The Special Adviser on Security and Homeland Safety to the Plateau State Governor, Brig.-Gen. G. Shipi (rtd), has dismissed claims that he described the Fulani people as indigenes of the state.
Shipi came under heavy criticism earlier in the week following reports alleging he made the remark during an engagement with members of the Fulani community in Jos.
Speaking at a press briefing held at the headquarters of Operation Rainbow in Jos on Friday, the governor’s aide said the reports misrepresented his comments, insisting that his remarks were taken out of context.
“It is not within the mandate of my office to make such a declaration,” Shipi stated. “The Hausa phrase I used—‘yan kasa’, meaning ‘sons of the soil’—was misunderstood. I never said the Fulani are indigenes of Plateau State.”
Narrating what transpired at the meeting, Shipi explained that he was invited to an event organised by the governor’s Special Assistant on Community Relations to the Fulani community, Alhaji Suleiman Musa Abubakar, at Sharna Hotel in Jos.
According to him, the forum did not focus on the subject of indigeneship. Instead, he said his comments were directed at encouraging Fulanis residing in the state to shun external influences linked to violence in Plateau.
“I told them that if they claim to be ‘sons of the soil’, they should not allow outsiders to use them to cause harm. They must reject such people and stand for peace,” he clarified.
Shipi stressed that his remarks were meant to foster peace and cooperation among communities and not to confer indigeneship status. He also presented his notes from the event as proof, saying they contained no reference to indigeneship.
Regretting the controversy generated by the reports, the governor’s aide tendered an apology to those who felt offended.
“I know many people were pained by the way this was reported, and I sincerely apologise to anyone hurt by the statement. It was not meant the way it has been interpreted,” he said.
He called on Plateau residents to put the misunderstanding behind them and work collectively towards building sustainable peace in the state.
