Jang Addresses Press

Governor David Jonah Jang has addressed the press regarding key issues of his administration during a press conference convened at the Government House in Rayfield on Friday 26th September. Excerpts:

Education

While answering questions on education the Retired Commodore addressed the issue of renovation of primary schools. He noted that primary school renovation was collaborative as it involved the federal and the state governments with each paying a counterpart fund.

Jang did not forget to talk about plans to establish special science secondary schools spread evenly across the three political zones that include the north, central and southern zones. In the northern zone, Science School Kuru where the Governor was educated will be the Special Science School for the Zone, while Government Secondary School Mangu will be the school for the Central Zone and Government Girls School Shendam will be the school.for the Southern Zone. He also mentioned the intention of the government to restore the status of Government Science and Technical College Bukuru to effectively perform its function of teaching technical education.

Jang explained that as part of its service to the community, Oceanic Bank plc has taken the responsibility of renovating one of the four schools. In the same vein the Zenith Bank has agreed to carry out the renovation of the remaining three schools. This gesture according to the governor will enable his administration to save money that can be used to renovate the other schools.

Jang also talked about his government’s plan to build a permanent orientation camp for the National Youth Service Corps in Mangu to end the disruption of academic activities in schools were the corps members are camped as it has been in the past.

Health

Each of the seventeen local government areas in Plateau State is to have a sixty-bed hospital according to Jang. The aim, no doubt, is to address the rickety health care service, a general problem in the country.

Jang also spoke of plans by his administration to establish a truly specialist hospital in the state. The hospital will be equipped with all the necessary equipments to enable it meet up with the challenge. It will be located near the airport at Heipang in Barkin Ladi Local Government. The purpose is to make the services of the hospital available to people from other parts of the country that will inevitably require the services of the hospital. Jang explained that the government of Solomon Lar started the project at the same location but the project could not go beyond the foundation level.

Following the near completion of the permanent site of the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), it is hoped that the operations of the hospital will move to the permanent site leaving behind the old site. The school of nursing will use part of the facility for its laboratory demonstrations. The remaining parts of the structure will be converted to Jos North Cottage Hospital. In addition to the sixty bed hospitals Jos-north and Jos-south need cottage hospitals in view of the large population of people resident in those local governments.

Transport

Jang expressed his displeasure over the activities of commercial motorbikes. This according to him stems from the fact that people riding on okadas commit most criminal activities in Jos. Jang aware of the sensitivity of this angle of his plans for the state was cautious on the issue but said a clear decision on the plight of the okadas will depend on how events unfold in the transport sector as time goes on.

Jang stated that he is not against people using private vehicles for commercial transportation (kabu-kabu) after closing from work in the evening but that such vehicles must be properly registered with the Vehicles Inspection Officers, demonstrating that they will be used for such purposes. Jang stressed that Vehicle Inspection Officers who fail to live up to the agenda of the authorities in the transportation portfolio will be shown the way out.

Urban Development

A new master plan for the development of the Jos-Bukuru metropolis will be out in a few months time. This according to the Governor does not imply that the old master plan is headed for the trashcan. The new plan according to him will address only newly developing areas. He stressed that structures illegally constructed i.e. those not authorized by the Jos Metropolitan Development Board; the chief enforcer of any master plan for the state, will give way

The government is also experimenting on the feasibility or otherwise of having solar-powered streetlights. He said that if the solar means of energy turns out to be favourable, it would enable his administration to embark on installation of traffic lights at key junctions in the streets of Jos.

The urban development efforts of his administration will also involve naming and renaming of streets in addition to fresh house numbering for proper identification of street addresses.

Security

According to Jang since the restriction of the hours for the sale and consumption of liquor, there have been improvements in the security status of the state. He said that allowing the sale of alcohol to go on unrestricted nurtures crime since the perpetrators hang in the liquor houses till the critical hours they find convenient for their criminal operations. Jang said that this does not however imply that people cannot operate nightclubs in the state but that people wishing to operate nightclubs must apply to be given licenses such that nightclubs will be recognized and given security men to hang around them during operational hours.

Information

Jang also addressed the plight of the Nigerian Standard Newspapers that used to be the mouthpiece of the northern region of the country. He explained that his past experiences as a governor, albeit military, in the old Gongola and Benue States taught him that publishing is an industry that is better managed by the private organizations and as such his government is working on a possibility partnership with the private sector in the running of the Nigerian Standard to avoid the collapse of the organization as a result subsequent governments that may not be interested in financing it.

