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Tag: camps

  • 2.1m IDPs still in 34 camps, says NEMA

    2.1m IDPs still in 34 camps, says NEMA

    There are still 2.1 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in 34 camps in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, the Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Mohammed Sani Sidi, has said.

    He said 2,400 pupils from IDP camps were transferred to Unity Schools to continue their education on scholarship by the Save School Initiative programme, supported by ex-British Prime Minister Mr. Gordon Brown.

    Speaking yesterday in Kaduna after receiving the Best PerformingCivil Servant and Best Organisation for Good Governance awards from the Northern Youth Council, the NEMA boss said with efforts of the military, leading to the liberation of seven councils under Boko Haram, the country had passed the emergency stage in the Northeast.

    He said reconstruction and rehabilitation of the zone should begin, as the war was almost over.

    “In the last five years, we had insurgency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, which made the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the states. There was displacement of people. We still have 2.1 million Internally Displaced Persons with over 1 million in Borno State.

    “We had to establish camps in the three states. There are about 26 camps in Borno, 11 in Adamawa and four in Yobe. We used to have IDP camps in Gombe and Bauchi states, but due to the success recorded under this administration, the seven councils controlled by the insurgents have been liberated. The 11 camps in Adamawa State have been collapsed to four, as IDPs return to their homes.

    “Government has policies and programmes to support those displaced. The presidential committee for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the displaced people is led by Gen. T.Y. Danjuma and the Save School Initiative, a public-private partnership programme. These are geared towards supporting youths.

    “Schools were shut in the last two years and some have not been reopened. Two thousand four hundred children were transferred under the Safe School Scheme from the Northeast to other parts of the country. There is a programme of building and rehabilitation of the affected schools in the three states. The government is doing a lot to support the IDPs, who are fed three times daily.”

    The President of the Northern Youth Council, Malam Isah Abubakar, said NEMA and its DG were given awards to appreciate their efforts and motivate them and other organisations to do more.

  • Foiled suicide attack: Borno tightens security at camps

    Borno State government has concluded plans to procure more metal scanners for IDP camps in the Maiduguri metropolis.

    This followed a failed suicide attack by Boko Haram insurgents in one of the camps.

    Besides the metal scanners, it was learnt that security arrangements across the camps were being reviewed to forestall attack.

    The Chairman of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Alhaji Grema Terab, who addressed reporters in Maiduguri, said he was surprised that some people could offer their bodies and souls to the devil to kill people and cause sorrow.

    He said: “These are people, who have lost almost everything they have and are depending on the government for the basics of life. What could they have done that after the losses, someone is still interested in killing them?

    “The state government, in its usual responsiveness, has moved to buy more metal scanners, which will be distributed to the IDP camps to forestall attacks.

    “The purchase has been done and the delivery will be made later in the week.

    “I assure people that there is no cause for panic, as security at the camps has been tightened.

    “We have at the camps, security details. The Saturday foiled attack has made us to tighten security.”

     

     

  • Ex-Chibok panel member warns against relocating IDPs from camps

    Member of the Presidential Fact-finding Committee on Chibok School Girls, Mr. Mike Ejiofor yesterday  advised against the return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to communities freed  by the military.from Boko Haram control.

     He said  the communities might not be safe because of the likelihood the insurgents might planted Improvises Explosive Devices (IEDs) in different corners. According to him, bomb experts must be allowed to properly sweep the area and certify the reclaimed territories safe for re-occupation by displaced persons.

     Ejiofor, who was a former director in the Department of State Security Service (DSS), gave the warning on a live programme on “Kakaaki” in Abuja.

     He said the best alternative at the moment was for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to go with its plans to ensure voting by all displaced persons through special arrangements

     He said: “Let me first salute the gallantry of our troops, they have done well and I am happy with the way Nigerians are coming out in solidarity with the military like we saw happening in Cameroon when citizens came out to protest Boko Haram attacks in support of their armed forces.

     “ You see, we shouldn’t play politics when it comes to security; we all have to rally round our security agencies. I think also, we need to commend the Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, he is doing well in separating governance from politics and that is commendable.

     “He is the only the All Progressives Congress (APC) leader that came out to give so much credit to the Nigerian military. He said credits should go to the Nigerian military for 90 per cent of the successes recorded so far while the multi-national forces take rest of the credits, it is good, the military needs every support especially from leaders across political divides.

     “On the issue of IDPs returning to their communities, I think it is too early to start talking about internally displaced persons’ return to  these communities. You cannot rule out the possibility of explosives planted by Boko Haram in places they occupied, the military has to take time to clear these communities to ensure they are safe.

     “We also know that water is fundamental to human existence but most of the wells which these communities rely on, Boko Haram killed people and stuffed them inside. There has to be efforts to even clean the communities and sanitise them to avoid health issues and then create access to water.”

     Ejiofor also expressed the importance of allowing  the Victims Support Programme (VSP) to rehabilitate those displaced by Boko Haram.

      Ejiofor added: “The victims support programme initiated by the Federal Government raised some money they have to come in to provide relief.

     “The sate governments have to live to their responsibilities with the support of the Federal Government to reconstruct houses destroyed, hospitals, markets and schools so, that the communities can be habitable before displaced persons return and when this is done, traditional rulers have to come in to mobilize people to return.

     “For now if it is about elections, we understand that INEC has assured us of preparations for the IDPs to vote in camps. That  should go on while communities are fixed.”. 

