By Amb. Miri Timnan Nyantau (M.T.N)
Plateau State stands on the threshold of history this Saturday, October 4, as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will lead an entourage of top dignitaries to Jos for the burial of Late Mama Lydia Yilwatda, mother of the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda.
The funeral has attracted national attention, not merely because of the deceased’s influence, but because of her son’s current status as the National Chairman of the ruling APC.
Since the 2023 general elections, the political atmosphere in the state has been characterized by heightened rivalry between the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau and the APC at the national level.
Mama Lydia, who passed away on August 17, 2025, was more than just the mother of a political leader. As the wife of a revered COCIN pastor, she personified faith, humility, and family values. Her funeral service will hold at the COCIN Headquarters along Fidelis Tapgun Road, Jos, after which she will be laid to rest at her ancestral home in Dungum, Kanke Local Government Area.
Expected alongside the President are Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives Rt. Hon. Tajuddeen Abbas, ministers, governors, and other political heavyweights from across the country. Their presence, while a mark of honour to the Yilwatda family, also thrusts Plateau into the center of national attention.
But while the nation prepares to converge in grief, there are troubling signs that politics is creeping into what should be a sacred moment. Now, instead of uniting in sympathy, some voices are already dragging partisanship into the burial. This is not only distasteful; it is a desecration of our cultural values where respect for the dead is held sacrosanct.
Plateau is known as the “Home of Peace and Tourism.” That identity must not be compromised on Saturday. Funerals are not campaign rallies; they are solemn spaces of honour and reflection.
To turn such a moment into a stage for political point-scoring is to insult both the living and the dead. Politicians who cannot pause their ambitions even in the presence of grief reveal a bankruptcy of moral values.
The people of Plateau must therefore take the lead. Let us receive the President and his entourage warmly, not as partisans but as hosts. Let us comfort the Yilwatda family sincerely, not with political undertones but with genuine solidarity. Let us show Nigeria that Plateau still stands for dignity, peace, and hospitality.
October 4 is a day of mourning, not a prelude to 2027. Those seeking political office will have their chance to be judged by their account of stewardship, not by how loud their voices echo at the funeral service of a respected mother.
History will not remember the petty rivalries whispered in the shadows of Mama Lydia’s burial. It will remember how Plateau rose above politics to honor a matriarch, how a President visited the state for the first time with respect, and how a people reaffirmed their identity as custodians of peace.
On Saturday, the world will be watching. As Plateauians let’s send a message that respect for the dead is sacred, and in moments of grief, unity triumphs over division.
M.T.N writes from Jos
