Jos/Abuja — GOVERNOR Jonah Jang and the elders of Plateau State, including Hausa community leaders, were on Monday summoned to Abuja by Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, in a bid to find a permanent solution to the recurring violence in Jos.

Also in attendance at the meeting were Deputy Governor Pauline Tallen; former Governor Joshua Dariye, National Security Adviser, Sarki Muktar; Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) National President, John Onaiyekan; and the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa'adu Abubakar.

Others included federal Attorney General and Justice Minister, Michael Aondoakaa; former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Yayale Ahmed; Solomon Lar; Yahaya Kwande; Jeremiah Useni; Gbong Gwom Jos, Buba Gyang.

Declaring that "enough is enough," Jonathan told the gathering the mayhem in the state is embarrassing and must not be allowed to degenerate to the level Niger Delta region found itself in.

Said he: "Plateau as a Middle Belt state has served as a link between the North and the South, the Christians and the Muslims. Although there were minor social conflicts even in the time past, what we are witnessing recently is quite embarrassing and we all will collectively see how we can bring this to an end.

"What we have witnessed in 2008 and what has just happened last month, we will all collectively today resolve to make sure that they don't happen again, because the world is not just waiting for any sector or any part of the country.

"If Plateau continues to boil the way it is boiling, the local economy would be completely destroyed. If you move to some parts of the Niger Delta, areas that used to bubble before are now shadows of themselves, and we pray and believe that the situation in Plateau does not get to that level."

Jang cautioned highly placed individuals to stop making inflammatory statements, because "One of the major problems we have as a nation is the fact that our leaders are not patient to wait and hear two sides of a story before they make statements that will either help solve the problem or help to inflame the problem itself.

"Our press thinks the way to do journalism is to bastardise the whole country in the face of the whole world, calling leaders by all sorts of names, facts that they have not investigated."

Lar assured that Plateau remains "a good state" that will continue to accommodate all Nigerians, but he advised the press to help unite and build the state.

Kwande pointed out that the Hausa language is the link among all the 52 tribes of the state, and said no one tribe dominates the other but that religious sentiments have been used by weak politicians to recruit unemployed youths to promote selfish interests.

Onaiyekan and Abubakar both rejected claims that religion is the primary cause of the crisis in Jos.

The meeting ended with the setting up of a special 15-member Committee to devise a lasting solution to the violence

A statement issued by Jonathan's Media Assistant, Ima Niboro, announced Lar as Chairman and Kwande Co-chairman.

Other members of the Committee are Hannatu Chollom, John Samci, N. Gomwalk, Ibrahim Nakande, Fidelis Tapgun, John Shagaya, Ibrahim Mantu, Leo Dilkon, I.A. Kaigama, Dawud Balarabe, Fati Kyari, U. Abbas, and Saleh Hassan.

In the mean time, Air Force and Naval officers have been deployed on the streets of Jos following complaints of the presence of fake soldiers who bring in arms.

The deployment may also have been effected because of cries over indiscriminate shooting of innocent residents in their homes by soldiers.

Security in Jos remained tight on Monday, with check points mounted by troops to prevent hoodlums from causing more havoc.

Business activities have started peaking up, with banks on Ahmadu Bello and Murtala Mohammed Ways open for business.

Traders and buyers also returned to Terminus market.

However, Christian Coalition has alleged that the happening in Jos "bear the hallmarks of an al-Qaeda ideology."

The Coalition Spokesman, Musah Paul-Gindiri, urged the authorities to nip in the bud the activities of Islamic extremists who have invaded the Tin City.

He told a press conference in Jos that reports claiming that Plateau indigenes and the government hate Hausa and Muslims is false.

Paul-Gindiri noted that the Hausa have coexisted with their host communities for decades without problem.

He counselled that the government and the people "must resort to fervent prayers and seek to live righteous and holy lives so we can overcome the attacks of the enemy and be the light and hope of this nation."

He implored Muslim extremists to stop their "violent ethno religious, political, and expansionist Jihad and respect the people of their host state and allow them their rights to their choice of leaders, heritage, faith, and belief as enshrined in the Constitution."

Paul-Gindiri commended Jonathan for the concern shown through his visit, as well as Jang for his efforts to restore peace, "even in the face of resistance from those who do not want peace to reign."