By; BUHARI B. BELLO, Jos
Plateau State Governor, Simon Bako Lalong has strongly advocated for the revival of cultural values in the country as a way of addressing the social ills that are fuelling insecurity in Nigeria.
He was speaking at his hometown of Ajikamai, Shendam LGA during the 2022 Bit Pol Cultural Festival.
Lalong said the level of moral decay is largely responsible for the breakdown of social order that is increasing violent crimes and criminality which is threatening national peace.
He said the celebration of cultural festivals such as the Bit Pol should provide an opportunity not only to reunite people, but also lead them to conduct soul-searching that will interrogate things that have led to the level of instability and violence in the country.
He urged Nigerians to strengthen their resolve to play a part in supporting the government to provide the needed leadership that will address the current insecurity in the country in 2022.
“No meaningful development can take place in an atmosphere of insecurity and chaos. That is why we continue to emphasize as a government that our people must not only live in peace with one another, but also be on alert to fish out criminal elements amongst them who constitute a threat. I have continuously admonished the traditional institution particularly at the grassroots level to be very proactive about security because they are the closest to the people.
“The challenges we face today by the activities of kidnappers, terrorists and other violent criminals means that we should be on our toes and stay ahead of them,” he said.
Lalong reminded the Ajikamai Community Development Association of the urgent need to mobilize all resources towards ensuring that they create job opportunities for youth to prevent them from getting into crimes.
He said apart from opportunities in the cities, there is a lot that can be done in the rural area because of agricultural potentials.
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Idris Wase, praised Governor Lalong for giving the necessary leadership to the state under the ruling APC which has attracted many Federal Projects to Plateau State including the Federal Polytechnic Ny’ak, cited in Ajikamai. He said the achievements of the APC in the State has further deepened the acceptability of the party among the citizens.
Chairman of the occasion, Rt. Hon. Yusuf Gagdi said Governor Lalong has shown that he is a true son of Ajikamai that is well groomed in the culture and tradition of the Gamai people by being honest, humble, hardworking and tolerant. According to him, the Governor has demonstrated the culture of hospitality and love to people of Plateau State and Nigeria at large by being fair and compassionate.
Senators Nora Dadu’ut and Hezekiah Dimka also commended the people of Ajikamai for raising a worthy son in Governor Lalong who has carried the State along and made giant strides in addressing major developmental projects across the entire State.
The Long Gamai Miskoom Martin Shandas III commended the organisers of Bit Pol for sustaining the festival and added that he was very happy by the level of cultural awakening in Gamailand which instills hope and prospect for a better future.
