Starvation: Nigeria’s Internally Displaced Persons As President Buhari
Starvation: Nigeria’s Internally Displaced Persons As President Buhari’s Frankenstein Monster By Kayode Ogundamisi
Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote is reported to
have donated over 11 million USD to Nigeria’s
internally displaced persons (IDPs). The Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation also donated 1 million
dollars. International donors channel funds by
donating millions of dollars to Nigerian agencies
and government, in addition to the billions of
naira officially budgeted by the Nigerian
government and its agencies, yet we continue to
receive photographs of malnourished IDPs, mostly
children. Nigeria’s IDPs have not crossed a
border to find safety. Unlike refugees, they are on
the run at home.
While they may have fled for similar reasons, IDPs
stay within their own country and remain under
the protection of its government, even if that
government is the reason for their displacement.
As a result, these people are among the most
vulnerable in the world.
The recent mass protest by hundreds of IDPs in
Maiduguri contradicts repeated claims by some
government agencies that cases of starvation in
camps are isolated. Furthermore, citizens' reports
counter claims by the government that
malnourished children are fresh from Boko Haram
captivity.
Nigeria is a country reputed for turning every
disaster into a money-making venture. An
increase in the population of IDPs is an
opportunity for get rich quick officials and non-
governmental organizations. They see the IDP
crisis as an opportunity to share in the National
Cake; they do not see the sorrow, tears and blood
of the vulnerable. Here is another opportunity for
those trusted with taking care of the vulnerable,
now diverting millions into private pockets,
stealing food, and re-selling it on the open
market.
Millions of dollars’ worth of food donated to
Nigerian IDPs have been stolen or one way or the
other. Those who are responsible for making sure
that food gets to the IDPs are often from the
same areas as the IDPs – they speak the same
language, a reaffirmation that corruption and
wickedness does not have a tribal mark, they
forget that they share the same religious
affiliations with the victims. Christians stealing
from Christian IDPs, Muslims stealing from
Muslim IDPs, and Animists doing the same.
Retired General Theophilus Danjuma from Taraba
State has been appointed by President Buhari to
head a committee on the North East, after having
failed spectacularly serving a similar post during
the Goodluck Jonathan administration. A Nigerian
expert based in the USA with internationally
recognized experience in dealing with refugee
crisis offered our government his expertise but
was rejected for the simple reason that he is not
from the North East.
While there are very many gallant people in the
North East and other parts of Nigeria, without any
links to government, who have stuck their necks
out to support the IDPs, Borno State government
and unfortunately, the Federal Government,
continues to use unnecessary tribalism and
nepotism to try and address issues that are
technical.
President Buhari and his team are better off
acknowledging the compete failure of the
Danjuma committee. Billions raised under
President Jonathan have yet to be accounted for,
while the Buhari government continues to use the
same old tired policies of the past; the same set
of people who turned the National Emergency
Management and its affiliated agencies into some
money-making venture are still applying the same
failed methods.
What Can Be Done?
1. No government can or should continue to feed
millions in Internally Displaced Persons camps.
Apart from the obvious corruption it breeds, it
also leads to complacency on the part of IDPs,
creating a culture of dependence on government
for basic handouts. Solution: urgent rehabilitation
of liberated areas and resettlement of IDPs into
liberated communities. Government should come
clean on the REAL status of liberated areas. That
IDPs are not settling back into those communities
is an indication that they may not feel safe. What
happened to the reconstruction program
announced by President Buhari? What are the
timelines for reconstruction? Are liberated
communities really safe? At the moment the
Nigerian government is not committing (at least
publicly) to a verifiable timeline on when and how
thousands of IDPs are going to be resettled.
2. Recruitment of security personnel, including the
Police, to assist the Nigerian Army in maintaining
law and order in liberated territories. The Nigerian
Army does not have the capacity to continue to
police civilian areas and needs to be freed from
policing so as to be able to launch an urgent
mass infantry battle into Sambisa forest, which is
the operational HQ of Boko Haram. If you do not
cut off the head of the snake then the snake will
have the potential to strike. Sambisa provides
cover for Boko Haram. They are mobile, they carry
out ambushes against civilians and our military.
