At least 2 million people have been displaced in Nigeria’s North-East region following a long-standing conflict provoked by the Boko Haram insurgency that has ravaged the region since 2009. At the height of the conflict, says the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), up to 2.1 million people fled their homes, 1.9 million of whom are currently internally displaced (June 2017), and over 200,000 people are still in Cameroon, Chad and Niger, after having been forced to flee.
When added to people displaced by communal clashes, flood disasters and other factors, Nigeria hosts about 3.3 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), the highest number in Africa and third in the world, behind Syria with 6.5 million IDPs and Colombia with 5.7 million IDPs, according to a report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
The humanitarian consequences are indeed dire. In the three states most affected by insurgency (Borno, Adamawa and Yobe), according to OCHA, almost 7 million people are in need of humanitarian interventions including food, water, sanitation, protection, education, shelter and health services. Borno State, seen as the hotbed of the insurgency, hosts most of the IDPs, with more than 1.4 million displaced people in the state, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Since the conflict began in 2009, several government and non-governmental agencies have been at the forefront of mitigating these consequences by providing protection and relief interventions to the IDPs, especially women and children. Various organisations, such as the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and its state counterpart (SEMA), United Nations, Victims Support Fund and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), have rallied support from national and global partners to improve security, rebuild the states and make tremendous impact in abating the humanitarian crisis.
Due largely to the tireless efforts by the federal and state governments as well as organisations, hundreds of thousands of IDPs have been returning to their homes since 2016. Despite these efforts, however, the last two years have been the direst for about 120,000 to 130,000 people remaining in Maiduguri and satellite camps in Borno State, as living conditions worsen every day.
The Borno Emergency Management Agency reported in 2016 that hundreds of children had died of severe malnutrition in camps in the state. Malnutrition and diseases were killing the people, particularly children, even faster than the insurgency. The case did not improve months later when in 2017, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)announced that tens of thousands more children were endangered daily in what it labelled the world’s most under-funded humanitarian crisis.
And just when it seemed the humanitarian support trickled, a brother of the people and son of the North-Eastern soil rose to the occasion.
The Muhammadu Indimi Foundation to the rescue
Founded by Alhaji Dr. Muhammadu Indimi (OFR), a native of Borno State, the Muhammadu Indimi Foundation was established in 2013 to unlock Northern Nigeria’s potential through the alleviation of hunger and illiteracy. Alhaji Indimi holds firm to the belief that charity begins at home. That is why the Foundation has been prioritising the North-East in its efforts to rebuild the nation one state at a time.
Since its inception, the Muhammadu Indimi Foundation has saddled itself with the mandate of supporting the Borno State government with consistent and relevant social protection and economic reintegration. The founder, Alhaji Indimi, reiterated this commitment during one of the Foundation’s visits to the state.
“The displaced people touch my heart deeply and we will not rest until the people are settled back in their homes, with the support they need to make meaningful livelihoods and rebuild their legacy,” he said.
The non-governmental organisation has dedicated more than N3 billion to the support of victims of terrorism in Nigeria. The Foundation’s first project was an intensive injection of crisis relief support directly to the IDPs camps in form of food, medical supplies and cash. As part of its overarching support to persons in need, the Foundation also donated materials to the federal government Flood Relief and Rehabilitation Committee.
In June 2017, volunteers of the Foundation spent three days visiting more than 10 camps in Maiduguri and distributing relief items to 28,000 families from 11 local government areas who found shelter in Maiduguri IDPs camps.
Similarly, the Indimi Foundation has supported hundreds of students as part of its skills acquisition and manpower development programme. For instance, more than 20 students have benefitted from full scholarships to higher institutions outside the country. The students qualified for the opportunity of choosing any field of study, including Minerals and Petroleum Engineering, Agriculture, Arts, Communication, Education and Medicine.
“All my life is dedicated to helping people in Borno State. There are more than 200 students the Indimi Foundation is taking care of in various stages of education. I visit home often and proudly take my guests along to the city. Governor Kashim Shettima has been doing wonders in completely changing the face of Maiduguri, despite its meagre resources,” Alhaji Indimi said during a visit to the state.
Yet, the Foundation sees these milestones as only a tip of the iceberg and is not resting on its oars as it gears up to contribute more.
Looking to the future with hope
In May 2017, Governor Shettima revealed that Boko Haram insurgents had destroyed 156,453 houses in Borno State. The destruction included 5,344 classrooms in primary schools, 38 secondary schools, two tertiary institutions and 201 health facilities.
Speaking during a recent initiative in the state, Ameena Indimi, senior executive director of the Indimi Foundation, revealed plans for a 100-housing unit for the IDPs with provisions for health and education facilities.
“The Muhammadu Indimi Village in Bama features three rooms per building for each family. Next is a similar project in Ngala local government area. We have been privileged enough to get the support of Governor Shettima. The state donated the land. We hope that other North-East governors will emulate his footsteps,” Indimi said.
“Our vision is to see the remaining IDPs return to their homes and resettle. That would be the beginning of a wider initiative to do more housing units across North-East Nigeria over the next 10 years,” she said.
Meanwhile, in Bama, 1,000 to 2,000 hectares of land have been earmarked for the building of modern farms for about half of returnees from the IDPs camps. The Foundation revealed this shortly before a visit to Borno State by Audu Ogbeh, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, who said the state remained very promising in agriculture despite the many setbacks it has suffered due to the Boko Haram insurgency.
“Despite the devastating degree of harm done by Boko Haram to Borno State, it has remained one of the most prepared states to face the future through agriculture,” said Ogbeh.
Another critical area of resettlement in the state is healthcare. In 2016, Dr. Haruna Mshelia, the state’s commissioner for health, noted that malaria, diarrhoea, pneumonia, measles and severe malnutrition led to hundreds of deaths across the camps.
In this vein, the Indimi Foundation plans to unveil a healthcare outreach programme in the North-East in partnership with indigenous and global health organisations to ensure a rollback in maternal and infant mortality, an increase in hygiene awareness among the people, and provision of materials they need for their wellbeing.
To tailor efforts to relevant needs in the North-East, the Foundation has been conducting research through engagement with the state governments, crisis management officials, indigenous and global consultants, camp coordinators and the IDPs themselves.
As concerted efforts continue to be channelled into the fight against insurgency in Nigeria, and as enduring humanitarian organisations like the Muhammadu Indimi Foundation continue to work towards mitigating the humanitarian crisis occasioned by the insurgency, it is hoped that these efforts will indeed strengthen communities and rebuild the entire North-East region.
CHUKS OLUIGBO
