Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP) has decried the looming humanitarian disaster in the distressed northeast Nigeria. Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF (also known in English as Doctors Without Borders) has reported that, ‘Between 2 and 15 August 33 children died of acute malnutrition in Bama IDP [internally displaced persons] Camp. Six thousand people are currently sleeping in the open without protection from heat, rains and mosquitoes.’
At this same time the Borno state government is said to have spent over a billion naira on 1,563 pilgrims of the state for the Hajj in Saudi Arabia, being airlifted in 3 batches.
The reported conditions of IDPs in Bama is the general condition of IDP camps in Borno and other states in the northeast.
Both the state and federal government have misplaced priorities in allocating resources for IDPs, and sometimes oversee their outright mistreatment. It would be recalled that in 2016 the immediate past secretary to the government of the federation, Mr Babachir David Lawal had overseen the misallocation of 270 million naira intended for IDPs to be used in clearing grass in IDP camps in Yobe state, as the IDPs were dying and their humanitarian conditions getting worse. This ugly trend has continued till date.
Last year the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had sent 200 tonnes of dates as a Ramadan gift for IDPs which were diverted and sold in the open market for which the federal government apologised to the donors. In these and many other cases no offenders were brought to justice. There have also been repeated cases of abuses like sex-for-food, and other abuses, any of which have been hardly investigated and offenders brought to justice.
ANRP has called on the federal and state governments (Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe) to set their priorities right as the welfare of the people remains the primary duty of government. All relevant agencies of government at both levels are to double up efforts in setting up processes and mechanisms to ensure this humanitarian disaster is averted, and also that justice is gotten for our compatriots in IDP camps.
On this auspicious World Humanitarian Day, today the Party recognises the work of humanitarian workers sends warm solidarity greetings to them everywhere they may be delivering aid, relief and care to those in desperate need, in the process being targeted, and prevented from helping others, and in many cases losing their lives. Their sacrifice is very much appreciated, and their labour shall never be in vain, the Party said.
