Lagos — Plateau State which used to be a haven of peace, harmony and tourism buckled down under the last civilian administration amid large-scale ethno-religious crises whose ripple effects reverberated far beyond the confines of the State. The State was virtually on the precipice at the time the current administration came on board on May 29 this year. Nosike Ogbuenyi writes that the administration of Governor Jonah Jang has in a space of four months rekindled hope of a better future for the people on the plateau

From Wednesday 3rd to Saturday 6th October, 2007, Governor David Jonah Jang of Plateau State organized an orientation retreat for members of his government including legislators, commissioners, permanent secretaries, special advisers and special assistants to the governor. The three-day retreat which took place at the National Institute, Kuru, near Jos was an event used to reflect soberly on the problems of the immediate past in the State in order to appreciate the magnitude of the tasks ahead.

During the retreat, Governor Jang unfolded his 10-point agenda which he titled My Vision of Development: An Agenda for the Future of Plateau State. Top on the agenda is the attainment of sustainable peace and security in the State, governance and administrative reforms; education and human resource development; taxes and finances; agriculture, water resources and rural development. The rest are health; women, youth, sports and social development; tourism and urban governance; and ethical reorientation.

On attainment of sustainable peace and security in the State, the governor noted that the main task and constitutional duty of any government is to guarantee the security of life and property. To him, Plateau cannot simply afford another crisis.

Along this line, he declared that his government shall vigorously encourage appropriate mediation mechanisms, peace advocacy, sensitization, peace consolidation and monitoring. In particular, the administration, he added would support the noble activities of the Plateau State Inter-religious Council for Peace and Harmony.

Furthermore, the administration has embarked on a study of all previous reports on communal conflicts including the Plateau Peace Conference Report with a view to adopting the report where necessary. The new administration has also pledged to assist in rehabilitating displaced persons as part of the healing process. It has equally committed itself to providing security agencies with logistics support for effective patrolling and crime detection and prevention while encouraging community policing.

The great emphasis placed by the Jang administration on peace and security in Plateau is understandable. Between 2001 and 2005, the State was enmeshed in a series of untypical ethno-religious crises. The social strives effectively dislodged the State from its traditional enviable position as Nigeriaís most adorable abode of peace, harmony and tourism to a hotbed of sectarian crisis. Many fled the State in the tick of the crises as several lives and property were lost. What the Jang government is doing in the vital area of peace and security is a systematic programme of rediscovery and renewal of love and fellow feeling among the people of the State.

It was against this background that the new government embarked on what it terms ethical reorientation as a way of galvanizing the people for development. "It is the belief of the Jang administration that the task ahead of us is quite enormous and therefore all hands must be on deck to ensure a resounding success," says James Mannok, Director of Press and Public Affairs, Plateau State Government.

'For us to actualize the aforementioned policies, we must certainly resolve to imbibe core values of hard work, honesty, integrity, commitment to duty, respect for our traditions, loyalty to the State and the fear of God. Unless there is an attitudinal change, progress will be difficult, Mannok quoted Governor Jang as saying during the retreat.

Given the role of the traditional institution as custodians of the peopleís cultural heritage, the government has decided to accord them the respect they rightly deserve. "This administration shall ensure that the welfare of our traditional rulers is given the utmost attention to justify their time-honoured status and respect," the governor pledged. He likewise promised to ensure that aggressive public enlightenment on socio-cultural values, communal self-help programmes and projects are carried out. Also, the government would ensure that the ethical orientation and community mobilization unit in the ministry of information is effectively supervised.

Tourism is yet another vital sector which the Jang administration has prioritized. The Governor in doing this has recognized tourism as one of the world's leading industries today that creates wealth and promotes socio-economic development. Indeed, the significant contribution of tourism to national incomes makes it a viable tool for promoting economic well being. ìPlateau State is richly endowed with huge tourism potentials, which if properly harnessed and managed holds great promise as a major revenue earner for the State and the country. Many of the tourist attractions are in a poor state and need to be developed,' he declared.

The Jang administration has therefore come with the promise to focus attention on ways of tapping the full potentials of the tourism sector which it believes the State has comparative advantage in. Being a specialized industry, he promised that relevant professionals will be mobilized to nurture and maintain as well as see to the implementation of the relevant policies and programmes which the government has put in place. The other way he intends to boost tourism in the State is by exploring areas of collaboration and partnership with the Federal government as well as the organized private sector (OPS) so as to ensure efficient operation and sustainability.

Some of the tourism projects include the Jos Film City Project, Pandam Game Reserve, Kurra Falls and Asop Falls among others.

As the new administration battles to overcome the problems of the immediate past in Plateau State in order to move the State forward, there is every likelihood that success would be achieved by it. The diverse people of the State have undoubtedly learnt great lessons, suffered enormous losses and wasted countless opportunities. They have endured a near total collapse characterized by mismanagement of government resources with an external debt profile of over N89 billion. The State has passed through many ethno-religious conflicts and endured a state of emergency. It has also witnessed a series of impeachment moves on account of the betrayal of public trust culminating in the gradual loss of public confidence in governance and in government institutions and agencies.

'These experiences are indeed a challenge as well as a new opportunity for us as we patiently work towards building a new era of progress which requires turning away from old policies, values and practices that have failed us and embracing the responsibility to try better ways of doing things. Like a pregnant woman in labour who smiles on successful delivery, this State deserves a purposeful rekindling and purposeful fulfillment of better life for our people," Jang declared during the Kuru retreat. For the people of Plateau this appears to be a deserved hope rising.