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CHAT WITH PLATEAU STATE COMMISSIONER FOR WOMEN AFFAIRS AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, BARRISTER OLIVIA DAZYEM

TMV- We wish to congratulate you upon your recent appointment as Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development and also upon your recent award. How do you feel about it?

DAZYAM- Well I want to thank you so much for the opportunity you have given to me to hear from us about what we are doing.

TMV- What exactly does the Ministry for Women Affairs and Social Development do?

DAZYAM- Thank you so much. The Ministry of Women Affairs, you know as the name suggests a lot of people just think that the Ministry of Women Affairs has responsibilities only for women, but our responsibilities focuses on these categories of people: women, children, persons with disabilities, and the elderly, especially the vulnerable members of our society. You can see that this is a lot, bringing service to women; women mostly as you are aware are the less privileged in our society in terms of everything. Is it in terms of their rights, is it economic opportunities, is it vulnerability in terms of reproduction, the fact that the women they are the ones that carry pregnancies, they bring children to the world and they have more of the responsibilities to take care of children as they grow up. We are happy that there’s child rights law in Plateau State following in the footsteps of the nation. Of course we have the Child Rights Act 2003 and for us in Plateau State we also have that law on ground part of the responsibility of the ministry is to ensure that child’s rights are protected through the instrumentality of this law.

TMV- There has been a lot of agitation from women about gender equality, especially in political appointments. How would you score the Jang’s administration?

DAZYAM- I think I will score him 100%, you know just like I would score the President, Jonathan Ebele Goodluck. Let me be very honest with you for us in Plateau State the governor is a person who is deeply passionate about the issues that concerns women. As I can confirm to you, he has made: four female Commissioners, go to our neighbouring states here they manage to have Women Affairs Commissioner and that is all just one female Commissioner but for us four, not to talk of female Permanent Secretaries I think they are eight, we also have women heading government boards and parastatals. Look at, we have a female Minister representing Plateau and she is doing wonderfully well. The recent nominee of our governor for the position of ambassador is a woman; I think he is leaving nobody in doubt about what he feels about women involvement in decision-making.

TMV- What are some of the programmes that Jang’s administration has put in place to better the lives of women in the state?

DAZYAM- For this year, in our budget he was very clear about it that this time for the Ministry of Women Affairs our programmes will receive full attention and we are very grateful to him for that. We have programmes lined up to create awareness and a lot of key issues ranging from women’s rights, challenges that confront women, women with HIV/AIDS you know a lot of these things that will create awareness on how women can get themselves economically empowered, we have a lot of these programmes about giving training to these women; apart from the fact that we need to create awareness on the rights of women; get other people involved; get even men involved and youths involved that there’s the need for women to bring out the full potentials that they have because they are part of development. We have made provision for that in the budget and thank God that even at exco level that scaled through. I have also made provision for loan, grants that will be given to women to boost the small-scale economic activities that they are involved in. We have only one skill acquisition centre in the state which is in Mangu local government the Widowhood Vocational Training Centre now we intend to have for the three zones so we have made arrangements for having one in the Northern Zone and one in the Southern Zone to create opportunities for women and even orphans to go in there and acquire some form of skill that will make them stand on their own so that they can actually employ themselves and also employ others. We have also made provisions in this year’s budget you know this building (the structure housing the Ministry for Women Affairs) that you are seeing, we intend it to be a business center wherein women will come with various things they have been able to make with their hands to display them here and to also have outlets for selling them even for international organizations, even for local organizations to come and see and patronize these women.

TMV- Digressing a bit from the Activities of the Ministry of Women Affairs, some say the recent imposition of state of emergency on some parts of the state is politically motivated, what’s your take on that?

DAZYAM- Honestly, I have given it a very big thought and like we all know a lot of people have actually been crying out about imposition of state of emergency in this state, the truth about how I see the problem in Plateau state is that we do not cause problem in Plateau state but all the crises that have affected us in Jos are attacks from outside, because you have not heard another community going to attack another community, you have not heard Barkin Ladi going to attack Riyom; we have not heard Mangu going to attack Bokkos, you have not heard attacks that are within and I have the firm belief that the Boko Haram does not reside here so all the attacks that we have had came from outside.

