Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has justified the imposition of a 24-hour Curfew on Jos and Bukuru metropolis, saying the action was taken to prevent the State from falling back into a state of anarchy.
Social media users had knocked the Governor for throwing the residents into untold hardship by forcing them to stay indoors for 24 hours.
Specifically, a resident of the state, Jonathan Ishaku, a veteran journalist, had, in a Facebook post, taken on the government for believing that Plateau is a civil service state where people sit back and collect salary monthly.
Arugued Ishaku: “We must reject this claim that Jos is a civil service town. Almost 99% of the residents hustle to eat and get by. With the economy at the present extreme low, this majority’s hustle for survival is more desperate! A 24-hour lockdown is now akin to a death sentence to the hungry, the sick and the destitute, which the majority is.”
But in a statewide broadcast on Tuesday, Mutfwang said the action of some residents in Jos North area who had taken to looting and destruction showed that some people were bent on truncating the relative peace, which the state has been enjoying.
Mutfwang said he was very happy at the orderly manner protesters in Plateau had conducted themselves and would not risk allowing some people, imported into the state from other states, to throw the State into anarchy, which it’s gradually coming out from.
“The resistance by hoodlums in some parts of the Jos North area from Monday morning till late afternoon proves that our action of imposing the curfew is justified,” said the Governor.
“Credible sources have revealed that because of the peace that Plateau is enjoying, merchants of violence invited hoodlums from neighbouring states to disrupt the peace in Jos.
“I have never been more proud than now for the privilege of being your leader. Since the commencement of your constitutionally guaranteed right of protest, you have demonstrated, to the admiration of other Nigerians and even the international community, that the glorious days of the beautiful and peaceful Plateau are back!
“No one should be surprised because I was and am still fully persuaded that the years of strife were imposed upon us by those who fear our unity of purpose. These painful years of distress and poverty do not reflect who we truly are—a peace-loving and accommodating people.
The governor said the measures his government had put in place to cushion the effects are gradually having effects.
He said, “Our efforts in public transportation, investments in agriculture – including training 20 youths per local government in modern agribusiness – improvements in the health and education sectors, etc., have all been geared towards laying the foundation for poverty alleviation.
“You will also recall that we gave out over 200 trucks of fertiliser and other palliatives in conjunction with the federal government. We are very hopeful that we shall reap a bumper harvest this season, which will go a long way in providing food security.
“Furthermore, we have started the empowerment of several Plateau State citizens with a token of N50,000 through the Plateau State Microfinance Development Agency (PLASMIDA), which is aimed at supporting Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
“The gesture was to ensure measurable improvement to the quality of life of MSMEs in the State by providing business development support to indigent persons. I assure you that we will sustain and improve on this intervention.”
Assuring that the determination of his administration to change “our story” has never wavered, Governor Mutfang added: “We have committed ourselves to God, not to rest until we see light at the end of the tunnel. I am passionate about ensuring that no one living on the Plateau goes to bed without food, no child is condemned to illiteracy because their parents cannot afford to pay their school fees, and no one dies prematurely because they cannot afford to pay their medical bills.
“For these reasons, we have invested in technology to address the orchestrated distractions of insecurity, banditry, and insurgency, distractions which have significantly strengthened our common and major enemy – poverty.”
