The Special Adviser on Security to Plateau State Governor, Barr Caleb Mutfwang, Brig. Gen. G. Shipi (rtd), has raised a fresh controversy by insisting that the Fulani people are also indigenes of the state.
Gen. Shipi, who made the assertion during a one-day sensitization programme on peace and peaceful coexistence held at the Sharna Palace in Jos, condemned long-held claims by natives that the Fulanis are visitors and strangers who have no right to lay claim to being indigenous people of the state.
At the gathering, which had in attendance men and women of Fulani extraction from all 17 local government areas of the state, the Security Adviser said those who claim that members of the Fulani group are not indigenes of the state should be disregarded, urging them to recognize that the Fulani are an integral part of the state.
According to Gen. Shipi, the Fulani people have as much stake in the state as the so-called natives and should not be regarded as strangers.
While addressing the gathering, he said: “If people try to push you out, try to bring yourself back because you are indigenes of the state. Are you not? Nobody should tell you that the state doesn’t belong to you. Whoever says you are not from the state, tell them no, you belong to the state.”
Continuing, the Security Adviser stated: “Whenever something happens, you see people rushing to inform the soldiers or the police, but they will not tell me or the Plateau Peace Building Agency.
“We are the representatives of the government, not the soldiers. If your cattle are rustled or killed and you don’t tell us but rush to GOC, later you say the government has not done anything about it. You didn’t tell the government.
“Soldiers are representatives of the federal government and not the state government. I always advise you to inform me when something happens to you. Yes, the soldiers and the police are doing their best, but they have their limitations.
“People are recruited based on their states. If there are Fulani who want to join the military, bring their names. We will include them in the list for Plateau State.“
Gen. Shipi also urged the Fulani people to enroll their children in schools, stressing that education is very important to the development of their community, state, and the country at large, and emphasizing the need for people to forget the past and ensure they live peacefully with one another.