     

  • Floods: Protests in Rivers State over closed camps

    Floods: Protests in Rivers State over closed camps

    Over 10,000 displaced persons have protested the decision of the Rivers State government to close three rehabilitation camps in the state.

    They said they had nowhere to go, as their mud houses have collapsed, due to the ravaging floods.

    The three camps in Abua/Odual Local Government Area of the state were closed yesterday, while the 24 others in Ahoada East, Ahoada West and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGAs affected by the floods would soon be shut.

    One of the victims of the three closed camps in Abua/Odual LGA, who identified herself as Madam Justina, said: “The Chairman of Abua/Odual LG came and gave us ‘little’ rice and stipends and asked us to return to our communities.

    “The truth is that we have nowhere to go. Our mud houses have fallen. Our crops and farmlands have been destroyed. Our domestic animals have been lost to the floods. How do the government officials want us to survive? They must help us,” she pleaded.

    Another victim, who is an elderly man from the local government, Pa Clement, pleaded with the Rivers and federal government, individuals and corporate organisations to come to the aid of the floods’ victims, to avoid their untimely death.

    Rivers State Commissioner for Special Duties, Emeka Nwogu, assured that temporary accommodation would be provided for the victims of the flood disaster in their villages, as well as assisting them until they would be able to find their feet.

    Nwogu, who is also the Deputy Chairman of the Flood Relief Committee, however, declined to give details of the assistance to be offered the floods’ victims to resettle them and the nature of the temporary accommodation promised.

    The Chairman of the Committee, Tele Ikuru, declared that it would not be possible for the state government to rebuild the destroyed houses.

    Ikuru, who is also the state Deputy Governor, said building houses for the victims would mean devoting the entire state’s annual budget for the project, thereby indicating that workers’ salaries would not be paid, while developmental projects would not be embarked upon for the whole year.

    In Rivers, 183 communities in the western fringe spread across four LGAs were affected by the ravaging floods, which either submerged, destroyed or completely washed away property worth billions of naira.

  • What next for flood victims after relief camps?

    What next for flood victims after relief camps?

    The after effects of the flooding in various parts of the country have not abated, making many wonder if the worst is over, writes Azubuike Okeh, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

    Dr Jacob Egba, who hails from Okogbue in Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers, is one of the victims of flood that recently ravaged the area.

    Egba and his three children now reside in a camp set up for displaced persons by the state government.

    As the floodwater is fast receding, Egba is not so much worried about life in the camp but he is visibly troubled about how he and his family would be able to cope with life after their time at the camp.

    Egba’s house and farm have been destroyed by the flood and he has repeatedly expressed concern about his coming phase of life when relief materials from the government, philanthropists and donor agencies would cease.

    Mrs Roseline Ogwe from Obigwe, Ogba/Egbema Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers, also lives at the camp set up for displaced persons.

    Ogwe, a widow with three children, eked out a living from proceeds from her cassava and cocoyam farms, prior to the flooding.

    The hapless woman recalls that she was forced to harvest her crops prematurely before her entire farmland became submerged by floodwater.

    “I lived in an old house left for us by my father and that house has been washed away; the little money I realised from the sales of my cassava and cocoyam had been spent here in the camp because the aid is not regular,’’ Ogwe says.

    Another widow, Mrs Ellami Philip from Abua town, said she managed to escape with her six-year-old grandson from being trapped by the floodwater through the help of some youths who ferried them across to safety.

    “I did not have any time to harvest the little crops I have in the farm; everything has been washed away. I have not gone back to see what has happened to my house, box of clothes and other belongings.

    “I am seeing an entirely different lifestyle here but my worry is what happens after now. We will not stay in this camp forever, how do we start again?’’ she asked.

    Egba, Roseline and Philip are just some of the several flood victims who are already becoming apprehensive about their survival when they eventually leave the displaced persons’ camps.

    Such fears have elicited the concern of some observers who believe that government should urgently devise strategies on how to help the flood victims to cope with life after their stay at the camps.

    The Executive Director, Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Mr Nsirimovu Anyakwee, stresses that the government ought to be more concerned now about how to address emerging post-flood challenges.

    He suggests that the government should evolve ways of obtaining accurate statistics on the flood victims so as to ensure that only the genuine victims are adequately catered for in the post-flood programmes.

    “Post-disaster management procedures require proper planning; they must not be rushed, they should be well thought-out,’’ he said.

    Anyakwee, nonetheless, advises governments at all levels to be focused while executing post-flood programmes, stressing: “If the emergency relief they are currently giving is being faulted; one should not worry so much but the long-term programme should not be faulted.’’

    However, Rivers Commissioner for Special Duties and Emergency Relief Mr Emeka Nwogu concedes that the state government is quite aware of the need to initiate a long-term programme for communities that were ravaged by flood.

    He pledges the readiness of the state government to receive suggestions and assistance from all and sundry in efforts to alleviate the sufferings of the flood victims in a pragmatic way.

    “We are a very responsible government. We know there is need for a post-disaster programme but we will need assistance from all stakeholders; we want to see our people living happily again.

    “However, remember that government’s funds are limited. We are there to respond to the needs of our people and we welcome input from everybody,’’ Nwogu said.

    Analysts, nonetheless, stress the need for the government to initiate and oversee proper resettlement plans for affected communities and persons so as to forestall the emergence of unexpected socio-economic problems.

    They also urge the government to undertake serious studies on the causes of the flood, with a view to finding plausible ways of averting future occurrences.

    Existing early warning systems for natural disasters should also be strengthened to prevent the disasters or lessen their impact, some of them add.