Commission of Enquiry

The Governor explained that the set up of a Commission Of Enquiry was not aimed at witch-hunting anybody. He noted that the commission is rather an avenue for concerned persons to come up and clear their names. He further explained that such commissions often come with new administrations and his cannot be different. Jang warned members of his administration to note that a similar commission will come after his administration and whoever threads wrongly would have himself to blame. He called on members of the public who are suspicious of any member of his cabinet to come up with the allegation and evidence supporting such allegation.

Woman Seeking Justice for Son's Life



Pam



As early as 0600 hours local time on the morning of July 2nd, the noisy engine of a vehicle awakened the Dung family of Rahol Kanang in Jos south Local Government Area. When madam Josephine Dung pulled out the covering of her window, she saw about eight gun-wielding men in mufti. Their mission was to arrest her son, Emmanuel Pam Dung.

Emmanuel’s room door, which overlooks the road, gave the men easy access. They banged the door with a horrifying viciousness and when the boy opened the door he was grabbed by the trousers and with all manner of cruelty his two hands were pulled backwards and held together with handcuffs. When madam Josephine tried to find out where her son was been taken to, one Haruna Dikko threatened her with a gun. That was how the men made away with her son.

The investigation of the whereabouts of her son led her to the Nassarawa Gwong Police Station the next day. She met Haruna Dikko who told her that her son was in detention and that she will have to come back the next day. The next day she sent her relations who went to the station but were told that no such case existed. The then contacted Haruna Dikko who denied knowledge of any such case despite the fact that he led the team that arrested her son. The turn of events led madam to consider checking the morgues in town and the search led her to the Jos University Teaching Hospital where, to her utter disbelief, she discovered the corpse of her son deposited two hours after he was arrested. The same Haruna Dikko who had arrested her son and who later denied knowledge of the case deposited the body. The boy was obviously shot from the back of the head at point blank with the bullet ripping through his head to pull off one of the eyeballs from its socket. Cause of death as documented by Dikko on the mortuary register says that the boy was a robbery suspect killed by the Police as he tried to escape from the crime scene at Babale along the road to Bauchi.

Following the extra-judicial manner in which her son was killed, Madame Josephine has vowed that justice has to be done and has thus subsequently approached the League For Human Rights, LHR, in Jos. Following Mrs. Dung's resolve to see that justice is done, some persons who claim to be members of the vigilante group from Nassarawa Gwong, the immediate jurisdiction of the police division whose men killed her son have threatened her life through texts messages. The same persons have also sent a letter to the head office of the Federal Road Safety Commission in Abuja where she works, telling the command that she is not worthy of wearing the uniforms of the command and should thus be fired. Against all these, madam says that her resolve to fight for justice has only been strengthened by such threats.

Extra-judicial killings by Policemen in Nigeria are recurrent and leave people wondering whether perpetrators ever face retribution. Shamaky Gad Peter, the Senior Programme Officer of LHR, said that his organization wrote the Plateau State Commissioner of Police (CP) on the 16th July and following the failure of the CP to respond; a second letter was written on August 4th. On the same day, the Homicide Department of the force was assigned the responsibility of investigating the case. The men were subsequently arrested but released later on. The explanation of the

Homicide Department was that the men have no case to answer since the boy was short death while attempting to escape. The LHR was not satisfied with the explanation since the boy was arrested and had his hands held behind by steel shackles. There was no way he would have escaped in that condition. The nature of the gunshot injury also revealed that he was shot at close range. While investigation was going on the Police also hastily buried the corpse.

The LHR sensing a deliberate lack of cooperation from the force has hence written the Inspector General (IP) of the Police, the Police Service Commission and the Attorney General of the Federation. The LHR believes some form of communication will be established with the office of the Inspector General. Should this fail however, the LHR has plan B which will involve suing the IG, the CP and all other parties that should be held responsible for their refusal to allow justice to take its course.

