The Special Adviser on Security to Plateau State Governor, Brig. Gen. G. Shipi (rtd), has stirred fresh debate over indigeneship in Plateau by declaring that the Fulani community are not strangers but indigenes of the state.
Gen. Shipi made the assertion during a one-day sensitization programme on peace and peaceful coexistence, held at the Sharna Palace in Jos, where Fulani men and women drawn from all 17 local government areas of the state were in attendance.
Condemning the perception that Fulani people are outsiders with no indigenous rights in Plateau, the Security Adviser insisted they are an integral part of the state and should be recognized as such.
“If people try to push you out, try to bring yourself back because you are indigenes of the state. Are you not? Nobody should tell you that the state doesn’t belong to you. Whoever says you are not from the state, tell them no, you belong to the state,” he told the gathering.
Gen. Shipi further urged the Fulani to channel grievances through appropriate state structures instead of relying solely on security operatives.
“Whenever something happens, you see people rushing to inform the soldiers or the police, but they will not tell me or the Plateau Peace Building Agency. We are the representatives of the government, not the soldiers. If your cattle are rustled or killed and you don’t tell us but rush to GOC, later you say the government has not done anything about it. You didn’t tell the government,” he said.
He explained that while the military and police are doing their best, they represent federal authorities, not the state government, stressing that security challenges should also be reported through official state channels.
On youth engagement, the Security Adviser encouraged members of the Fulani community to submit names of those interested in joining the military through the state government for inclusion in Plateau’s recruitment quota.
He also urged parents to prioritize education for their children, noting that schooling remains key to the community’s development and to fostering peace across the state.
