By Ayuba Doekyil, Jamila Lateef and Martha Madwash
The Plateau State Honorable Commissioner of Education, Hon. Kak’mena Goteng Audu, while speaking at a street walk organized by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and Joint Campus Committee (JCC) has reassured the students that the government would not relax until it creates a peaceful atmosphere for learning and promised to be proactive in addressing challenges facing students within the State.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary of Plateau State Ministry of Higher Education, Mr Miri Jesse Nimyel, he also advised students to be agents of sustaining peace on the plateau and to shun every act of social vices, while also appreciating the effort and zeal of students at all level for organizing and coming out to participate in the event, most especially at this time where the State is battling with high rate of insecurity.
The event which kicked started in the early hours of the day at Gada-Biu overhead bridge on Friday, was declared opened by the NANS Chairman, Plateau State axis, Jeremiah Matthew Dalong, a student of University of Jos.
According to him, the event is not a protest but rather a means of creating awareness and appealing to both the government and citizens to end social vices on the Plateau and the country at large.
He further disclosed that due to the security threats going on, the University of Jos administration was forced to suspend academic activities for two weeks which did not sit down well with students. He condemned the ongoing cases of kidnapping, cultism and rape in Plateau State University, Bokkos, stating that they were the triggering factors that led to the organization of the protest.
Concluding his speech, he thanked students from the different tertiary institutions present for availing themselves for the protest and asked the everyone who came out for the street walk to remain law abiding as they proceed.
Also speaking at the event was the former NANS president, Comrade Prince Miaphen, who called on government at all levels to create a peaceful atmosphere for students, stating that security of lives is the primary duty of the government and that students have been suffering from the menace of insecurity and nonchalant attitudes of the government to address such challenges.
He appealed to the government to double the security operatives within all campuses, build parameter fencing, organize security seminars and talks for students as it will go a long way in curbing the security challenges within the campus.
Miss Gift Daniel, a Gender Director of NANS, JCC Plateau State Axis, spoke against rape and gender imbalance and called on the citizens, especially the men to shun any act of rape and treat women equally so as to create gender balance within the society.
Among those present at the event were the members of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), Nigerian Human Right Commission (NHRC), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the student representatives of various tertiary institutions within Plateau State.