In December 2002 some youths: Silas Joseph, Emmanuel Kwaja, Samson Jacob, Laban Samaila and Edozie Okonji were arrested on suspicion of robbing a pastor of a branch of Church of Christ in Nigeria around of the sum of N75, 000. They were taken to the Katako Police station. While their hands were held together with steel handcuffs, a female police officer sprayed a concentrated form of tear gas directly into their eyes. Most of them suffered visual impairment for some time. The torture was meant to compel them to admitting guilt of the offenceOn the 9th November 2004, Mallam Shehu Mohammed was seriously beaten by one constable Ali on suspicion of being an armed robber. He later bled to death. On 14th May 2007, Ahmed Sadiq Mohammed, 24 and Aminu Musa, 23 were involved in an automobile accident with a vehicle belonging to their boss around Abattoir in Jos. Yusuf Dongonyaro, who was a Chief Superintendent of Police and who also, happened to be the Divisional Police Officer of Anglo-Jos Police Station was drinking at a near-by beer parlour. He came out with his gun and sent the two boys to hell instantly. According to Shamaky the mortuary register of JUTH showed that Haruna Dikko actually deposited two corpses on the 2nd of July at about 0830 local time. The corpses were those of Emmanuel Dung and one other unnamed victim.

Constable Ali and CSP Dogonyaro were dismissed from the force and charged to court. The LHR does not always carry on with the cases as it often relays it to the Federal Ministry of Justice. The Nigerian judicial process has been known for its sluggishness. Legal cases often drag for so years that the memory of the seriousness of the crime diminishes with time. Such lengthy legal process also wears out the bereaved that lose interest in pursuing the case. The trial will thus end up inconclusive and justice is never found. It is hoped that Emmanuel’s case will be different.

Political Retirement of Michael Botmang

For decades since Da Michael Botmang left the village, Zawan, in Jos South Local Government, he was never again resident there. What pulled Botmang from his village was to work for the Nigerian Tobacco Company, NTC. He worked for the company and rose to the pinnacle when he found his way into the top brass of the company that ran things across the nation.

In the late 90s he retired from the company to gamble into the Nigerian politics. When he returned to Plateau State he still did not settle at Zawan until the end of the second tenure of the Government in which he served as the sidekick to Joshua Dariye, and eventually Governor, when Dariye was impeached. Now that he is back in Zawan it epitomizes the end of the his active political journey. Da Michael Botmang is retired and perhaps tired.

Leaving a profession that provided you with all that you want in life, a profession that make others green with envy to join politics, the Nigerian type, was indeed a gamble in those days. It indeed worked negatively for him as the military struck again in 1993. This time around, the military blocked the little chance Ibrahim Babangida gave the politicians at the second and third tiers of government.

In a game you sometimes lose and at other times you win. When General Abdulsalam Abubakar restored full democracy Da Michael Botmang bounced back. This time he won the Jack-pot when he became Deputy to Chief Joshua Dariye and eventually Executive Governor, albeit briefly.

Da Michael Botmang says he will never be active in politics again. That is going to be the future direction of his politics, mentoring political protégés, pacifying and reconciling aggrieved parties. “At my age I should be seen playing the role of a father. The politics of Plateau State before May 2007 became very stormy creating multiple factions even within parties. Some people must be seen to heal these wounds. “People in my circumstance are just the right persons. As at 1982, I was diagnosed with diabetes. Since then I have taken regular medical attention, once every six months. When I became Governor, the nature of the work compelled me to stay for more than a year without receiving medical attention, the condition grew worse. Now doctors come to my house to administer dialysis twice a week. I am just striving to live a few more years”.

There is something about Botmang that makes him look old when he wants to and young and smart when he chooses to. One will not be surprised if the man, one day decides to unleash verbal missiles.

Jonah Jang's Clean Up Program Cries Out for Support



Namkim Bagudu

When Da Jonah Jang came to power he made clear his intention to leave an indelible impression in the history of leadership in Plateau State. The comprehensive plan by which he intends to achieve this is through his ten-point agenda. One of these is the issue of tourism Development. The clean-up Jos crusade, spear-headed by the Ministry of Environment in collaboration with the Ministry of Town Planning and Urban Development is actually an appendage of the tourism plan.

The programme is a double-edged weapon that is supposed to create immediate jobs for the local people and enhance the growth of tourism ultimately creating other jobs in the private sector in the long run. So far 1400 persons have been employed by the Ministry of Environment.

The government is aware that its programmes cannot succeed without the co-operation of the citizens the ultimate beneficiary of any good policy of the government. Hence a lot of resources have been spent to create awareness among the people regarding the need for them to lend the policy the desired support. After ten months, the nonchalant attitude is becoming very conspicuous.

