By Sylvanus Viashima
JALINGO – Residents of Jalingo, the Taraba State capital have called on Taraba State Governor Dr Agbu Kefas and other government functionaries to be weary of faceless groups parading as concerned citizens and pedaling all kinds of petitions against persons and institutions in the State.
In different interviews with residents by our Correspondent, the people are of the opinion that if the concerned citizens are sincere and have genuine issues, they should be bold enough to identify themselves and take a clear stand on issues rather than hiding under a shield
Mr Anthony Yakubu told our Correspondent that “I have read some of their writeups on some Social Media platforms and it bothers me that they are hiding under the name of concerned citizens to write their petitions and attack innocent people and institutions.
“In my opinion, if they are sincere people who really want to correct wrongs in the society, they should be bold enough to come out as a formidable group that would be recognised as a voice in the society”.
Similarly, Umar Mukhtar, a political analyst described the Concerned citizens as a section of mischievous persons out on a vendetta against some people who are perceived enemies.
“These are just very mischievous persons who are out to take it out on people they consider as their enemies. I think it is very important for the state Governor and other people in government to be careful with anything that is coming from these group of faceless individuals.
“Some of these people are obviously job seekers who are out to destroy some people so that they will take their positions. I have followed their actions for some time now, intact, since inception of this administration and it’s clear that they are out for mischief and nothing else”.
While Mrs Janet Wadi believes that the people are exposing corruption in the society are it is not safe for them to come out in the open for fear of attacks, Yahaha Tudri believes that if they are sincere in their purpose, there is no need to hide.
According to Tudri, “if you are sincere about what your purpose, what is the point of hiding. We know people who stand for the truth and go as far as National television live programmes to criticize even federal government and they are still alive.
“One thing that stands out about these people is that, most of their allegations against people are not substantiated. They make blank allegations and you can not even hold them to account because they are faceless. It will be very bad if anyone take them serious.
“We need people in Taraba who will be bold enough to come out and stand as a voice to expose wrong in the State. What we have now is just tribal, religious and political rivalry. What we need, however, is a strong voice that will go above these barriers and speak truth to leadership at all levels, investigate and expose wrong doings irrespective of who is involved. If the Concerned citizens are really concerned, this is the task they should undertake”.
Our Correspondent reports that, the state is awash with writings credited to the Concerned Citizens on different topics, mostly attacking heads of institutions and other parastatals.
