Jang blames Boko Haram problem on insensitivity to Plateau crises

HAD Nigerians listened to the cries and complaints of Plateau State over the involvement of foreigners in the crises in the state and addressed the situation, the insurgence in the North and other parts of Boko Haram country would have been nipped in the bud.
The state governor, Jonah Jang, stated this when Mr Martins Brian, Charge D’ Affairs, American Embassy in Nigeria, visited him in Jos.
Jang said the state government’s cries on many occasions as regards the involvement of foreign mercenaries in the crises in the state were dismissed as sentiment until other states in the North started having similar experience.
“Plateau State, like any other part of the country, especially the North, has its own challenges. Our challenges started many years ago when the military was in power. “When I came in, I always believed that as a retired general, I should be able to resolve the problems even though we had been misunderstood on this issue. Maybe if we had been given audience from the beginning, the insurgence in the North would have been arrested.
“When we started reporting about foreigners getting involved in the crises here, no one believed us. I have been vindicated; what we were trying to stop here escalated and developed into Boko Haram which some parts of the North are suffering today,” he said.
According to him, during the crises, some people reported the state to the International Criminal Court alleging genocide, but investigations showed that nothing like that happened in the state.
Governor Jang, who said terrorism had become a global phenomenon, urged the United States of America to help Nigeria in arresting its menace.
The governor said peace had returned in his state and commended President Goodluck Jonathan and security agencies for their efforts at ensuring that things took shape again in the state.
Earlier, Brian said the US was interested in peace in Nigeria and was ready to show cooperation in this regard.
He said that several meetings were held with civil society groups and the government towards achieving peace.
He said the US understood that Nigeria was having security challenges and that was why it was partnering with the country to find lasting peace.
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