September 08, (THEWILL) – Apart from the sharp focus, sense of duty and executive activism of the new management of the Jos Metropolitan Development Board led by Hart Bankat, the coming into being of the popular and well received Executive Order 003 has set the tone and momentum to refurbish and renew the environmental appeal of the Jos–Bukuru Metropolis and, to a larger extent, revalidate the corporate claim of the state as a tourism haven, or, as it is popularly put, “the home of peace and tourism”.
Prior to the Mutfwang era and intervention, Jos and its environs had degenerated into a classic case of failure of town planning and environmental malfeasance. With chaotic street trading and hawking at the city centre and erecting of illegal structures along different streets and the famous Terminus area of Jos, the state capital was already looking like an an urban slum. The immediate past administration worsened the situation when it turned what was already a discernible disaster into an issue of political bargain and cheap talk by permitting disorderly street trading and violation of environmental order as a solution and alternative to the burnt Jos Terminus Market that has been lying in ruins since 2002.
To clear the rot and the rust, the Mutfwang administration did not just conceive, formulate and launch the Executive Order 003, the traders and all the vital stakeholders in the daily activities around the Terminus area of Jos, including churches and mosques, were duly contacted and engaged and persuaded to appreciate and understand why the environment around them needs to be sanitised and the security implications of having a planned and regulated environment.
After successful talks and negotiations, the Mutfwang administration secured the understanding of the stakeholders, with the signing of the Executive Order 003 giving legal impetus to the reforms which have significantly restored order by ending indiscriminate street trading and banning wayside display of wares within defined areas, and removal of illegal structures that had defaced the aesthetics of the city centre.
Four months of implementing the urban governance order, there is much to show for it: the chaotic and hazy traffic that used to characterise the Terminus area and render it vulnerable to insecurity has since been vacated; and traders have adjusted to a new culture of orderliness and environmental sanity which has made the Terminus area more habitable and conducive for all legitimate businesses in recent times.
The richest and greatest joy of the implementation of the executive order is the manner it has reinvented and re-launched the burnt famous Jos Terminus International Market which is flourishing in the remainder of the damaged structure. While some traders have returned to use the surviving part of the damaged structure, Mutfwang showed uniqueness and ingenuity as part of the space was resurfaced, and is being used as a terminal for the resuscitated Jos Metro City Transport buses (cheerfully and cheerily nicknamed ‘Mutfwang’), themselves part of the broader urban renewal concept to ease the movement of persons, goods and services in and around the Jos-Bukuru metropolis.
Driving or moving around Jos and its environs on Fridays and Sundays has once again become a delightful and delectable experience, thanks to the implementation and aftermath of the urban convenience and peace renewal order. Hitherto, especially since bombing and violent attacks on churches became a feature of insurgents and Boko Haram horror and terrorism in Northern Nigeria some ten years ago, mosques and churches started blocking streets and roads in Jos during worship hours as part of self-help and safety measures.
However, during the negotiations and engagements that preceded the enforcement of the urban governance order, the Mutfwang administration, in the face of verifiable security arrangements and safety measures put in place, got all Churches and Mosques to remove barricades and allow public roads to be free for traffic while worship goes on. As at press time, there has been no report of any Church or Mosque violating the new order during worship hours since it commenced.
During an interface with youth groups and their representatives after the End-Bad-Governance protests, Governor Mutfwang spoke on the humanitarian component of the Executive Order 3 to the effect that it is still fully operational, except that the aspect of demolishing illegal structures has been put on hold as the government has agreed on the need to provide community or neighbourhood markets to enable businesses relocate and concentrate there. Once this is achieved, he explained, the enforcement agency, namely the Jos Metropolitan Development Board, will resume demolition of illegal structures in fulfilment of the philosophy of the new order to provide and enforce urban governance and city ethics.
On the cost of governance and transparency in government operations which were basic issues in the agenda submitted to government by the End-Bad- Governance Protest youths, Mutfwang dismissed claims of certain funds allegedly disbursed to the States by the federal government, and assured that any palliatives received by the State government are duly distributed to the people, and noted that his government since inception has observed transparency and accountability as canons and pillars of faith in service to the people.
Also critical to the urban renewal programme is the reinvigorated culture and policy of sanitation and sanitary way of life throughout the State. The Plateau Environmental Protection and Sanitation Agency, PEPSA, has been proactive under the new general manager, Samuel Nathaniel Dapiya, whose crest of service is embellished with the message: “a clean environment is a shared responsibility”.
Since assumption of office, Dapiya has ensured that the State-wide monthly sanitation exercise is observed without fail. A release from the PEPSA and signed by the general manager in respect of last month’s sanitation exercise stated in part: “it is your responsibility to maintain the cleanliness of your properties and the surrounding streets. Keeping our environment clean is vital to ensuring a healthy and safe community for all”.
In spite of the foregoing mobilization and general alert, the release also emphasized that “PEPSA will be conducting inspections monthly to enforce sanitation regulations….make sure that your premises, including streets and drains, are clean and well maintained”.
The tragedy and agony of last July in Saints Academy, Jos, in which the school’s two-storey building collapsed and left human casualties met with the disciplinary and regulatory teeth of the Executive order 003 quite instantaneously. Not only were the sub-standard structures of the School brought down immediately by the JMDB, a devastated, pained, and grieving Governor Mutfwang pronounced immediate closure of the School to any form of business during his inspection visit to confirm the ramifications of the tragedy. He also used the occasion to outlaw illegal mining activities and their environmental degradation effects, and ordered the security operatives to arrest any defaulters of this without recourse to bureaucracy and protocol.
The entire process or programme of Plateau renaissance by the Mutfwang administration is apparently predicated on the principle that ‘development can only take place in an atmosphere of peace’. His administration has been up and doing in providing security in vital areas and flash points of crises in the State. In the most recent times, the state government’s effective interface and collaboration with the security agencies paid off well as the State recorded arguably the best handling and management of the End-Bad-Governance protests that rocked the country to its foundations last month.
Unconfirmed reports indicate that the Mutfwang administration plans to resume roads and culverts rehabilitation and construction as soon as the rains recede. Plateau State residents also hope that the peace initiatives in place will consolidate and endure to give the gains of the Executive Order 003 the atmosphere and latitude to flourish and sparkle.
