By Ebele Orakpo

The journey from Abuja to Kafanchan in Kaduna State this Tuesday morning was uneventful. The road was very free as only a few vehicles plied the road. The rural communities were so far removed from the hustle and bustle of the cities that a commuter by name Moses commented thus: “This is so peaceful, unlike the Southern part of the country. No noise, nature is just at peace with itself and in harmony with everything else. This is heavenly”.

“You are right. I can feel the peace and harmony in my bones,” said Nike.

“You are all correct, but people are trying all they could to destroy this harmony. Although nature is at peace here, the human beings are not,” stated Anu. Continuing, she said: “Just look at the mess in Jos. I can’t understand why the Federal Government has not been able to arrest the situation. The women have cried out for help, yet nothing tangible has been done.

“They are all playing politics with people’s lives. I think the perpetrators are above the law, otherwise I don’t know why we should be dancing round the issue at this point in time, allowing the perpetrators to continue their heinous crime against humanity,” stated Edna.

“Exactly! The thing has lingered for so long that I am at a loss as to the real cause of the problem in the first instance,” said Danlami.

Replied Yohanna: “The problem is not really a Plateau problem. It is a national problem but Plateau State happens to be the test ground and the way the government has handled it so far shows us how they will handle it when it really engulfs the entire country”.

“How do you mean?” Moses wanted to know.

“It is the indigene/settler issue. That was the root cause of the Plateau problem and it is a big problem in the entire country. In Nigeria, no matter how long you have lived in a state other than the state from where your parents originated, you are still regarded as a settler, you have no rights as an indigene. For instance, my parents were originally from Ondo State and they came to Jos in the 1930s. I was born in Jos, lived all my life there and yet, at about 60 years of age, I am still regarded as a settler. If I tell you I am going to my home town today, I have no other home but Jos, yet I am treated as a stranger. That was what the Hausas tried to fight in Plateau State. They got to a point where they were tired of being treated as strangers in a state they have helped to build. Some of them have all their life’s investments in the state and they know no other home,” replied Yohanna.

“Hear the kettle calling the pot black!” sneered Nike, adding: “They have no right to accuse Plateau people of marginalizing them. After all, they all do the same in their various states. Can a Plateau man go to Kano or Katsina to contest election? I think the first thing they should have done was to correct that evil in their own states and then they will be in a position to ask the Plateau people to do same. Like the Bible rightly say: ‘First remove the log in your own eyes so you can see clearly to remove the speck in your brother’s eyes”.

“Yes ooo. But at least the battle has started and I think it’s high time our lawmakers got to work. Let there be a law that empowers every Nigerian to live and work in any part of the country he chooses and be treated as a full-fledged citizen. I was in the UK and within five years, I got my citizenship and had the full rights of every citizen. That is what we expect here,” concluded Yohanna.