He told President Muhammadu Buhari with air of well borne competence and cocksure audacity that by December 31, or before the date, all the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps located in Maiduguri shall remain closed.
This is no doubt, one off the good tidings President Buhari must be expecting from Borno, the epicenter of the insurgency that has kept the nation’s eyes wide-opened and sleepless nights for over a decade now.
The messenger of the message to the number one citizen of the nation in Aso villa, Abuja, is the number one citizen of Borno state himself who is the Chief Executive of the State.
Addressing the State House Correspondents in Abuja recently on the outcome of his meeting with President Buhari the Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umar Zulum told the journalists that he had come to brief the President among others on the rehabilitation and resettlement of the IDPs in Borno.
According to Governor Zulum “I came to brief the President on efforts made by Borno state government in ensuring the return of internally displaced persons to their homes. So far so good. Borno state government has started well and arrangements have been concluded to ensure the closure of all internally displaced persons in camps that are inside Maiduguri on or before December 31.
Professor Zulum further stated that arrangements have been concluded for the safe return of persons displaced now living in the neighboring countries of Cameroon and Niger Republics. This is being done with the collaboration of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs. He similarly announced that the Borno state government is making combined efforts with the ministry to continue with the repatriation of Nigerians refugees in Minawo, Cameroon back home.
Not done, Governor Zulum told the correspondents, “Furthermore, on November 27, Borno state government will ensure the resettlement of IDPs that are living in Diffa province of Niger to Mallamfatori, a Local government area in Borno state where we don’t have human population because of the insurgency”.
Professor Zulum commended the efforts and support of the security agencies in the state in the government execution of its rehabilitation, reconstruction and resettlement programme. He expressed gratitude to the Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Awwal Crambo in ensuring the return of Naval Base to Baga recently.
Zulum’s message to President Buhari indeed, is good news especially, to the concerned that they would soon smell their long forcefully evicted ancestral homes by Boko Haram insurgents. It’s good news to the good people of Borno who have been longing to see the end to the trials and travails that have been the unsolicited harvest of the state in particular, for the past decade. For almost eleven years now, Borno has been the theater of the absurd, a symbolic projection of Shakespeare’s architecture of ruins, a landscape of shattered homesteads, severed limbs, tattered lives, ravaged farmlands and looted brams. Indeed, for the past ten years and above Borno state with its cherished philosophy of “Home of Peace and Hospitality” assumed the image of the battlefield, “a world in which there are two categories of people, enemy or friend”. For over a decade now, Borno has experienced in an unimaginable magnitude deaths, blood and sorrow.
Of the over two million registered IDPs in the Northeast region, Borno state accounts for about 80 percent with over 50,000 orphans and 70,000 widows. The number of IDPs fluctuates from time to time depending on the prevailing circumstances at a given period. However, the numbers of the IDPs in camps in the state exclude thousands of IDPs outside the state. Worse still, of the $9 billion World Bank validated assessment figures in 2015 with regards to destruction of public buildings, assets and infrastructure in the region, Borno state takes the lion’s share of $6.7 billons worth of the damages. While official figures put the number of deaths at about 100,000 the unofficial, put this at about 300,000 including the insurgents and their families.
Until the coming into power of the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, Borno state government under the Governorship of Kashim Shettima spent monthly N600 million monthly for the upkeep of the IDPs. However, on coming into office, Buhari’s administration took over the burden of food supply while the state government provides, condiments, utensils, water and others thereby reducing the monthly expenditure of the state government to about N200 million.
Read Also: Borno to close IDP camps December 31 – Zulum
Taking over from Kashim Shettima’s administration, the state government under Professor Babagana Umar Zulum not only maintained and sustained efforts put in place by the predecessor administration, but energized the same. Zulum’s administration came in disposition of government running against time. The irrigation engineer ran from pillar to post, within and out, of the country to see, observe, note and act in happenings in all the IDPs camps harboring Borno indigenes or refugees. Zulum was married more to the affairs of the IDPs to the comfort zone of the Government House. To have the true and deep feelings of the IDPs, Governor Zulum on most occasions passed the nights mostly in some of the locations of the IDPs outside the state capital. While he interacted with refugees or IDPs of Borno in and outside the state, he ensured that their needs were meet at least to the minimum required standard. While anomalies in the camps were and are promptly addressed, security of the camps remains the uppermost priority the government.
Under the empowerment programme of the IDPs, the government has introduced for both male and female skills acquisition programmes including making of detergents, tailoring, sewing and others. At the end of the training the affected IDPs especially those returning home are given “start up kits” and return package consisting of money and non-food items to enable them independently take off.
Neither is the education of the IDPs, especially the young ones, compromised. To this effect, various stakeholders in education are brought together to formulate educational programme, for all categories of the affected and classes manned by qualified teachers and instructors are held at various camps. These include classes in formal education, adult and Tsangaya classes. With regards to the orphans, mega schools have been established to take care of them.
The establishment of the Ministry of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement by the state government and the tremendous achievements of the ministry in various parts of the state with regard to its mandate have gone a long way in reinforcing the peoples’ confidence and trust in the administration’s determination to take home safely the IDPs to their various communities hitherto forced to abandon. Already thousands of the IDPs have returned, relocated to their permanent houses due to among others the unrelenting efforts of the Ministry.
Active engagement of youth and community in peace building programmes that facilitate interactive among individuals of disparate backgrounds, teaching of value of tolerance and promote non-violent conflict resolution have been effective in reducing prejudice and mitigating the appeal of radical ideologies. Borno State Government embraced and demonstrates this especially, in its post-insurgency activities.
Without fear of contradiction, Zulum has made a great mark in his government resolve to take the IDPs back to their ancestral homes. In his words, “we will never leave our people to their fate nor shall we allow our already traumatized people to sleep with empty stomach. Leadership is a burden. We must carry it until our people will be able to get sustainable means of livelihood”. He has lived up to expectation in this pledge.
However, with the latest declaration that all the IDPs camps in Maiduguri, which are accommodated thousands and the lion’s share of the IDPs in the state would be closed before or by December 31, Professor has made a powerful proclamation. It is a signal to the gradual ending of the insurgency.
However, the great question is will the beneficiaries of the insurgency allow peace to reign and let go all their clandestine moves against peace? For example, Governor Kashim made some efforts to relocate some of the IDPs back home, but was frustrated by several attacks of the insurgents at both the camps and ancestral homes. Besides, there have been allegation even by the army of some politicians and elite in the Northeast and Borno in particular of attempts to frustrate the war on insurgency for their self-ambition. Neither would some Non-Governmental Organizations earlier accused of sabotaging the efforts of the government on its rehabilitation and resettlement programme in the guise of helping the IDPs divert funds so raised to their private purse be trusted. Governor Kashim Shettima on several occasions indicted this group of dubious NGOs or fraud and impersonation. Only of recent Governor Zulum suspended one of the NGOs in the state on ground on allegation of security breach. What of the activities with regards to allegation of some unpatriotic member of the security agencies who aid the insurgents? Will the landlords who are making fortune or windfall from the NGOs on their houses and property wish away the insurgency? Will the protagonists of Boko Haram in both public and private sectors allow gradual and final movement of the IDPs to their ancestral homes and let the nation the peace?
Governor Zulum’s decision to close all the IDPs camps in Maiduguri for final homeward journey of the IDPs to the ancestral or original homes is commendable and challenging. However, in this herculean task, he must with the trusted stakeholders keep their eyes wide-opened and eyes to the ground, because the enemies to his course of action are abound and around. A great optimism demanding caution.
- Victor Izekor is a journalist and public affairs analyst and write at victorizekor@gmail.com