. The propagation of any direct assault on the sensibilities of the people will not only be counter productive, but inimical to the survival of democracy which we have toiled and laboured for. It will be tragic and rather unfortunate if for any reason, we open up old wounds by engaging in acts of revenge and recrimination. The greatest need of the moment is for the government to concentrate on promoting tolerance and reconciliation. The new government is expected to provide leadership for all and work towards allaying all fears, so as to promote justice and equity. It is equally advisable for the new government to use existing structures, which have worked for the attainment of the current peace and tranquillity. In a similar vein, the government must seek to mend fences with the rest of Nigeria especially with our neighbours in order to consolidate Plateau profile within the North Central zone.

Other areas which the new government must watch out includes the case of internally displaced persons who are yet to return, the need to embark on peaceful politicking, the control of the politicisation of religion and the obvious need to ensure continuity in the distribution of relief materials. The peace we have achieved must be constantly massaged to ensure it endures and stabilises. As I am leaving you, it is my hope that our covenant to keep the peace will stand the test to time. I assure you of my regular support and prayers. On behalf of myself, and family, I thank you all for standing by me. I urge you to extend the same co-operation to the incoming administration.

May God prosper and bless us all.

Long live Plateau State
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.