Plateau PDP Guber Aspirant, Engr. Ibrahim Condemns Plateau Attack, Commiserate With PDP, Families Over Killing
Yakubu Busari
A People Democratic Party, PDP, aspirant for Governorship race of Plateau State for 2019, Engr. Ponyah Ibrahim has commiserated with the people of Plateau and families who lost their loved ones as well PDP family’s over the unfortunate deadly attack where 200 persons were killed, as he promised to run an all-inclusive government if given the mandate to governed the state.
In his profile made available to this medium in Jos, Engr. Ponyah Ibrahim called on all Plateau citizens to support his aspiration to the office of Governor of our state.
According to him when given the mandate he shall with his team, by the grace of God, harness all the potentiality to build a Plateau state that we can be proud of. We shall breed a culture of hard work, innovation, entrepreneurship and service in the fear of God for the betterment of all citizens.
Engr. ,Dr ,Ibrahim said his vision is to create a state that continuously experiences growth and development in all spheres and sectors for the betterment and wellbeing of all citizens.
Engr. Ibrahim stressed that the vital parts of the security plan is to increase the response time to emergency situations ,adding his projects shall focus on setting up systems and programmes that will preempt and prevent conflicts and minimize the risks of dangers posed in rural /urban communities by terrorist, robbery, unrest, and attacks by shooters.
He disclosed that the arrest and prompt prosecution of offenders is also critical in the management of peace in the state .The management of the social relationship between the various groups in the state is also critical to the promotion of harmony and peace building as he assured.
Ibrahim maintained that the whole security plan is to increase the provision of system with the use of innovations and state of the art technology .These systems would include early warning system, sniffing system, rangers from local communities….
He said, “Operation Rainbow shall be equipped with modern equipment and transportation facility to respond rapidly to the demands of security in the state, by highlighted here a give a synoptic look into some of the key proposals that will deliver a good change for Plateau state between 2019 -2023 respectively”.
Engr. Ponyah Ibrahim, PhD ,had B Eng Civil Engineering ,MSc, construction Management ,MBA (Management) PhD construction Management ,policy Strategy Leadership Course (NIPSS),Kuru ,MSc ,(International Business Law-inview)born on the 14th June ,1968 at Shendam LGA to the humble family of Baba Ibrahim Binchak of Lohmak village in Bwarat district of Langtang North LGA of Plateau state.
The Gubernatorial aspirant pointed out that his major goal is to ensure that there is a higher availability of reliably, affordable and environmentally sound energy, such kind of energy will help to sustain social and economic development in a given area on the other hand ,a major objective is to ensure that there is an increase in electrification levels mostly in the rural areas by 70 percent on average.
Under his leadership ,we shall increase access to clean water and strive to mobilize and manage all natural waters sources for better development .We will develop pilot schemes that take full responsibility of collecting run off and wastewater for treatment and recycling to bring our people into awareness and to embrace modern ways of managing water resources, he explained.
Ponyah Ibrahim also promised to address the current housing deficit ,especially for the middle class ,the plan will increase an enabling environment to provide affordable ,quality and adequate housing to the majority of the citizens and the projects will encourage public private partnership in the housing development for the citizens.
He further noted that the focus will be to reverse deforestation wildlife depletion, heritage sites degradation and land degradation for waste management; we shall set up an effective and efficient waste management system within the metropolis and beyond.
He expressed shock and disbelieve over the massacre by killer herdsmen of over 215 persons both young and old, men and women neither were children and toddlers spared.
These are barbaric acts of man’s inhumanity to man, ethnic cleansing and genocide which constitute the worst forms of wickedness and cruelty.
He further noted that the outpouring of outrage and condemnations by Nigerians and the international community including the Secretary General of the United Nations, US, and a session of the UK House of Lords, worried by the huge loss of lives and property and consequent bereavement by many families and communities.
He also frowned that not less than 15 villages and communities were destroyed in the well-coordinated attacks and mass killings including; Gana Ropp, Bet, Rankwok, Rapwomol, Ratatis, Bwom-Hei Ropp, Nghar, Rukku, Soi, Tisan, Katchin, Kazok, Zargok, Kura Worom, Ex Lands, Shonong and others in Bassa, Bokkos and Mangu.
