NORTHERN GOVERNORS ABOUT-FACE ON JOS

A few days before the just concluded meeting of the Northern Governors Forum, their spokesman stated that a review of the current security situation in Jos, Plateau State will be part of its agenda. He said the Governors are concerned that the resurgence of violence in Jos, and its implication for security in many parts of the North is not receiving the attention on it as it should, and that they may come up with some suggestions on the way forward. People who still have some faith in the words and credibility of the Governors must have been relieved that someone somewhere in authority will do something about this creeping nightmare that Jos is becoming.

Those people who had hoped that the Northern Governors will indeed make some earth-shaking discovery over the cause of the Jos crisis, and make profound recommendations towards its resolution will join the ranks of millions of northerners and other Nigerians who have long given up any hope that the Governors will lead the way towards solving major problems in the north, such as Jos. The resolutions of the Governors after their meeting merely invited attention to the fact that the Jos crisis is a national problem, and that there are other national security problems which also require attention. Not a word about the rumoured plans to convene a stakeholders’ forum. Not a word about a Truth Commission, or another fact finding initiative. Not a word of advice to their fellow Governor, or words of consolation to the people of Plateau State. Not a word on what else the Governors intend to do next beyond identifying Jos as a national problem.

Other Nigerians who put very little store in the hope that Northern Governors will add something new towards a resolution of the crisis in Plateau, however will point to the fact that the immediate and sustained condemnation by Governor Jang of the plan of his colleagues to discuss Jos was guaranteed to make sure that they will back down from their plan. Governor Jang’s continuous objection to any plan to isolate and discuss Jos and Plateau State as unfair, on the ground that there are many security flash points in the country, was obviously meant to dissuade his colleagues from taking any step which he does not approve of. And it worked. It worked in the same manner he succeeded in dissuading the Federal Government from taking steps which go beyond directing the military to take over security in Plateau State. It is now clear that the  reason which appears to have persuaded Governor Jang to lower his strong opposition over the take-over of security in Plateau State by military is that the Federal Government will now take the blame and responsibility for breaches and violations of public order and public security, in case they occur. He will also be taking comfort in the fact that the take-over by the military on instructions of the President has relieved him of responsibility to find a just, fair and lasting solution to the problem, which a temporary security arrangement will not do. Governor Jang must be rejoicing over what appears to be a serious error in the assumption that separating combatants will permanently eliminate the cause of their fight. He knows only too well that provision of temporary security is not the same thing as creating a lasting peace.

The Northern Governors’ stand-down will embolden Jang and those around him who are milking the crisis in Jos for political reasons. So long as Jos and neighbouring Local Government Areas are engulfed in tensions or endemic violence with naked ethnic and religious characteristics, Jang can lean on tribe and faith to build and sustain a political base built on blood and fear. He does not need to do anything else. He does not need to build hospitals, or schools, or roads, or even pay salaries. He can always blame incessant crises brought about by so-called outsiders for his inability to accomplish much to address the poverty and insecurity of citizens of Plateau.

Anyone who has followed their activities of Northern Governors should not be  disappointed by the failure of Northern Governors to intervene in a firm and constructive manner in the raging fire in Plateau State. In point of fact, most of them are no better than Governor Jonah Jang. They do not have the moral or political clout to say whether or not Jang’s   incompetence and arrogance is singularly responsible for this prolonged crisis. They cannot point to a solution that implicates either Hausa, or Birom, or the Government, or outside interests, or Federal Government, because they have, or are worried over the existence or emergence of a Jos or similar evidence of mismanagement in their own States. They cannot prescribe a line of action for Jang or the Federal Government because they fear that their stand may come back to haunt them eventually. Many of the Governors know that gross injustice and crass parochialism is responsible for fuelling the fire in Plateau States. Yet they cannot say to Governor Jang that all citizens in Plateau State deserve equal justice and treatment, which some are not getting. Many other Northern Governors have similar composition of populations in their States; yet they have no courage to advise Jang that the secret to lasting peace lies in a fair and even-handed treatment of all groups by government. Many Governors, particularly those whose States border Plateau State are living in fear that the crisis will affect their States. Yet they lack the courage to advise Jang to deal with the problem decisively and comprehensively.  

The turn around by Northern Governors around the Jos issue will confirm the worry that the North cannot and should not look up to the Governors to lead it with responsibility, courage and wisdom. Northerners are expressed to the damage caused by an absence of a unifying and purposeful leadership today more than any other time.  While other parts of Nigeria are uniting behind issues and visions; the North is drifting without leaders. Jos will continue to represent a serious threat to the people who live, suffer and die in it, because Governors from the North have no courage to engage Plateau State and the Federal Government on how the crisis can be resolved. So long as Governor Jang feels he can scare away any intervention, particularly from his colleagues, and limit Federal Government’s involvement to temporary deployment of soldiers, a strategy that relieves him of responsibility to find real peace, he will have no incentive to act. In fact, he may well take comfort from the fact that he can get away with it all because all those who may want to intervene are no better than him.