Residents of Jos, the Plateau State capital have expressed disappointment that the visit of the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, to Jos on Thursday, did not give them much hope on the security situation in the state.


Many residents of the city who spoke to SUNDAY PUNCH on Friday said they had expected that the President would have made a concrete statement on the security situation in the state so as to give them confidence and hope.


Acting Director, Centre for Conflict Management and Peace Studies of the University of Jos, Prof Audu Gambo, and a lecturer in the centre, Mr. Joseph Longmang, who spoke to our correspondent in separate interviews, said the president did not use the opportunity of the visit to address security which was the most critical need of the people of the state.


Gambo said, “What the ordinary citizen of Plateau expected at this time, beyond the rhetoric of politicking, is that the president should have made a categorical and firm statement on how to restore peace on the Plateau. Instead of addressing critical issues like security that will give the people hope in the face of the recurring crises in the state, his visit left the people of the state disappointed.”


Gambo also expressed disappointment that even Governor Jonah Jang had not taken the issue of security very seriously.


Longmang, who shared Gambo’s opinion, said the president should have used the opportunity to lay a foundation for a lasting peace on the Plateau.


He said, “I quite appreciate the fact that the president was on a state visit and, as such, should perform a state function, but given the situation on the Plateau, we had expected that his visit would give a semblance of peace in the face of the degenerating security situation in the state. Perhaps he should have taken a step, which might not have been taken in the past to lay the foundation for peace.


“If I were the president, I would have taken the opportunity of the visit to the Gbong Gwom’s Palace to take a walk along Moshalasi Juma’a to assure the residents that the government is there for them.


“I should have equally used that opportunity to organise a peace meeting where I will be the chairman, where I will use my paraphernalia of office to engender a lasting peace, considering the fact that this is no longer a Plateau problem. This will create a very big impression that government is abreast of the situation in the state. It will not give people the impression that what the president is interested in is only in their votes.”


Longmang noted that if the president had done all these and even talked about his meeting with stakeholders, it would lay a solid foundation for sustainable peace in the state.


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