By Daniel Dauda, Jos


Plateau state Governor and chairman Northern Governors forum,Simon Lalong charged Plateau citizens to inculcate and exhibit character of tolerance,peace and forgiveness at all times.

He gave the admonition when he bestowed with Papal Knights of Saint Gregory the Great (KSGG), alongside Prof. Danladi Atu,secretary to the Government of Plateau state and Barr.Edward Pwajok SAN by Holy father Pope Francis.
 Lalong said "We are indeed humbled by this recognition from the Catholic Church coming from the Holy See as bestowed on us by the Holy Father Pope Francis.
In receiving these Honours, we are most appreciative and count ourselves blessed to be the first Knights and Papal Medalists unveiled just when the new Catholic Archbishop of Jos and the Metropolitan of Jos Ecclesiastical Province, Bishop Matthew Ishaya Audu is stepping into the shoes of His Grace Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama who has since assumed duty as the Archbishop of Abuja.
The Bible in Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast”. 
That is exactly our feeling at this moment of receiving these Papal Honours, having been chosen out of the many Catholic faithful serving God in different areas.
As members of the Church who have received spiritual teachings that have guided us in our day-to- day living and enabled us to serve humanity in our different areas of calling, with this honour we assure of rededicating ourselves the service of the Church and to the glory of God.

We are aware that as Knights, we are expected to be true Ambassadors of Christ and help in the propagation of the gospel of salvation as well as encourage the faithful towards seeking knowledge of the doctrines and teachings of the Church.  
This responsibility is also expected to provide us the opportunity help foster and develop Vocations to the Priesthood, Religious Life, and Holy Matrimony within the Church so as to ensure that the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is propagated.
We also recognize that since the era of protecting the Church with sword was over, our major role today is to defend the heritage and doctrines of the Church in words and actions and act with love which is the heartbeat of God.
It is therefore incumbent on us to use these recognitions not only in trying our best within human limitations, but ensure furthering the influence of the Church and Christianity to our society, based on the fruits of the Spirit rather than mere religious rhetoric.

We also count on your prayers and counsel which will indeed go a long way to lighten the weight of responsibility placed upon our shoulders by this Knighthood.
Your Grace, Brothers and Sisters in the Lord, let me use this opportunity to raise one or two issues that relate to our faith and governance in our State and the nation at large.
 First is the issue of tolerance, peace and forgiveness. We are all aware that our State has substantially emerged from the ashes of violence that engulfed us some years back.
Because some of the issues were given religious colouration and deepened sentiments that polarized us more, we need to be careful not to allow the gains that we have made to be lost.
 People have been rebuilding confidence in our State and returning to invest and settle here. We have to do all that is within our power to create an atmosphere of peace for development to take place.

Similarly, the unfortunate developments relating to kidnappings and executions that have affected some of our citizens in the North East recently have been matters of great concern.
We are still mourning the latest ugly incident where a Student of the University of Maiduguri, Mr. Ropyil Daciya Dalep was murdered by terrorists calling themselves ISWAP.
Our sympathies go to the family of the deceased and all other faithful departed. We pray that the Lord will comfort them and indeed all of us over this tragedy.
 Barely a week earlier, we had rejoiced over the rescue of another daughter of ours, Jennifer Ukambong Samuel who was equally kidnapped by the terrorists.
Although those who are involved in this heinous crime input religion as their motive and try to justify their evil acts as revenge on Christians or Citizens of Plateau State, we know from their antecedents that they are simply criminals who have sold themselves to evil and are bent on dividing us.
 As painful as these issue are, I will like to appeal to all of us to unite in condemning their actions and also refusing to buy into their ploy to trigger hatred based on religion or State of origin.
As a government, we will never allow anybody to target our citizens or threaten them simply because they are Christians or adherents of other faiths. Even if they have no religion, they have the God-given right to existence and should not be threatened by anybody. Being a citizen of Plateau State is not a crime.
Let me assure you that we are working with the President and security agencies to ensure that these incidences are addressed and our citizens under captivity by terrorists, kidnappers, bandits or any other criminals are released.
 I appeal to us all to be vigilant, prayerful and guard our communities against merchants of evil who always want to exploit religion, tribe and politics for their crimes. Peace is all we need and we must continue working for it.
We should equally exercise retrain in responding to these sad developments so as not to inflame the situation and escalate it to unfortunate violent levels.
 " let me use this opportunity to also thank all our citizens for the goodwill, prayers and support over the Supreme Court verdict that validated the mandate given to us by the people of our dear State.
 With your support and collaboration, we shall take Plateau State to the next level and leave behind lasting legacies." Lalong concluded.