Press Release:
The attention of the Honourable member, representing Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency, in the National Assembly, Haruna Maitala (Turakin Jere) has been drawn to an open letter in one of the national dailies with the above caption, purportedly written by one, Redzie D. Jugo regarding attacks and killings in Irigwe Community, in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Ordinarily, one would not have even contemplated joining issues with Mr. Jugo since in democracy; freedom of expression is encouraged as an essential ingredient of democratic culture. However, such expressions should be constructive and geared toward deepening our democracy.
A cursory look at Jugo’s open letter falls short of this democratic ethos as it is spurious, misplaced and malicious aimed at character assassination. The letter summarizes the best definition of mischief, more so, taking into cognizance the background of the author (a legal practitioner).
To further exhibit his motive, intent and the spirit behind the malicious machinations, Mr. Jugo dragged out Hon. Maitala of his constituency as a legislator and assigned him a military nomenclature with supreme command. He went further to deploy propaganda to demonize the Hon. Member to make him look crude, in-human and barbaric.
A discerning mind would appreciate this position when the following paragraphs in Jugu’s open letter quoted inter-alia below are keenly considered:
“You may be aware that on 19/04/20 at about 6:30 pm, inhabitants of Angwan Magaji, in Kamaru village were attacked, and for more than two hours the assailants destroyed and pillaged without interruption. Four people were killed, 38 houses and 86 rooms destroyed. This orgy of violence has become a constant feature in and around your constituency and your decisive inaction has been deafening. It has made me really wonder. Sir, are you in the know of the dastardly on goings in communities you swore to lead and protect?
Sir, are you aware that from January 2020 till date, the record shows a total of 33 attack incidents in which 22 communities were affected, with some of them attacked more than once? During this time under review, 104 farms were destroyed and a total of 44 people were killed, and 15 injured and hospitalized? And this is just 4 months into 2020; let us not discuss the same statistics prior to 2020. It is a painful exercise.
As I write this letter, Ancha that was attacked a few days ago, is suffering the same fate again?
Are you aware that for no explanation, personnel of the OPSH were removed and one of your constituents (Moses Gata) that dared to speak his mind about the removal was subjected to a traumatic abuse of his mind and body? And Sir, note that he is not alone in being abused in this fashion.
……….Sir, you have a choice to either throw yourself into the fray and make a difference or let your people keep dying while they keep hearing excuses from you. Bullets are killing them faster than the coronavirus is”.
Taking the above into account, Hon. Haruna Maitala, could be taken for a military commander that is given to a culture of mediocrity and Mr. Jugu is content to lay blame on him for his ineptitude. The paragraphs make it look as if Hon. Haruna Maitala (a legislator) is responsible for the security of his constituents but has remained despondent. This is not fair and unfortunate.
Mr. Jugu confirmed the power of telepathy when he revealed that Hon. Maitala’s visit to the paramount ruler of the Irigwe nation was perfunctory. He further queried the Hon. Member for not bothering to do a follow up inquiries and have an interface with the operation Safe Haven (OPSH), after his visit when he wrote:
Since you came back, after the COVID-19 downturn, apart from the perfunctory visit to the paramount ruler of the Irigwe Nation, did you bother to do follow up inquiries and have an interface with the OPSH leadership? Sir, if you have not, note that this is the kind of leadership that your people need at this time”.
This is an indictment on the OPSH suggesting that it needed to be reminded of its responsibility because it has not been living up to it. Also, it is another deliberate ploy to portray the Hon. Member in bad light before the vulnerable. This is more worrisome when one considers the fact that Mr. Jugu queried the Hon. Member four days after the OPSH commander, Major-General Chukwuemeka Okonkwo revealed approaches to end lingering crises in the state after his visits to traditional rulers including the paramount ruler of the Irigwe nation on April 26, 2020. Several mews sources quoted a press statement by the spokesman of the OPSH, Major Shittu Alao thus:
“Major-General Okonkwo stressed during his visit, that the Fulani and Irigwe communities in the state have vowed to embrace peace, calling on the public to cooperate with the OPSH by giving relevant and timely information to sustain its operation against banditry and other criminal activities in the state.”
In furtherance of his malicious intention, Mr. Jugu claimed Hon. Maitala granted The Daily Nigerian an interview on 13/04/2020 and said to have alluded to what is happening in his constituency “to be a clash or a dog fight between ethnic groups”. As far as the Hon. Member is concerned, the said interview and the statement credited to him only exists in the figment of Mr. Jugu’s imagination as he never granted interview to the medium under reference not to talk of making that statement.
It is laughable to read that Mr. Jugu was constrained to opt for the media to ventilate his view because Hon. Maitala has no functional office or had regular town hall meetings. From the above, Mr. Jugu has acknowledged that Hon. Maitala has a constituency office (of course, which is at No. 29, Murtala Mohammed Way, Jos, Jos North LGA) and has been having town hall meetings. However, the functionality of the office and the periodic nature of the town-hall meetings seem to be his concern. He has however, failed to tell the public the requirement to make a functional constituency office nor did he suggest a template for regular town-hall meetings. Consequently, the above can be deduced for yet another ploy to smear the good image of the Hon. Member.
In his final submission, Mr. Jugu wrote:
“Sir, do not forget that those who voted for you against the tide of expectations must have had hopes that your ascension to the House of Representatives will yield something positive for them. As it is, most of them have gone underground and do not have answers to our questions.
Sir, you can choose to make sure that history and posterity are kind to your legacy; that is, if there will be any worth talking about after you are done with this tenure: The choice is yours, Sir”.
It is instructive to note that Hon. Maitala’s victory at the polls was made possible by the Almighty through a team of committed people. Throughout the campaign period, none of them expressed desire of personal interest but rather, were all committed to the ideals and philosophy of the “LEGACY MOVEMENT” aimed at delivering dividends of democracy to the constituents. They are still committed to that cause.
Hon. Maitala believes that power comes from God. He is also luminously conscious that all of us will one day give account of our deeds to God and therefore, not keen in name writing in gold by humans.
He believes in peace and has lived all his life pursuing peaceful ventures. The Hon. member has constantly expressed disenchantment over the continued unabated killings in not only Irigwe Community, but in Plateau State and Nigeria in general. He has also constantly registered his deep-seated heartfelt sympathy to the victims of these attacks.
Hon. Maitala believes that no society can make meaningful progress under violence and criminality. He is of the view that we must not leave any stone unturned as we seek to find a comprehensive solution to the peculiar dynamics of our human existence.
Hon. Haruna Maitala always holds that as a people who believe in God (irrespective of religious affiliation), we must underscore our common humanity as we seek to find within the dictates of our faith, those essentials that define us as human beings irrespective of ethnic or tribal differences.
Joseph A Adudu
Media Consultant to
Hon. Haruna Maitala (Turakin Jere)
member representing Jos North/Bassa Fed. Constituency
in the National Assembly
May 07, 2020
Nasarawa Reporters 