It is not that the citizens have consciously chosen not to support the programmes of the administration. It is just that people are reluctant and fail to realize that the reluctance will frustrate the intention of the government.

The State Government, its departments and parastatals, the local government councils, the federal government departments, agencies and parastatals and the general public all have a stake if the programme must yield the desired result. With the exception of the state government’s determination, all other stake-holders have shown lack of interest.

The role of the state authorities is seen in the women who file out every morning to sweep the streets and the organizational and financial commitment to keep the programme running. The general public is expected to compliment this by sweeping their immediate environment.

It is rather unfortunate that people expect the staff of Plateau Environment Protection and Sanitation Agency, PEPSA, to sweep right into their doorsteps. The surrounding of the immediate vicinity of the roads have remained very dirty as people have shown lack of interest in cleaning them.

Plateau CAN Secretary Speaks

Revered Mwelwis Philip Dafes is the current secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Plateau State branch. He was called into the Gospel Ministry in 1990 when he enrolled and trained for a Diploma in Theology at Kaduna and Amadu Bello University, Zaria. He was also in the Baptist Pastor’s school between 1993/ 95. According to him, God called him back to lead the Baptist on the Plateau and parts of Bauchi and Kaduna in 2006.

When he joined CAN there was chaos as unity was absent in the Christendom, CAN was so polarized that denominations withdrew their brethren from CAN. His presence in CAN as secretary immediately spurred the organization into holding series of meetings leading to the election of the present CAN officials. It was also at that Juncture that an idea of a bridge between CAN and the Jama’atu Nasril Isam , JNI, came. The link became necessary as both are stakeholders in peace building in the state.

Dafes says that the congregation within a church come from different political affiliations. It is the role of the pastor to work towards ensuring unity within the congregation. This works only if the pastor shuns partisanship. He says that the fact that people belong to different political groups is even an asset to the church and as such the pastor should only be seen to call and encourage them to remain united.

The church he says is a political body. His experience has shown him that leading the church is difficult as the members come from different backgrounds. Their understanding of what it takes to be a follower also varies. The challenge is to lead people in the right direction as the church has become some sort of club were groups are only allegiant to their interest groups. The clubs are largely based on ethnic differences. Hence there is usually rivalry among the tribes, each of which is trying to ensure the dominance of leadership within the church. We are working to let the people know that Christ has an indivisible body!!

His position and by extension the position of the inter-religious body as far as the politics of Jos North is concerned is that people should see the elections as battle between political parties. People should vote for a party they consider capable of giving them ideal leadership.

Mafes also answered question regarding the proliferation of churches. He explained that not all churches belong to the membership of CAN. As far as churches in CAN are concerned, they don’t have a problem. He is not aware of what goes on outside CAN. “Perhaps there may be chaos especially if they are all independent. If all churches worship one God then there is need for all to be members of CAN but since there is freedom of association, denominations cannot be compelled against their wishes to join CAN”. What he cannot deny however, is the lesson that denominations learn from each other under CAN.

Even though there are more churches now, he agrees that sins are more on the increase. This is because the large numbers of churches are not actually dedicated to the real Gospel. People go to churches were they want to hear about prosperity and not a rebuke for their sins. The churches are actually founded on the foundation of commercial ventures. “In the past, churches used to pursue sins but now the sins are actually pursuing the churches. The major problem of the churches is the absence of discipleship”.

When he, the Chairman and Treasurer of CAN paid a visit to the Governor, Da Jonah Jang, their advice to him was that he can only win his political enemies by friendship.

Mafes also agrees that, on relative terms, a Pastor can go into politics play clean and win. The difficulty however is the fact that as a pastor you don’t have the money to run campaigns. The only way out is thus to look for Godfatherism. He that however eats from the Kings table must be ready to dance to the tune of the king. Pastors are free to join politics but they should be prepared to dance like politicians.

In Nigeria he believes that the dividend of democracy is really available. It is just that it is going into the pockets of those who are getting the dividend. Go to the street. It is there you will understand who gets the dividend. The feeding ratio of 1-1

John Alkali Receives Award

The Nigeria's biggest award for distinguished citizens is the National Productivity Merit Award. The 2008 awards honoured four personalities from Plateau State. Architect John Alkali, a retired civil servant and presently a politician who was also a candidate for the gubernatorial seat in Plateau State was among the four persons honoured.

