Tinubu’s counsel on inclusion key to peace in Plateau

For more than two decades, Plateau State has remained one of Nigeria’s most difficult theatres of communal violence. Once celebrated as the Home of Peace and Tourism, the state has instead become synonymous with recurring bloodshed, shattered communities and deepening mistrust. Governments have changed, commissions of inquiry have come and gone, white papers have gathered dust, security operations have been intensified, yet peace has remained frustratingly elusive.

That is why President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent intervention during his meeting with Plateau leaders in Abuja deserves close attention. Of all the prescriptions offered over the years, his may well be the one that goes closest to the heart of the problem. His message was neither complicated nor revolutionary. It was simply that lasting peace can only flourish where there is inclusion, tolerance, justice and a genuine sense of belonging for every citizen.

The President reportedly told the Plateau delegation to return home with open minds, heal old wounds and find a permanent solution to the conflict. More importantly, he challenged them to embrace “tolerance for every inhabitant,” insisting that every leader must first examine himself before blaming others for the cycle of violence. He urged them to stop allowing ethnic, religious and political divisions to define their relationships and instead work together to build an inclusive society.

Daily Trust believes this prescription deserves to be embraced one hundred per cent.

The tragedy of Plateau is that a crisis once largely viewed through the prism of farmer-herder disputes has gradually mutated into something far more dangerous. Today, it is entangled in religious identities, ethnic loyalties and the toxic indigene-settler dichotomy. Communities that once lived peacefully as neighbours increasingly view one another through the lens of suspicion. Every fresh attack reinforces old prejudices, making reconciliation even more difficult. Yet history tells a different story.

For generations, Christians and Muslims lived side by side across Plateau. Berom, Afizere, Anaguta, Mwaghavul, Ron, Tarok, Hausa, Fulani and many other ethnic nationalities traded together, farmed together and celebrated together. Markets flourished because diversity was regarded as an asset rather than a threat. Families grew up without seeing neighbours as strangers. Somewhere along the line, politics, fear and repeated violence poisoned those relationships.

The result is a society where exclusion has become institutionalised. Entire communities feel alienated from governance, while others believe they alone possess legitimate ownership of the land. Such perceptions, whether historically justified or not, create fertile ground for resentment, manipulation and violence.

President Tinubu appears to have recognised this uncomfortable reality. Rather than reducing Plateau’s tragedy to a purely security problem, he framed it as a challenge of shared citizenship. Security agencies can suppress violence temporarily, but no number of soldiers can manufacture trust where people feel excluded from public life. That is why inclusion must become the cornerstone of Plateau’s peace architecture.

Inclusion means ensuring that every law-abiding citizen, irrespective of religion or ethnic origin, enjoys equal opportunities and equal protection under the law. It means appointments that reflect the state’s diversity. It means development projects that reach every community. It means recognising that citizenship carries both rights and responsibilities, and that no Nigerian should feel like a permanent outsider in the place he has called home for decades.

Political appointments are not merely administrative decisions. They are powerful symbols of acceptance. When communities see themselves represented in government, confidence grows. When they are systematically excluded, grievances deepen.

The same principle applies to traditional institutions, local administration, youth engagement and economic opportunities. Peace cannot thrive where large sections of society believe they have no stake in the future.

Equally significant was the President’s reported emphasis on changing public attitudes through sustained engagement. Peace is not achieved only by deploying troops or setting up more committees. It is sustained when citizens begin to see one another not as enemies but as partners with a shared destiny. That requires continuous dialogue, civic education, interfaith cooperation, responsible media engagement and deliberate efforts to correct dangerous stereotypes that have accumulated over many years.

The recent report submitted by the Strategic Committee on the Plateau crisis, chaired by former Governor Joshua Dariye, rightly acknowledged that the state’s security challenges are multidimensional and that previous recommendations often failed because implementation was weak. That diagnosis is correct. Plateau does not suffer from a shortage of reports. It suffers from a shortage of political courage to implement them consistently and fairly.

Governor Caleb Mutfwang has also indicated that the committee’s report will be subjected to broader stakeholder consultation. That is encouraging. However, the value of the exercise will ultimately depend on whether the implementation faithfully reflects the spirit of the President’s intervention. If inclusion, reconciliation and shared citizenship remain mere slogans, another valuable report may simply join the long archive of forgotten documents.

The federal government has already demonstrated goodwill by approving N2 billion in relief support for victims and promising rehabilitation of critical federal roads in the state. These commitments should be matched by equally bold actions from Plateau’s political, religious and traditional leadership. They must rise above sectional interests and speak with one voice against violence, irrespective of the identity of victims or perpetrators.

The responsibility extends to community leaders as well. They must reject inflammatory rhetoric, discourage reprisals and ensure that grievances are addressed through dialogue rather than vengeance. Every avoidable act of exclusion Today becomes tomorrow’s security challenge.

Plateau now stands at a defining crossroads. It can continue travelling the familiar road of suspicion, exclusion and recurring bloodshed, or it can embrace the more difficult but ultimately rewarding path of inclusion, justice and reconciliation.

Daily Trust believes President Tinubu has pointed the state in the right direction. His prescription deserves not selective implementation but wholehearted adoption. Plateau’s leaders should seize this opportunity to prove that peace is not an impossible dream but a deliberate choice.

If they faithfully implement this philosophy of inclusion, Plateau may finally reclaim its rightful identity as Nigeria’s true Home of Peace and Tourism rather than its enduring symbol of communal conflict.

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