For how much longer do we have to wait to
liberate Sambisa? Or do we concede that territory
to Boko Haram and negotiate diplomatic relations
with new Caliphate? The Buhari government
announced an international coalition against Boko
Haram. But aside from routine area
bombardments of Sambisa by the Nigerian Air
Force, Boko Haram still maintains an operational
base where it churns out routine propaganda
videos and is presumed to also hold over 200
Nigerian girls seized from the North Eastern
Nigerian town of Chibok. The girls have been in
captivity since April of 2014.
3. Urgent restructuring of all government agencies
in charge of National Emergency – to strengthen
coordination, to integrate all processes in a way
that makes them more efficient and ensuring that
only the most capable and technical are in
charge, with clear deliverables and accountability
mechanisms not just to the President but to the
people of Nigeria. My experience with NEMA is
that there are a lot of square pegs in round holes.
There are too many staff members tasked with
such important responsibilities but without skills,
experience, and capacities and who only got their
positions through association with government
officials. Those who have the capacities within
NEMA are usually the most frustrated, with no
say in decision-making or operational issues.
4. Borno State government should urgently enact
a law with stiff punishment for anyone found re-
bagging or selling items meant for IDPs. Borno
State government should dissolve its political
appointees in the State Emergency Management
Agency (SEMA) and source for competent
incorruptible people within and outside Borno.
Borno hosts the largest number of IDPs. If it gets
it wrong, Nigeria gets it wrong. Nigeria can not
afford to feed millions in a camp. We are all IDPs
in our little ways; the corruption of the minority
1% has turned majority of hardworking, honest
Nigerians into IDPs within and outside Nigeria.
Borno cannot continue to be a milking pot on the
National budget. The State must be restored to
its past glory as a frontline international trading
post and a tourist destination for all.
5. Nigerian Government needs to urgently re-
strategize and prioritize. The pictures of
malnourished children are real. The UNICEF report
of millions starving is real. Government should
clearly be treating this as the emergency that it is
and stop burying its head in the sand to look
good. A problem acknowledged is half solved.
6. State Governors from the North East of Nigeria
must convene an emergency meeting and
mobilize wealthy Nigerians from all parts of
Nigeria but particularly from North East of Nigeria
to at least give back part of the stolen wealth to
feed the victims of the poverty they created.
7. President Buhari should visit Maiduguri IDP
camps as a sign of solidarity. While it is
impossible to expect the President to do all
things personally and be in all places (that is why
he has a team of advisers and Ministers after all),
it is imperative that he is seen to show
compassion first and foremost, assess progress
and identify gaps and challenges first-hand. This
way he can give clear instructions on the kinds of
reforms he would like to see. And to ensure that
he is briefed regularly and he in turn briefs the
people of Nigeria at any chance he gets.
8. At times a lot of IDPs sell their food for other
commodities because it is not only food they
need. So this has to be tempered with the real
needs of IDPs and also not infringe on their rights
to exchange what they have been given.
9. President Buhari and his ruling APC must
urgently commence a national recovery efforts on
the Nigerian economy. This will reduce the
incidences of theft of food in IDP camps; probably
by volunteers and other people who can hardly
feed themselves and their families but see the
food they steal as a just reward for service.
10. NEMA and government must make it easier
for individuals to contribute to IDPS and donate
items. The red tape created by NEMA and State
agencies, depriving individuals and private
agencies direct access to donate to IDPs, must
stop. Donation drop-off areas should be opened in
six Nigerian geo-political zones and locations
should be made available on radio and television
so those who want to donate can walk in and
drop items.
11. A website tracking donations and distribution
should be created so donors can track the
movement of items.
12. The opening of donation centers in selected
Nigerian embassies for Nigerians in the diaspora
coordinated by the Presidents adviser on the
diaspora and ensure that it gets to Nigeria and to
the refugee camps. While this might pose
operational challenges given the noted inefficiency
of government processes and operations, this will
at least generate visibility on the issues within the
Nigerian community in the diaspora.
13. Fast track legislation to make it easier for
those who may want to adopt orphaned IDPs.
14. The security agencies must bring to book
everyone involved in diverting funds meant to
feed, rehabilitate and resettle Nigeria’s internally
displaced persons,
The time for the Nigerian Government to act is
now. Failure to do so would be creating another
Frankenstein monster; the neglected IDPs could
come back to haunt us all in a vicious way.
Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote is reported to
have donated over 11 million USD to Nigeria’s
internally displaced persons (IDPs). The Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation also donated 1 million
dollars. International donors channel funds by
donating millions of dollars to Nigerian agencies
and government, in addition to the billions of
naira officially budgeted by the Nigerian
government and its agencies, yet we continue to
receive photographs of malnourished IDPs, mostly
children. Nigeria’s IDPs have not crossed a
border to find safety. Unlike refugees, they are on
the run at home.
While they may have fled for similar reasons, IDPs
stay within their own country and remain under
the protection of its government, even if that
government is the reason for their displacement.
As a result, these people are among the most
vulnerable in the world.
The recent mass protest by hundreds of IDPs in
Maiduguri contradicts repeated claims by some
government agencies that cases of starvation in
camps are isolated. Furthermore, citizens' reports
counter claims by the government that
malnourished children are fresh from Boko Haram
captivity.
Nigeria is a country reputed for turning every
disaster into a money-making venture. An
increase in the population of IDPs is an
opportunity for get rich quick officials and non-
governmental organizations. They see the IDP
crisis as an opportunity to share in the National
Cake; they do not see the sorrow, tears and blood
of the vulnerable. Here is another opportunity for
those trusted with taking care of the vulnerable,
now diverting millions into private pockets,
stealing food, and re-selling it on the open
market.
Millions of dollars’ worth of food donated to
Nigerian IDPs have been stolen or one way or the
other. Those who are responsible for making sure
that food gets to the IDPs are often from the
same areas as the IDPs – they speak the same
language, a reaffirmation that corruption and
wickedness does not have a tribal mark, they
forget that they share the same religious
affiliations with the victims. Christians stealing
from Christian IDPs, Muslims stealing from
Muslim IDPs, and Animists doing the same.
Retired General Theophilus Danjuma from Taraba
State has been appointed by President Buhari to
head a committee on the North East, after having
failed spectacularly serving a similar post during
the Goodluck Jonathan administration. A Nigerian
expert based in the USA with internationally
recognized experience in dealing with refugee
crisis offered our government his expertise but
was rejected for the simple reason that he is not
from the North East.
While there are very many gallant people in the
North East and other parts of Nigeria, without any
links to government, who have stuck their necks
out to support the IDPs, Borno State government
and unfortunately, the Federal Government,
continues to use unnecessary tribalism and
nepotism to try and address issues that are
technical.
President Buhari and his team are better off
acknowledging the compete failure of the
Danjuma committee. Billions raised under
President Jonathan have yet to be accounted for,
while the Buhari government continues to use the
same old tired policies of the past; the same set
of people who turned the National Emergency
Management and its affiliated agencies into some
money-making venture are still applying the same
failed methods.
What Can Be Done?
1. No government can or should continue to feed
millions in Internally Displaced Persons camps.
Apart from the obvious corruption it breeds, it
also leads to complacency on the part of IDPs,
creating a culture of dependence on government
for basic handouts. Solution: urgent rehabilitation
of liberated areas and resettlement of IDPs into
liberated communities. Government should come
clean on the REAL status of liberated areas. That
IDPs are not settling back into those communities
is an indication that they may not feel safe. What
happened to the reconstruction program
announced by President Buhari? What are the
timelines for reconstruction? Are liberated
communities really safe? At the moment the
Nigerian government is not committing (at least
publicly) to a verifiable timeline on when and how
thousands of IDPs are going to be resettled.
2. Recruitment of security personnel, including the
Police, to assist the Nigerian Army in maintaining
law and order in liberated territories. The Nigerian
Army does not have the capacity to continue to
police civilian areas and needs to be freed from
policing so as to be able to launch an urgent
mass infantry battle into Sambisa forest, which is
the operational HQ of Boko Haram. If you do not
cut off the head of the snake then the snake will
have the potential to strike. Sambisa provides
cover for Boko Haram. They are mobile, they carry
out ambushes against civilians and our military.
