State of the Nation: Bola Tinubu & Bolaji Akinyemi
By Ifeoma Ikem
As Nigeria prepares to hit 64 years later this year, the citizens are ever mindful that development and growth occur only in the soil of peace.
When the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration was sworn in last year to captain the ship of state, one of the basic duties it promised to oversee was a more united country, where all its peoples could live in harmony and togetherness.
However, kidnapping, banditry, insecurity amid other vices continue to escalate across the nation. An instance of particular concern are the incessant attacks and killings in Plateau State. In the past nine months, reports have revealed steady casualties on the people by suspected herders and militias.
Numerous houses, places of business and worship have been razed, people displaced while the perpetrators roam freely without apprehension by the government.
Various attacks in Mangu and Bokkos local government areas of the state over the period claimed over a hundred lives, 62 of these Baptist church members that included women and children. In Chiran, a child was cut on the head with a machete but survived in attacks that claimed over 40 lives.
Unprovoked assaults resulted in 33 of our members’ deaths in Mangu LGA alone on May 15, 2023, a cleric, Rev. Kpeole Saleh said at the Plateau Baptist’s 47th Annual Conference in Jos. Several other communities also bore the brunt of attacks. In Bokkos alone, over 15 communities were invaded and hate meted on sleeping people on Christmas Eve last year. The situation has not dissipated even this year.
While insecurity in the land has kept escalating, the destructions has inflicted heavy economic losses also with many fleeing their homeland. And despite calls to the government, help has not been forthcoming.
However, amidst the cries by the people of Bokkos, Mangu and Birin Ladi councils for the return of peace and stability to their homeland, civil society groups under the umbrella of Project Victory Call Initiative (PVC-Naija) led by Dr Bolaji Akinyemi recently took up the gauntlet through a peace walk, to lay their grievances before the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration through the Lagos State Government.
A fierce fighter for equity and a self-acclaimed nation builder, Dr Akinyemi is a brand that has consistently lent himself to the fight for peace and justice wherever the need may arise. Among prominent attendees at the peace walk were Mr Lekan Onafeko, Prime minister of the community, Dah Chief Jonathan Sunday Akuns (Galadima Daffo), and President of Bokkos Cultural and Development Centre, Prof. Stephen Mallo.
While calling on the FG to intervene and bring lasting peace to the Plateau communities, and rid the country of insecurity, the activist said if left unchecked, insecurity will continue to be a major issue and take its toll on the country and its people.
Dr Akinyemi pointed out that the nation needed to be safe and secure, hence the the peaceful protest.
Meanwhile, Avou Danlami Mabas, chairman of Daffo Mangai Community Development Association (DMCDA), Bokkos branch has commended the Dr Akinyemi-led group for its selflessness and bravery in speaking up for the embattled people of Plateau.
In a letter titled, Appreciation to Residents, Indigenes of Bokkos LGA, Plateau State on the Protest Letter to President Tinubu Through Lagos State Governor, Mabas appealed for swift response to the letter, urging all hands to be on deck towards realising the mission.
He also proposed that in the interim a mobile police division should be immediately deployed to ensure peace in the embattled area.
Earlier at the peace rally, various speakers made calls for a strengthened security apparatus and a unified approach in tackling insecurity in the country.
Collaborating, the Initiative for Better and Brighter Nigeria, Lagos State chapter had cried out over the alarming state of attacks on the plateau, citing the need for urgent action. “Many people are attacked and killed daily. The government must intervene, end the killings, attacks and kidnappings once and for all,” said the group coordinator Rev.