By V.AL-PEA

The Federal Government’s declaration of State of Emergency, which is to affect few local governments in Borno, Yobe, Plateau, and Niger remains unclear to many Nigerians as The Messenger Voice (TMV) found out.

President Goodluck Jonathan, who made this declaration in a New Year nationwide broadcast on the security challenges in the country quoted 305 (1) of the constitution, which empowered him to make the declaration and it was sent to the National Assembly for consideration.

Speaking with some political analysts in Jos, it is clear that President Jonathan took a different approach than President Obasanjo when he declared a State of Emergency on Plateau State over seven years ago. Instead of declaring it over the entire states, he restricted it to specific local governments.  Still, President Jonathan did not explain the details of the emergency action. No one knows if the president plans massive deployments of security forces to the area. Some Birom natives are also concerned about the deployment of Hausa military officers to their villages since they are part of the jihad, which forced the emergency,

President Jonathan also urged the political leadership of the affected areas to give maximum cooperation to law enforcement agencies deployed to the affected communities to ensure that the situation is brought under control within the shortest possible time. He also said that the closing of Nigerian borders is a temporary measure aimed at restoring lasting peace. However, Jonathan did not explain how the federal government would root out large contingents of Hausa jihadists from neighboring Niger, Chad, and Cameroon Republics.

Reacting to the declaration, Gyang Pwajok of the Pleateau State government said they are still awaiting further clarification from the federal government. Nevertheless, Pwajok said that the declaration would help curb attacks on vulnerable Plateau villages.

Plateau State Association Press Release

Washington, DC, December 27, 2011 – The Plateau State Association (PSA) – USA condemns in the strongest possible terms the appalling Christmas Day attacks in Nigeria. These cowardly attacks have claimed innocent lives and injured many more. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims, and we wish a speedy recovery to those injured.

We are dismayed that Plateau State has yet again been the scene of terrorist outrage. Failure to bring perpetrators of these recurring dastardly acts to justice, coupled with the yet-to-be-implemented countless investigative reports, have undoubtedly fed into the culture of impunity that pervades our land.

While details of these latest attacks are still unclear, this is indisputably an act directed against innocent civilians. PSA calls on the Federal and State Governments to act promptly in identifying and bringing the perpetrators of these atrocious attacks to justice.

Plateau State Association (PSA) – USA, is a US-based 501 (c) 3 non-profit association. The aim of the association is to foster relations between indigenes of Plateau and to help in the development of the state in terms of economic, health and education for the overall wellbeing of its people. PSA is a non-political, non-religious association governed by an Executive Board and a Board of Trustees.

By V. AL-PEA

The removal of fuel subsidies by the Nigerian Federal government sparked waves of protest around the country. Nevertheless, only one protest was reported in Plateau State. By the time we made it to the scene of the unrest, the protesters had dispersed.

We will be on the lookout for any future protests in Plateau State and the The Middle Belt.

By House Member, Rep Bitrus B. Kaze Representing Jos South and Jos East

Only recently, precisely on 24th July, 2011 in Arewa House, Kaduna, the SCSN President, Dr. Ibrahim Datti Ahmad vowed that Muslims would defend the implementation of the Islamic banking system “with the last drop of their blood.” “Jaiz bank has come to be and there is nothing they can do about it and if we have to go to war on this, we’ll go to war… Whatever they call themselves, whether archbishops, priests or whatever they are, let them stop disturbing our lives… We’ll meet fire with fire if they make the Jaiz bank impossible.”

Not quite long thereafter, again in Kaduna on 28th July 2011 the Alh. Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto’s made his first public reaction since the emergence of the Boko Haram Islamic fundamentalists, “Most of the crises in the Northeast are not caused by Boko Haram sect… Stop blaming every violence on Boko Haram” he said.

However, on the Christmas day bombings in the country JNI and SCIA headed by the same Sultan of Sokoto claimed that “The perpetrators of the Christmas Day blasts in all parts of the country have done their evil acts not on behalf of the Nigerian Muslims or Islam. Boko Haram that claimed responsibility has done so on their own not on behalf of the Nigerian Muslims.”

