MAIDUGURI, Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Director-General of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Muhammad Sani Sidi, has said that the rendering of various humanitarian services to 1.5 million Internally-Displaced Persons (IDPs) in camps in the North-East, has now been shifted to “rehabilitation, reconstruction and recoveries” of the Boko Haram destroyed towns and villages in the affected sub-region of the country.
Sidi, who disclosed this at the African Union Regional meeting for West Africa while presenting the agency’s position to the World Humanitarian Summit held at the weekend in Abuja, said the change in humanitarian outlook of the agency for IDPs in the country, has however, been shifted to the reconstruction, rehabilitation and recoveries of all destroyed communities in the affected states of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa in the North-East and Plateau in North-Central zone of Nigeria.
His words: “The military’s liberation of most of the communities in the North-East from the occupation of Boko Haram insurgents, coupled with the massive repatriation of Nigerians from Cameroun and Niger have changed our humanitarian outlook from consistent massive emergency relief intervention to the three Rs of rehabilitation, reconstruction and recovery of the displaced persons and their communities.”
He further disclosed that NEMA in collaboration with State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs) in support of the United Nations (UN) System has undertaken damage and loss assessment of the affected communities in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.
Sidi added that the agency has also made submission to the Federal Government for appropriate intervention by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
He, however, noted that the humanitarian outcome of the insurgency has equally impacted the contiguous states of Gombe, Bauchi, Plateau and Taraba and the neighbouring countries of Niger, Chad and Cameroun.
He said there were 57,743 Nigerian refugees in Cameroun, Chad and Niger, with Cameroun having 40,366; who were taking refuge in eight refugee camps of Minawayo, Mora, Fotocol, Limani, Amchide, Douala, Kentzou and Garoua Bouali. “We have about 15,000 Nigerian refugees in the Republic of Niger who were resettled in Diffa, Bosso, Maine and Kablewa, and 2, 377 in Chad also taking shelter in Ngouboua, Lake Chadi region.
The director-general, who lamented on how over 12,000 Nigerian refugees were expelled by the Camerounian authorities and dumped at the border while UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) was watching, further said: “I expressed my concern to UNHCR when Nigerian delegation went to Chad, Niger and Cameroun for assessment of the condition of Nigerian refugees which was misconstrued as forceful evacuation by UNHCR.”
Credit: Guardian (Nigeria)
