By Isaac Asabor
There is no denying the fact that the crisis that broke in Jos few days ago has once again sent shock waves throughout the Tin City and around the country. Though the circumstances surrounding the crisis remain unclear, everything suggests that the crisis came to a worsened height barely one week after about 22 travelers were killed in Gada-Biyu-Rukuba Road also in Jos North LGA.
It is not an exaggeration to say that Plateau State has since two decades, precisely from 2001, remained a hotbed of ethnic and religious violence rightly or wrongly leaving the dominant dialogues in the conflicts on public domain to be political exclusion on the basis of ethnicity and religion, on the Muslim side, and fears of religious and cultural domination, among Plateau Christians.
It is regrettable that for 20 years, the somewhat cyclical crisis in Jos has created enormous challenges with regard to the humanitarian, security and economic situation, and which is wont to have domino effect on other parts of the country.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the recurrent crisis in and around Jos has over the years cost many lives, while the root causes have yet to be addressed. Government reports have tried to explain the complicated situation, assess the number of deaths and come up with policy recommendations. It seems as if the recurring conflict has strongly defied every solution put in place to quench its flame. Each time the flame of the conflict sparks, the presence of the military ostensibly to calm down the situation always become prominent feature but such move has neither brought resulted to peace nor has it been channeled into peaceful conflict resolution mechanisms.
In fact, there seems to be a lack of clarity on what the conflict causes are since it started sparking in the Tin City over the years. Some call it a religious conflict, others see land interests at play, and others believe that the distinction between indigenes and settlers and their implications lie at the heart of the conflict. This lack of clarity further complicates the search for policy solutions.
Without recourse to denigrating the virtues that characterize Plateau State with particular reference to Jos in this context, it is expedient to say that the state’s slogan, “Home of peace and tourism” is not in any way a true reflection of what the state is as crisis has over the years become a recurrent feature in Jos, and by extension the entire plateau state.
Given the crisis situation the state has been falling into for the umpteenth time, not few observers and commentators across the country and internationally have unanimously agreed that the state has nothing to show that it is truly a “Home of peace and tourism”. Rather, they now call it a “state of crisis”. Personally, those who chose to nickname the state that was once known to be a state of peace and tourism in the past cannot be blamed as the state no longer has what it takes to continue bearing such enviable appellation. The reason for the foregoing line of thinking cannot be farfetched as an African proverb has it that “If you don’t know who you are, anyone can give you the name that suits the fancy of him or her”.
To communication students and professionals that are reading this piece, it is expedient to remind them that brand slogans are short and catchy phrases that are used very popularly in advertising. In fact, slogans are one of the effective ways to draw attention to brand and products, just as Plateau state attempted to ostensibly attract visitors to its state through the slogan: “Home of Peace and Tourism”. For the sake of clarity, slogans have been used in marketing for a very long time but today they are everywhere, used by all kinds of brands. The role of a good slogan is to point towards the benefits of a product. Slogans are supposed to highlight brand image and be memorable. It is believed that a phrase with meaning strikes more of a chord with the customer than just the brand name alone because a good slogan not only gives the customer a commitment but tells them what the brand stands for. Against the foregoing, there is no denying the fact that in the face of occurrence of incessant strike in Jos, being the capital of Plateau State, that the state’s slogan that says, “Home of Peace and Tourism is unarguably striking a wrong chord.
At this juncture, permit me to call on Plateau state government and the federal government to synergize towards truly making Plateau State; with special emphasis on Jos, a land of peace and tourism. In my suggestion, the task can be achieved by keying into the opportunities that would be presented on September 21, 2021, being the day set aside by the United Nations (UN) as the International Day of Peace (or World Peace Day) celebrated annually devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.
At this juncture, it is expedient to say that the government can partner the media which can no doubt play a positive role in peacebuilding/conflict prevention. With the adoption of the foregoing strategy, it is expedient for both governments to embark on training of journalists, and development of pro-peace programme content. However, while training the journalists, doing the same for youth leaders across the states should not be neglected. However, while training the journalists, the aim at improving the reportorial skills and understanding the situation should be the main focus and objective. On the other hand, training of youth leaders should be mentoring them on how to remain tolerant of one another rather than resorting to violence. The same training on tolerance can be extended to elders by also imbuing them with the knowledge of being tolerant to one another and in the same vein making reference to how crises have consumed communities in identified parts of the country. The training can be regularly conducted on monthly basis under Town Hall mode of meeting.
As gathered from the State’s website, there is no denying the fact that it has what it takes to truly turn the state to where the people; irrespective of ethnic or religious affiliation will daily live in peace as brothers and sisters, accommodate visitors and tourists and even attract investments from other parts of the world. This is as its ministry of information exudes confidence in one of the posts made on the website that the state now features “emergence of a more enlightened, educated, and informed citizenry that will work consciously and actively for the good of Plateau, and contribute positively, towards building a virile nation, and in its mission stated that it is capable of undertaking timely, credible and continuous gathering and communication of information on government policies, programmes and activities; and getting feedback for deeper democratic practice in Plateau and a prosperous, peaceful and secure state.
It equally stated that “The Ministry is executing this mission through two Parastatals, a Board and a Department as follows: Plateau Radio Television Corporation (PRTVC), Plateau Publishing Corporation (PPC), Government Printing Press and Plateau State Library Board”.