I am not surprised by these attacks at all, certain prominent Nigerian Islamic leaders have been beating drums of war. It doesn’t make any difference if Boko Haram massacred innocent worshipers including women and children on their own behalf or on the behalf of Nigerian Muslims or Islam. Not all Nigerian Muslims are Boko Haram but all Boko Haram are Nigerian Muslims and the Leader of Nigerian Muslims is the Sultan of Sokoto. It is certainly contradictory for the Sultan having absolved Boko Haram of any violence to turn round and say Boko Haram did not act on behalf of the Nigerian Muslims or Islam. Why was he defending them in the first place?

Also, I find divisionary that the Sultan is calling for implementation of past Judicial Commission of Inquiry reports on Jos and the North East violence. What have reports on the Jos Crisis and crises in Northen Easter got to do with massive killings on innocent worshipers in a Church in Madala? What is the Sultan’s interest in the Solomon Lar report and not say the Bola Ajibola Judicial Commission of Inquiry Report headed by a fellow Muslim and a Jurist of International repute?

Their lame attempts to down play religion when nobody has accused them is ridiculous to me, the several Churches that were bombed were attacked on Christmas Day. Why for example has the Boko Haram never bombed any Mosque on Sallah day? Nigerians now know better and we are being vindicated by the day, the Jos crisis is not really about indigeneship/settlership dichotomy nor is it because of poverty or unemployment. I concur with the Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor who said, “Let us not deceive ourselves, as good as religion is, it can be a terrible thing because it is only religion that can give a man the conviction to do this kind of thing.” How else can one explain the Madala massacre?

By NJN

Like the bomb attack in Suleja, Niger State, six churches were also targeted in Adamawa State. Fortunately the police were tipped about the bombs, which were reportedly timed to go off about 10:30, the peak of Christmas morning services.

The intelligence received was not specific, thus police officers were dispatched to several churches where they began to comb for explosives. While searching the churches, explosives were discovered and diffused by the bomb squad, potentially saving many lives

The six bombs were planted by Boko Haram in Mubi, a Fulani Emirate. While all the Mubi church bombs were safely detonated by the police, there was an explosion at a hotel which injured one lady.

It is safe to say that the timing, quantities and locations of the church bombs in Mubi would have claimed more souls than the Suleja, attacks.

Four people have been arrested in connection with a Christmas day bombing that took place at the Mountain on Fire Ministries, Murtala Mohammed Way Jos, Plateau State capital.

While briefing newsmen, spokesman of the Special Task Force (STF) Captain Charles Ekeocha said that the incident occurred after nearly all the visitors had gone home after service. He noted that two explosions damaged three vehicles parked on the church. “Although the situation has been brought under control, we lost one policeman. We have made four arrests and I thank God that this is headway because we can use them to get more information”. TMV also gathered that four unexploded devices were discovered at the scene and were defused by the anti bomb squad.

A member of the STF who spoke to TMV on condition of anonymity said that the first explosion occurred at the residence of some Hausa citizens about twenty meters away from the church. “Immediately we heard the first explosion, which alerted us, we quickly distributed ourselves. And a gun battle that lasted over an hour ensued between us and the attackers”. He further said the police officer who lost his life was killed in the gun battle.

While another police intelligence officer corroborated the above information, he added that the gunmen escaped into Gangare, a heavily Hausa populated community, which was located close to Mountain Fire Ministries. According to the officer, the four men that were arrested are still being investigated to see if they were connected with the bomb plantings and the gunmen who exchanged fire with security officers.

As already reported by other news outlets, similar bomb explosions claimed several lives at the St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madala area of Suleja, Niger State. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said that the explosion occurred in a street just outside the church and did not disclose the number of casualties. Other attacks targeting security operatives were also reported in Damaturu, Yobe State. Speaking for the Plateau State Government, Special Adviser on Media Pam Ayuba condemned the attacks during a visit to the scene of the incident.

You should note that flyers warning of possible bomb attackS circulated around Jos a week before Christmas. However, the STF dismissed the information on the flyers as rumors, claiming they were on top of the situation.