194,000 Nigerian refugees in Cameroon, Niger face eviction

Shettima: Borno IDPs consume 1,800 bags of rice daily

No fewer than 194,000 Nigerians who are seeking refuge in Cameroon and Niger as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have been served eviction notice by the neighbouring governments. Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, made the disclosure in Abuja yesterday.

There are 56,000 Nigerian IDPs in Cameroon who ran away from Borno State in the wake of insurgency that has left many dead and millions homeless. The IDPs, according to Shettima, are those from Bama and Gwoza local government areas of the state alone.

The governor, who said the Cameroonian authorities have indicated that they could no longer take care of the Nigerian IDPs, said another 138,000 Nigerien IDPs in Niger Republic also face the same fate. Speaking at the 1st Annual Dialogue on Rebuilding Borno with the theme: Rebuilding Peace in Borno: Thought Leadership Laboratory, the governor lamented that the state is faced with serious food crisis, aftermath of the insurgency.

Besides the IDPs, who he said are in 17 camps across the state, he said the state government also has to cater for 1.7 million people in Maiduguri and 70,000 people living in Gwoza community.

“The real support we need is for the 1.7 million people within Maiduguri, the 70,000 people living in host community in Gwoza and several other locations. Even our people that are in Cameroon have been given eviction notice. “The Cameroonian authorities are no longer keen in taking care of them.

They are 56,000 Nigerians, largely from Gwoza and Bama local governments. We have about 138,000 Nigerians in Niger Republic, they also face eviction. We really have food crisis and we need the support of all and sundry,” he said.

While emphasising on the food crisis, which he noted is the greatest challenge facing the state; the governor said the successes recorded by the military over the Boko Haram insurgents have led to the exodus of IDPs from once trapped communities to the established emergency camps. His words: “As we speak, we are battling with a crisis of feeding mass of humanity in Borno.

The military has succeeded in rescuing communities that were trapped due to the presence of Boko Haram insurgents on certain routes. “This cheering rescue has led to mass exodus of internally displaced persons from these trapped communities to emergency camps we had to establish.

In Borno today, about 1,800 bags of 50 kilograms of rice which constitutes three trailers of 600 bags each, is required daily to cater for IDPs across the state and this does not include ingredients like tomatoes, vegetable oil, beans to balance carbohydrate, onions, salt and other elements. “For our regular camps, a total of 984 bags of rice is consumed daily based on a Data Tracking Matrix of the International Organisation on Migration working with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Borno State Emergency Management Agency.

“This figure of 978 bags is for the camps in Maiduguri and Jere, Dikwa, Bama and Damboa. For Maiduguri and Jere, 787 bags of rice are consumed daily for the 152,000 displaced persons in 17 camps and two relief points at Madinatu and Muna Garrage where distribution of food items are made to IDPs living outside camps in Maiduguri. For Dikwa, which has 75,000 displaced persons, 101 bags are required daily.

“Bama requires 50 bags daily for 32,000 displaced persons while Damboa requires 40 bags daily. These are as per the Data Tracking Matrix of the International Organisation on Migration” Shettima, however,solicited the support of the world powers such as Germany, France and China to come to the aid of his state, noting that the US and British governments have significantly assisted Borno State.

He also hinted that efforts are being made in collaboration with the authorities of the Nigerian Customs Service to evacuate contraband rice donated to the state by Federal Government to where they are needed. “I had a very fruitful discussion with the Nigerian Customs Service on how to evacuate the contraband rice that were donated to us. Our real problem is how to feed the people.

And I want to make it clear that those in need are not confined to the IDPs camps alone,” he said While lamenting that little or no assistance came from the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan to the state as Borno was tagged ‘distant cousin’, Shettima wondered what would have happened to the people of the state if President Muhammadu Buhari had not won the 2016 general elections. “The previous federal administration branded us as distant cousins, we were left to our fate except with negligible intervention.

It was after the emergence of President Buhari that the National Emergency Management Agency fully took over in supplying the main food items which is rice, while we provide the condiments,” the governor noted. While speaking on the efforts to rebuild Borno State and losses incurred as a result of insurgency, Governor Shettima said the losses incurred by the state as a result of the insurgency “have been colossal.”