For Alkali, his distinguished career as a civil servant was the merit that earned him the award. He was honoured with the member of the Order of the Niger(OON). His civil service career started with the Plateau State Civil Service where he rose to the position of a Director. He moved to the Federal Civil service. There he was an Executive Director of Public Buidings at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). He later became a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Environment. He moved on to become the Permanent Secretary of Manpower Development. In 2006 he retired voluntarily to join politics.

More than 200 personalities were honoured out of which no single journalist was featured making the awards to carry the semblance of an exclusive party of civil servants despite the sacrifice journalist have made to ensure the return of democracy, in some cases loosing their lives. Alkali responded to this with an encore of a comment he made in a forum that was organized by friends to thank God for the award by quoting the late President of the United States of America, Ronald Reagan which reads that 'at the gates of every industry, in every school, in many work places there different heroes that are silently toiling and doing great things without people identifying them'. Those awarded, according to him may not necessarily be the only ones deserving recognition. He agrees that there are many journalists who have given their lives for the truth and enlightening people and many others who distinguished themselves in different endeavors. The fact that they have not been recognized does not change their status as heroes. He said journalism is one of the most recognized professions as a result of its role in checking the excesses that would have been otherwise perpetrated in the different sectors of the nation’s life

Irigweland and Tourism

The trend in the developing world now is the issue of tourism. The agenda is on the table of nearly every leader in the Third World. Some have made progress in that regard while some like Nigeria are just beginning. In pursuance of this agenda, the Nigerian government in 2006 held the Abuja Cultural Carnival to sell the colourful cultural spectrum of the nation.

Long before the Abuja carnival, the people of the Irigwe Chiefdom in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State have had a cultural carnival on the first day of every year since 1962. On that day, Irigwe sons and daughters from all over the world come home to Kwall and Miango towns to be part of the carnival that launches the New Year.

Irigwe dance groups from within and outside the land come prepared to join the cultural procession which is held at selected arenas in the two towns. Every dance group takes its turn to dance to the high table of the ‘Bra Ngwe’ and his dignitaries from not just Irigwe land but also friends and well-wishers from the whole nation and beyond. Before him, they dance and pay their respect before clearing for the next group.

The Irigwe dance is among one of the finest in Plateau State which was why a cultural dance group was part of General Gowon’s delegation to Germany during his time as the Head of State in the 70s. Furthermore, a large number of those who travel to Irigwe land on every first day of a New Year come from other ethnic groups within the country thus attesting to the tourist appeal of the carnival.

Foreign missionaries from the Kent Academy in Miango are never left out as the move down to the venue of the carnival with assorted recording devices to catch and preserve the flash points of the bliss. This they later take to their countries mainly the US and Canada. The annual event is thus one of the gorgeous cultural assets that can play a big role in pushing Plateau tourism to the international stage.

As has often been said, roads play a very vital role in the development of any community. The road leading to Irigwe land was constructed in the 1970s by Group Captain Dan Suleiman. Since then, it has not received any attention from subsequent governments. While travelling to Miango and Kwall you get the impression that the road was never tarred save for pockets of tar patches here and there. The dryness of January ensures that dust gets one messed up thereby defeating the goal of a pleasure trip.

The arenas hosting the carnival at Kwall and Miango are also dusty primary school playgrounds. Hence the rumpus of the carnival also stirs dust to mess up everybody who is there.

Anybody that once had the opportunity of visiting Miango or Kwall for the sake of the celebration will attest to the fact that if your are not at the dance arena your are usually lost as to what to do.

Driving along a beautifully constructed road is, in itself, a source of pleasure. Even the sight of a jalopy carrying agricultural goods on such a road is also another attraction that will tempt you to bring out your camera. A modernize arena built to certain standards for the sake of hosting such a carnival is not too ambitious for a State that wants to attract tourists, and recreational parks for those who simply want to be part of the multitude that usually throng into these two towns, will create a quintessential picture of a tourist delight.

Kwall and Miango are on two sides of a river but the expanse of land that stretches from the Miango side across the river to Kwall has been bought for the purposes of building the Nigerian film village. If the road linking these two communities to the rest of the world is reconstructed, it will no doubt serve as a catalyst for the development of the film village. The presence of the film village and the tourist show will trigger a conflagration of development that has never been recorded in the history of Plateau State.