Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum on Tuesday met with foreign and local Non-Governmental Organizations, as well as civil societies during which he explained the decision for closure of IDP camps and restrictions on food aid in resettled communities.
Earlier, Governor Zulum has released billions of naira, distributed to 115,000 safely resettled IDPs in 11 communities.
Each household – made up of a husband, wife and few children – were given N200,000; while widows were given N150,000 each with a large quantity of food.
The intervention was meant for IDPs who have been given newly built houses and reconstructed homes, to use as livelihoods through operating small businesses.
A committee was set up to regularly monitor their progress and also deploy food aid intervention where the need arises.
The governor wanted the resettled IDPs to be supported in growing businesses as sustainable means of livelihoods, rather than lining them up every day and taking their pictures during distribution of food rations.
The Wednesday meeting was facilitated by the Borno State’s Agency for Coordination of Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Response (BACSDAHR), which coordinates and monitors the activities of all humanitarian and developmental partners, including international and national non-governmental organizations (iNGOs/NNGOs) and civil society/community-based organizations (CSOs/CBOs) operating in the state.
The meeting, attended by UN representatives, was held at the State’s Secretariat in Maiduguri.
In his speech, Zulum said: “You are all aware of the (horrible) situation in the IDP camps, and the conditions of people in these IDP camps in the state, the menace of increasing drug abuse, prostitution, gender-based violence, increased risk of epidemics like cholera and meningitis, as well as increased risk of COVID-19. You are all aware that Muna camp, for example, is adjudged to be one of the worst camps in the world. In terms of amenities, it is a camp where many of you would not want to keep your dog or a pig.”
The governor added that in Borno, “people living in IDP camps are tired, and many decided that they wanted to go back to their communities. For example, people from Nganzai decided to move by themselves, people from Damasak moved from the camps in Niger by themselves, and we were told with facts that people were determined to go back and restart their lives with or without government.”