For how much longer do we have to wait to
liberate Sambisa? Or do we concede that territory
to Boko Haram and negotiate diplomatic relations
with new Caliphate? The Buhari government
announced an international coalition against Boko
Haram. But aside from routine area
bombardments of Sambisa by the Nigerian Air
Force, Boko Haram still maintains an operational
base where it churns out routine propaganda
videos and is presumed to also hold over 200
Nigerian girls seized from the North Eastern
Nigerian town of Chibok. The girls have been in
captivity since April of 2014.
3. Urgent restructuring of all government agencies
in charge of National Emergency – to strengthen
coordination, to integrate all processes in a way
that makes them more efficient and ensuring that
only the most capable and technical are in
charge, with clear deliverables and accountability
mechanisms not just to the President but to the
people of Nigeria. My experience with NEMA is
that there are a lot of square pegs in round holes.
There are too many staff members tasked with
such important responsibilities but without skills,
experience, and capacities and who only got their
positions through association with government
officials. Those who have the capacities within
NEMA are usually the most frustrated, with no
say in decision-making or operational issues.
4. Borno State government should urgently enact
a law with stiff punishment for anyone found re-
bagging or selling items meant for IDPs. Borno
State government should dissolve its political
appointees in the State Emergency Management
Agency (SEMA) and source for competent
incorruptible people within and outside Borno.
Borno hosts the largest number of IDPs. If it gets
it wrong, Nigeria gets it wrong. Nigeria can not
afford to feed millions in a camp. We are all IDPs
in our little ways; the corruption of the minority
1% has turned majority of hardworking, honest
Nigerians into IDPs within and outside Nigeria.
Borno cannot continue to be a milking pot on the
National budget. The State must be restored to
its past glory as a frontline international trading
post and a tourist destination for all.
5. Nigerian Government needs to urgently re-
strategize and prioritize. The pictures of
malnourished children are real. The UNICEF report
of millions starving is real. Government should
clearly be treating this as the emergency that it is
and stop burying its head in the sand to look
good. A problem acknowledged is half solved.
6. State Governors from the North East of Nigeria
must convene an emergency meeting and
mobilize wealthy Nigerians from all parts of
Nigeria but particularly from North East of Nigeria
to at least give back part of the stolen wealth to
feed the victims of the poverty they created.
7. President Buhari should visit Maiduguri IDP
camps as a sign of solidarity. While it is
impossible to expect the President to do all
things personally and be in all places (that is why
he has a team of advisers and Ministers after all),
it is imperative that he is seen to show
compassion first and foremost, assess progress
and identify gaps and challenges first-hand. This
way he can give clear instructions on the kinds of
reforms he would like to see. And to ensure that
he is briefed regularly and he in turn briefs the
people of Nigeria at any chance he gets.
8. At times a lot of IDPs sell their food for other
commodities because it is not only food they
need. So this has to be tempered with the real
needs of IDPs and also not infringe on their rights
to exchange what they have been given.
9. President Buhari and his ruling APC must
urgently commence a national recovery efforts on
the Nigerian economy. This will reduce the
incidences of theft of food in IDP camps; probably
by volunteers and other people who can hardly
feed themselves and their families but see the
food they steal as a just reward for service.
10. NEMA and government must make it easier
for individuals to contribute to IDPS and donate
items. The red tape created by NEMA and State
agencies, depriving individuals and private
agencies direct access to donate to IDPs, must
stop. Donation drop-off areas should be opened in
six Nigerian geo-political zones and locations
should be made available on radio and television
so those who want to donate can walk in and
drop items.
11. A website tracking donations and distribution
should be created so donors can track the
movement of items.
12. The opening of donation centers in selected
Nigerian embassies for Nigerians in the diaspora
coordinated by the Presidents adviser on the
diaspora and ensure that it gets to Nigeria and to
the refugee camps. While this might pose
operational challenges given the noted inefficiency
of government processes and operations, this will
at least generate visibility on the issues within the
Nigerian community in the diaspora.
13. Fast track legislation to make it easier for
those who may want to adopt orphaned IDPs.
14. The security agencies must bring to book
everyone involved in diverting funds meant to
feed, rehabilitate and resettle Nigeria’s internally
displaced persons,
The time for the Nigerian Government to act is
now. Failure to do so would be creating another
Frankenstein monster; the neglected IDPs could
come back to haunt us all in a vicious way.
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