In the wake of the security challenges that have bedeviled some communities in Plateau state for some months now, a patriotic Nigerian, Muhammad Abbas Shuaibu, has called on the federal government to enact a law that forbids discrimination against non-indigenes in the state.
Shuaibu said the indigene-ship mantra is the root cause of the ravaging violence and persistent unrest that has characterised the state. In his words Nigerians regardless of religious, language and ethnic affinity has the right to live anywhere in the country as stipulated in the constitution.
Shuaibu, who resides in the Mangu local government area of the state, stressed that the government’s attention should not be diverted by narratives, stating that activities of kidnappers are the root cause of the persistent unrest in the state. He said though there kidnapping in the state is rampant, the major problem in Plateau state is more of conflict between indigenes and non-indigenes.
He called on the federal and state governments to employ diplomacy in solving the problem, stating that government should be fair and careful not to take sides in the conflict as this would never solve the problem but escalate the issue that has lingered since 2001.
While proffering solution, Shuaibu advised the state government to take a leaf from the previous governments in handling the issue, saying statements threatening non indigenes to leave the state would further aggravate the existing problem within the state as Nigerian citizens have the right to live anywhere within the country.
