Plateau and 21 years of democracy.

Plateau and 21 years of democracy.

By Onjefu Odaudu,Jos.

May 29 2020 marks 21 years of unbroken democratic governance  in Nigeria.

Takes a look at the men who have been at the helm since 1999.

1999-2007: Joshua Chibi Dariye.

With the resumption of democratic rule in 1999 , Plateau State elected Chief Joshua Chibi Dariye as it third democratically elected governor.

Dariye's tenure was eventful and turbulent as the state was wracked by a series of ethno religious crisis particularly the September 7 2001 Carnage that led to the death of hundreds of people in the state capital Jos and environs,three years later in 2004 then President Olusegun Obasanjo declared a state of emergency in the and removed Dariye replacing him with Major General Chris Ali(rtd) as sole adminstrator to piot the affairs of the state.

The governor bounced back in November 2004 after the emergency was lifted and from then on faced the onslaught of the EFCC for allegedly embezzling ecological funds meant for the state.His case was not helped by running battles with the Deputy Senate President Alhaji Ibrahim Nasiru Mantu whom many fingered as being behind Dariye's travails.

In November 2006 Dariye was impeached by six members of the State House of Assembly led by Mike Dapianlong and replaced with his deputy late Chief Micheal Botmang.This impeachment was later  upturned and Dariye returned to office with just about a month left to the end of his tenure.

Under him governance and infrastructal development suffered as he was too busy fighting political battles at the expense of statecraft.

2007-2015:Jonah David Jang.

A retired Air Commodore and also a one time governor of old Gongola and Benue State he came to the job with experience.

Even though his administration was dogged by the same ethno religious crisis as his predeseor he managed to achieve quite a lot in terms of physical infrastructural development.

Though accused of being intolerant to opposition by his critics he managed to spread road infrastructure across all parts of the state embarking on the construction of three massive flyovers in the state capital, though he was only able to complete only one before leaving office.

His plan to install a handpicked successor led to the loss of the state to the opposition.

2015-2020: Simon Bako Lalong

Riding on the good will of the populace who were dismayed by by Jang's attempt to impose a successor contrary to the gentleman zoning agreement in the state.

Simon Bako Lalong a former Speaker and Opposition candidate defeated the anointed choice of Governor Jang and serving Senator in the person of late Senator Gyang Nyam Shown Pwajok.

In his first tenure his critics accessed him of not doing enough only completing the project of his predecessor.

Within the past five years he has pursued a mantra of peace building and it's to his credit that relative peace has returned to the state though there are still pockets of violence particularly in the Miango/Bassa areas of the Northern zone.

Under him there has been consistent payment of workers salaries and pensions.

As he begins his final three years at the little Rayfield Government House, critics and supporters watch to see how he will go in terms of infrastructure particularly his much touted "legacy projects" and the abandoned Zaria Road Stadium in the state capital which has been there for almost forty years with preceding Governments paying lip service to it's completion.