Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang has asserted that Nigeria’s enduring security challenges are largely the result of manipulations by the country’s elite, accusing them of sowing and sustaining divisions that have torn communities apart for decades.
Speaking at a stakeholder dialogue titled “Community Policing as a Panacea for Insecurity in Nigeria: The Case of Plateau State”, Mutfwang did not hold back in pointing fingers at the political and intellectual class, whom he believes bear a significant share of the blame for the country’s instability.
“My theory is that, more than anybody else, the challenges of insecurity in Nigeria are an elite-created problem,” he said. “When the elite conspires to lead the people in the wrong direction, we will continue to have this perennial crisis.”
He explained that while local communities might be the first to absorb divisive messages, the tone is often set by those in higher positions of influence.
“Many a time, you’ll find that even when the poisoning of the mind begins in the community, when the elite take leadership and say it must stop, they’ll address it adequately and it will stop,” Mutfwang stated. “But when the elite fan the embers of hate… they begin to spew knowledge, information, and poison the minds of ordinary people—then it will be sustained.”
Calling for urgent introspection among Nigeria’s ruling and intellectual class, Mutfwang appealed for a unified effort to promote tolerance and end narratives rooted in division.
Reaffirming his own government’s priorities, the governor stressed that his administration is actively working to remove long-standing religious and ethnic barriers that have stifled development and peace in Plateau State.
“As I stand before you today, I want to reiterate that I came into government with a firm resolve to restore lasting peace to Plateau,” he said. “That is why I have deliberately sought to bridge the divides we’ve built across religion and ethnicity.”
In a bold claim, Mutfwang said no Plateau governor since the dawn of the Fourth Republic has done more to promote unity than his administration.
“Yet, as recent as yesterday, I received reports of being labelled in certain influential circles. Still, I beat my chest and say, without fear of contradiction, that I have done more than any governor since 1999 in building peace and unity on the Plateau.”
His comments come amid a resurgence of violent attacks in Plateau, Benue, and other northern states, reigniting debates over the root causes of Nigeria’s insecurity and the role elites play in either exacerbating or resolving it.
