Resolve differences with dialogue, Buhari appeals to Plateau indigenes

By Lawrence Olaoye

President Muhammadu Buhari has called on the indigenes of Plateau state to shun violence and resolve their differences by dialogue.
In a statement made available to newsmen by his spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, yesterday, the President condemned the latest violence in Jos which led to the imposition of a curfew in the Plateau state capital.
In his reaction to the flare up, Buhari said, “I am deeply worried about the seeming indifference to the sanctity of life by criminals whose hearts are hardened by evil.”
The President recalled that through the last three and a half years of the present administration in the state, the government had worked very hard with various communities and clearly demonstrated that a lasting peace can be achieved.
“I know it is not an easy thing. It is a very difficult thing. But the resultant peace achieved by the people of Plateau state should not be squandered. Every citizen deserves stability and development. Peace has no alternative. It is my appeal to all the communities in the state capital, and the entire state as a whole to embrace peace. Where there are differences, dialogue should be used to bring about understanding. There is also the due process of the law. Differences cannot be resolved by abuses or by bullets.”
The President once again lamented that some politicians are promoting ethnic and religious prejudices for cheap popularity, despite the knowledge that such incitement could play into the hands of hate mongers.
He said his administration would continue to engage with stakeholders to address the root causes of this repeated violence in Plateau State and other parts of the country. He however warned that no responsible government would allow anarchy to replace law and order.