He also revealed that the previous killer herdsmen attacks have shown that they are usually Guerilla in nature using sophisticated arms and machetes.
He decried that the Villages that have completely sacked in Plateau State include but not limited to the following: Barkin Ladi-22, Riyom-18, Bassa -5, Bokkos-7, Total =52
Worried with the attacks the Guber aspirant lamented that the pattern where once a community is attacked, it is cleansed by killing the native inhabitants, the houses burnt and destroyed, and the vacated land taken over for occupation. The cycle is repeated and the pattern replicated in what has clearly manifested as a land grabbing agenda.
Further Worried that the attacks, mass killings and land grabbing is being perpetrated without an appropriate response of the nation’s security. This indecisiveness, inadequate response and seeming apathy of government have emboldened the killer herdsmen to continue in their acts of terror ethnic cleansing and land grabbing.
He is also disturbed by the malicious destruction of hundreds of hectares of farm crops of the natives by herdsmen in a bid to cause hunger and economic strangulation of the natives.
He said he is further disturbed by the slow and ineffective response of NEMA which aggravated the humanitarian tragedy.
He is perturbed that even while the President and Vice President visited Plateau State and gave assurances of security and safety, the attacks and killings persisted and extended to the burning down of not less than 5 Churches all in a bid to provoke a religious crisis.
Furthermore he said he is perturbed that virtually all theories known to peace building and dialogue have been experimented on the Plateau yet it has neither restrained nor stopped the land grabbing motivated attacks and killings. It is therefore glaring that is not the absence of dialogue but the fact that engendering lasting peace will defeat the intendment of the killings which is the land grabbing agenda.
He Applauded the rare display of humaneness and value for human live by the Chief Imam of Nghar, Mallam Tsoho of Hausa extraction who along with one Abbas a Yoruba Muslim graciously shielded and kept many natives in a mosque at the risk of their own lives from the rampaging killer herdsmen.
Aware that the Constitution in Section 41(1) permits every Nigerian citizen to reside in any location of his choice without let or hindrance. The exercise of this right however does not extinguish the right of other citizens, especially host communities to the ownership of their ancestral lands and customary heritages or to peaceful co-habitations
(i) Condemned the killing and massacre in the strongest terms.
(ii) Government must take decisive action to stop the killings and secure communities that have been under persistent attacks.
(iii) The over 52 villages currently under illegal and forceful occupation in Barkin Ladi, Riyom, Bokkos, Bassa and Mangu Local Governments be recovered by government and the displaced owners resettled on their ancestral land. To do otherwise is akin to allowing a criminal to retain the proceeds of crime.
(iv) The masterminds and perpetrators of the attacks and massacre should be arrested and be prosecuted. There should be a Coroner’s Inquest and Forensic examination of the weapons and ammunition used to determine the course of deaths, caliber and source of the weapons used.
(v) Urge the President to go beyond verbal condemnation of the attacks to taking decisive and practical steps to give effect to section 14 (2) (b) of CFRN, 1999 as amended.
(vi) Direct NEMA to provide immediate relief to the IDPs to avert a humanitarian crisis and a Special Reconstruction Fund should be set up by the Federal Government in this regard.
(vii) Urge an overhauling of NEMA so that it can respond effectively in emergency situations.
(viii) The National Assembly should immediately revisit the Constitution Review exercise to empower states to establish State Police for effective community policing and maintenance of law and order. This is as a result of the fact that the current Security Architecture has failed to bring an end to violent attacks across the Federation.
(ix) The House committees on Army, Airforce, Police, National Security and Intelligence and Emergency and Disaster Preparedness to ensure implementation and report back to the House within three weeks for further legislative action.
(x) Observe a one minute silence in prayer for the souls of the departed.
At the close of the debate, two additional prayers were moved and adopted by the House ie:
- The killings were classified as acts of genocide against the natives.
- Urge the Federal government to build and maintain orphanages in the affected LGs to cater for the many children who lost their parents from
the attacks.
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