Are Plateau Elders Ready to Implement Tinubu’s Peace Mandate?
Yemi Kosoko, in this piece, explores how President Bola Tinubu has placed the burden of ending Plateau state’s relentless cycle of bloodshed squarely on the shoulders of its elders, demanding leadership over excuses.
For nearly three decades, Plateau State has lived with a painful paradox: a land celebrated for its beauty, diversity, and hospitality, yet repeatedly scarred by cycles of violence that refuse to fade. Generations have grown up knowing both the warmth of its people and the cold shock of sudden conflict. Entire communities have rebuilt homes more times than they can remember. And through it all, one question has lingered: why does the violence keep returning?
In late April 2026, that question once again reached the highest levels of government. President Bola Tinubu summoned Plateau elders, political leaders, traditional rulers, and religious figures to the State House in Abuja. His message was unmistakably direct and unusually blunt. The time for excuses is over. Plateau must break the cycle of violence and deliver lasting peace.
The meeting followed the March 29, 2026 attack in Angwan Rukuba, one of several recent incidents that have shaken the state. But the President’s tone made it clear that he was not merely reacting to the latest tragedy. He was addressing a crisis that had festered for nearly 30 years, a crisis that had outlived administrations, outlasted commissions of inquiry, and outpaced the political will to confront it.
That urgency has only deepened in recent days. At least 11 people were killed in a renewed attack on Ngbra Zongo community in Kwall District of Bassa Local Government Area, plunging the area into fresh mourning. The assault, which occurred around midnight, was carried out by gunmen who reportedly invaded the community in coordinated groups, shooting sporadically and attacking residents with machetes and other weapons. Several others sustained injuries, while many families fled into nearby bushes to escape the violence. Community members described attackers moving from house to house, leaving residents in panic. Among the dead were three pregnant women, a community leader, and children as young as three. Survivors, including a pregnant woman, are receiving treatment for gunshot wounds and machete cuts.
Earlier last week, another wave of violence struck Barkin Ladi LGA, where gunmen attacked mourners during a mass burial in Nding Sesut community. The mourners had gathered to bury six victims, five members of the same family and another resident, killed in a late-night assault the previous day. According to community sources, the attackers stormed the burial ground and opened fire, sending people fleeing in panic. In neighbouring Riyom LGA, an attempted attack on Rim community was repelled by local vigilantes and personnel of Operation Rainbow. These repeated assaults have heightened fears among residents, many of whom say they are uncertain about returning to their homes or farms.
These fresh tragedies underscore the urgency of the President’s intervention and the need to confront the deeper forces driving Plateau’s instability.
Plateau’s recurring violence did not begin in 2026. Its roots stretch back to the 1994 Jos riots, the 2001 citywide clashes, the 2008 local government election crisis, and the waves of rural attacks that followed. Each outbreak left behind not only destruction and displacement but also a familiar ritual: the establishment of a commission of inquiry.
Over the years, these commissions have included the Fiberesima Commission of 1994, the Niki Tobi and Galadima Commissions of 2001, the Ajibola Commission of 2009, and several federal panels and reconciliation committees between 2009 and 2010. These bodies interviewed witnesses, documented grievances, identified perpetrators, and recommended reforms. Their reports were detailed, their findings consistent, and their recommendations clear. Yet, despite their thoroughness, implementation was rare. The result was a predictable pattern: crisis, commission, White Paper, no implementation, and then a new crisis.
It is this pattern that President Tinubu now wants Plateau’s elders to break.
The Abuja meeting brought together one of the broadest delegations of Plateau leaders in recent memory. Among those present were former Military Governor, Rear Admiral Samuel Atukum (Rtd); former Governors Fidelis Tapgun, Joshua Dariye, Jonah Jang, and Simon Lalong; former Minister, Dame Pauline Tallen; incumbent Governor, Caleb Mutfwang; APC national chairman, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda; traditional rulers, religious leaders, and legislators.
According to participants, the President’s message was both stern and urgent.
He approved N2 billion in federal support for victims of recent attacks, a gesture aimed at addressing immediate humanitarian needs and signalling federal commitment.
He challenged Plateau’s leaders to identify those behind the killings, warning that political convenience must not stand in the way of justice. He reminded them that if people are being recruited for conflict, leaders must examine themselves. It was a pointed reminder that violence does not grow in a vacuum. It requires enablers, financiers, and influencers, and some of them, the President implied, may be closer to home than many admit. He directed security agencies to pursue the planners and financiers of attacks, not just the foot soldiers.
For many observers, this was the strongest federal intervention in Plateau’s crisis in years. The President’s remarks echoed the findings of every major commission of inquiry on Plateau State. Across 1994, 2001, and 2008, the commissions identified the same root causes: weak security coordination, politicized local governance, indigene–settler tensions, youth militia mobilization, land disputes and territorial pressures, a culture of impunity, and deepening mistrust between communities. The commissions also offered solutions, many of which remain relevant today.
Yet, year after year, administration after administration, the recommendations gathered dust.
Tinubu’s intervention, therefore, is not just a call to action. It is a call to finish the unfinished work of past commissions.
Experts say the President’s mandate aligns with long-standing recommendations that Plateau has yet to implement. Governance reform will require making local government elections transparent, depoliticizing sensitive appointments, and strengthening conflict‑management capacity at the local government level.
It also demands addressing identity and structural issues by standardizing indigene certificate processes, guaranteeing basic rights for long‑term residents, and clarifying land and district boundaries. In addition, social cohesion and peacebuilding must be prioritized through the institutionalization of interfaith and interethnic councils, the integration of peace education into schools, the expansion of youth programs across diverse communities, and a deliberate effort to avoid inflammatory rhetoric. These are not new ideas; they are simply the unfinished work of past commissions.
By placing responsibility squarely on Plateau’s elders and leaders, the President has reframed the crisis. This is no longer just a security issue. It is a leadership issue. The elders who sat before the President represent decades of Plateau’s political, cultural, and spiritual authority. They have the influence to calm tensions, expose perpetrators, and rebuild trust, or to allow the cycle to continue. Tinubu’s message was clear: the federal government can support, but Plateau must lead.
Plateau stands at a moment of rare possibility. The President has opened a door. The commissions have mapped the path. The people have paid the price. What remains is the political will and the moral courage to act.
If Plateau leaders seize this moment, the state could finally begin to close the chapter on decades of violence. If not, the cycle may continue, and future generations will inherit the consequences. For now, the mandate is clear: break the cycle, finish the work, and deliver the peace Plateau has long been promised.
