Aside the trauma of displacement from their ancestral homes, neglect and sharp practices by government officials compound the problem of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in various camps in Borno State. Special Correspondent, SUNNY ONU, reports from Maiduguri.
For the over 1.5 million people from 22 out of 27 local government areas of Borno State that were overrun by the Boko Haram murderous Islamic sect, life has been quite traumatic.
Since the outlawed terrorist group launched its unceasing offensive on Borno residents to the extent of forcing them out of their ancestral homes, misery has been the lot of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) scattered in various camps across the state and beyond.
In fact, TheNiche investigations indicate that even if the current regime of insurgency in Borno is eventually arrested, life may not be the same for the IDPs who have suffered both physical and psychological torture in the hands of sect members. Psychologists rather argue that the ugly experience would ever remain fresh in the minds of the victims who are mostly women and children.
Although the Borno State Government had, from the moment the calamity befell the victims, been proactive in providing essential needs for them, there are fears that the state may no longer sustain the brunt of taking care of the IDPs alone. This is especially due to the high influx of inmates from neighbouring countries of Chad, Niger and Cameroon to Maiduguri.
NEMA to the rescue
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has taken the lead in protecting and sheltering the IDPs, in addition to coordination and management of activities in the camps. Before then, the state government had complained bitterly on the slow pace of the agency in coming to the aid of the displaced persons in the state.
NEMA, however, rose to the occasion and, at the moment, is shouldering the responsibility of providing food items of all kinds as well as other domestic uses including drugs for the IDPs, while the state government provides condiments for cooking the food.
Discrepancies in IDP management
For upkeep of inmates of the camps, Borno claims to have been spending N620 million monthly. But in sharp contrast, the former State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) coordinator, Grema Terab, insisted that, throughout his three-year stay at the agency, he received less than N720 million.
As if the discrepancies are not enough, there are insinuations in many quarters of the state that the welfare of the IDPs is being neglected by the government since the 2015 general elections in the state. It is also alleged that food items meant for the inmates, were being diverted by prominent individuals from the state, even as camp officials serve them meals that are poorly prepared.
An inmate in one of the camps who gave his name as Adamu Mahamud, told TheNiche that they were not being fed well, adding that they were being served food items that are low in nutritional value.
“Oga, let me tell you the truth; we know that at the beginning, especially before the governorship election in state, the state government was trying for us very well. We were feeding very well that time, but it is not so anymore. We are not feeding well now. We only get what I can call half chop. For instance, in the morning, we would be served small bread with something like tea without milk. Apart from that, when some of us fall sick, there is nobody to treat us, except in isolated cases. Generally, all is not well for us in the camps. That’s why we are praying that one day we shall all go back to our various communities,” Mahamud stated.
Incidentally, by mid-September when members of the State Executive Council (SEC) were being sworn in, the governor, Kashim Shettima, had reminded the appointees of the need to accord top priority to the welfare of the displaced persons in the camps, warning that any act of negligence in the affairs of the IDPs would not be condoned.
The governor also warned that any government official found or reported diverting food items meant for IDPs would regret his or her action. That remark made observers see the welfare of the IDPs as Shettima’s priority. Allegations on untidy developments in the camps, however put question mark on the extent government officials are keeping faith with the governor’s position.
More hands on deck
Aside Borno government, other key stakeholders in humanitarian services who are complementing the efforts of NEMA in providing basic needs of life are International Committee on Red Cross (ICRC), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF), and other international donor agencies as well as philanthropists.
Our reporter gathered that even with their spirited efforts, there is still the need for more actions in giving the inmates a sense of belonging.
It was against this backdrop that the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osibanjo, was recently in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, where he launched a programme called the North East Humanitarian Multi-stakeholder Engagement. According to him, the meeting was not just for what it planned to achieve, namely the mapping out of collaborative efforts to the North East but also for the fact that it was taking place in Maiduguri, the city that has probably suffered the most loss in terms of lives and property in the past six years of the Boko Haram onslaught.
“Your being here underscores not just your empathy for victims of terror, but it also demonstrates the outrage and anger that we all feel about the mindless killings, abductions and wanton destruction perpetrated by the sect members over the years.
“Our being here expresses our collective determination to find the most cost-effective and creative ways to intervene in restoring the dignity, family lives and livelihoods of the hundreds of thousands of IDPs in the North East. And significantly, our being here and ready to engage, shows our belief in the common humanity of all men, women and children. We may not know them by name or face, we may speak a different language or dialect, or belong to a different faith, but we are, in the eyes of our creator, one and the same,” Prof. Osinbajo had told his audience.
The vice president reiterated that the North East region had suffered tremendously in the past six years, listing destruction of infrastructure, farmlands, businesses and schools as areas the insurgents had hit hardest.
Rebuilding, restoring and rehabilitation, he noted, will cost money and time, adding that neither money nor time could fix the trauma of loss of family, relations and friends.
Osinbajo also identified the menace of the terrorists as manifesting in shame of the raped, the scars and fears of parents of the abducted and kidnapped, the bewilderment that comes with loss of homes, possessions and livelihoods, as well as the hundreds of thousands of orphaned children.
Agenda for stakeholders
He emphasised that the tasks before the stakeholders are many and profound. These, according to him, include fixing the brick and mortar and to mend hearts and minds damaged by senseless murderous violence.
“But we are called not just to mend the hearts and minds of the victims, but also of their traducers and killers – the young men and women who have been brainwashed to kill, maim and destroy in the warped belief that by so doing they please God. They are also victims. Indeed these perpetrators are themselves victims, trapped in the vortex of evil manipulation, compelled to dehumanise themselves as they shed the blood of the innocent. It is our duty to deconstruct the narrative that causes men to kill children in their beds at a boarding school at night, even as we degrade the military capacity of the terrorist insurgents,” he said.
Osinbajo stressed that while there is still so much to do, much has been done already.
According to him, the many civil society groups, funding partners, regional and international partners, who have put in their time, resources and even lives in some cases, deserve to be commended. He paid glowing tribute to NEMA, Borno government and other supporters he described as first responders, adding that without their efforts, the situation in the North East would have been far worse off.
A major goal in his meeting with stakeholders in Maiduguri, the vice president said, was to strengthen the capacities of existing Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), especially in the region, and to aid the development of others where noticeable and important gaps exist.
“There is no question about the fact that if we are to succeed, we must invest in the CSO community. Later, in the course of this engagement, the Presidential Initiative for the North East will unveil a plan to help develop the capacities of NGOs in this region and grow new ones where needed. The plan includes the implementation of grant programmes to existing or emerging CSOs to help develop them. To be included in this programme is a technical assistance package which will be implemented in conjunction with other development NGOs.
“This challenge will require dedication, innovation and creativity especially from the NGO and CSO community,” he emphasised.