GOING ALL WRONG

The report of the herdsmen and farmers conflict in Mambilla lacks balance, contends David Audu

The recent herdsmen/farmers conflict in the Mambilla area of Taraba State was blown out of proportion and those familiar with the politics of the area and the state in general were not surprised. Most of the reports in the media quoted ridiculous figures of deaths and damage to property, apparently to exacerbate the situation and for those on a mission to promote the crisis out of proportion for political advantage to achieve their goal. It is callous and unacceptable.

Surprisingly, these figures were taken directly from one side of the crisis with the media making no attempt to verify them before rushing to publish. Events have now proved those figures not only as untrue and ridiculous but a great distortion of the entire situation in Mambilla, Sarduana Local Government Council Area. What was expected, and which is the practice everywhere in the world, was for the media to rely on security agencies, the police in particular, for accurate figures of deaths and damage. This tradition was sidestepped in the case of the Mambilla crisis in order for those waiting to gain political advantage from the crisis to achieve their goal of blackmailing the government of the state.

The more bizarre aspect of the falsehood served the Nigerian public on the crisis was that the state government did not do enough to stop the fighting. Government’s prompt intervention was the reason the crisis ended quickly and with causalities far less than the enemies of peace would have wished for. At a recent consultative meeting in Jalingo, the administration was praised by a leader of the Fulani community from Mambilla for promptly intervening to end the hostilities. It is also on record that the Ishaku administration has sacrificed a lot, in fact, more than any other previous administration in the state to achieve and sustain peace in the state since it came into office in 2015. The pursuit of peace has been central to the programmes of the administration since inception. In fact peace that is being enjoyed today in most parts of the state is a product of Governor Ishaku’s sweat. It is, therefore, ridiculous for anybody to suggest that the same person will ignore anything that is capable of threatening the prized product of his effort.

Herdsmen/farmers conflict is not limited to Taraba State. It is a national phenomenon and most states in the federation have had, and are still having, their own share of the problem. But the promoters of crisis in the state told journalists (and they swallowed the falsehood hook, line and sinker} that the Mambilla crisis was a case of ethnic cleansing. This was a clear indication that those who want to reap political gains from the crisis had fully mobilised their agents to do the damage that would enable them achieve that goal. Such hideous attempt by politicians and promoters of ethnic sentiments to take advantage of conflicts between communities in the state to enhance themselves politically must be condemned. Politicians seeking to get into political office by swimming through the pool of blood of our innocent people are our common enemies and they should be stopped.

HIDEOUS ATTEMPT BY POLITICIANS AND PROMOTERS OF ETHNIC SENTIMENTS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF CONFLICTS BETWEEN COMMUNITIES IN THE STATE TO ENHANCE THEMSELVES POLITICALLY MUST BE CONDEMNED

One of the allegations made by those merchants of falsehood was that the state government did not speak in time on the efforts it was making to stop the crisis. Again, this is part of the grand campaign to blackmail the administration of Governor Ishaku. Government is not under obligation to always publicise security steps it has taken to stem the tide of crises it is managing. Such premature disclosures are, most of the times, injurious to the process of peace. In the case of the recent crisis in Mambilla, government took decisive security steps by deploying security men to restore peace and order and the timely intervention was very helpful in dousing the hostilities.

There is a lesson that we must all learn from the recent Mambilla crisis. That lesson is the need for careful and mature handling of sensitive information on crises. For reasons that are obvious, the sides to any crisis will always seek to market information that will promote and project their sides of the conflict in the best light to the public. They want to win public sympathy for their position. Most of the time, the process of doing so degenerates into open marketing of untruths that are harmful to the peace process. We all, and in particular, the media, must reject such wrong attitudes and take a stand on the side of truth.

The administration of Governor Ishaku has maintained an open door policy since inception and it will continue to do so. Media men should not allow themselves to be used by self-seeking politicians and champions of ethno-religious sentiments that destroy unity and promote misunderstanding. They must insist on sticking to the ethics of their profession in reporting sensitive issues such as crisis between ethnic groups. They inflame the crises by exaggerating the situation and presenting unverified information to the public as the truth. That was what the journalists did in the case of the recent crisis in Sarduana Local Government Area.

Now that the crisis is over, it is time to reflect on those unfortunate events. All sides in the conflict should look back and tell themselves the bitter truth. That truth is that crisis and conflicts are not good for any human society. They impede progress and destroy the collective desires and aspirations of the people. It was the reason Governor Ishaku made the attainment and sustenance of peace a cardinal programme of his administration. It is for these reasons he is never tired of preaching peace.

When he met with representatives of all the communities from Sarduana Local Government Council recently, he literally begged them to give up all the old hate sentiments that are always evoked to cause crisis. Taraba State has had enough of crises. The Mambilla Plateau, the greatest tourist destination in West Africa and the Nigerian hope for electricity power stability, cannot afford any more crisis. Nothing must be allowed to destroy those huge tourism and electricity power potential on the Mambilla. The impression must not be created that the Mambilla is unsafe for tourists.