ADELOWO OLADIPO reports that residents of two Internally Displaced Persons camps in Niger State are not happy with the situation of things and would rather go back home, though the situation in their communities does not support such a decision.
Niger is one of the states in the North-Central part of the country which had been in the grips of terrorist attacks. So severe and incessant were the attacks that several communities are currently deserted, having been over-run by gunmen who daily traumatize them. As of today,villagers in their tens of thousands had been displaced and are currently trying to put their lives together in Internally Displaced Persons camps across the state.
Predictably, the number of victims keep growing by the day as there seems to be no end to the series of attacks that the state had witnessed, not to talk of those who lost their lives. For example, in September 2021, no fewer than 30 persons were killed by armed gunmen in Kachiwe and its adjoining villages in SarkinPawa, headquarters of Munya Local Government Area of the state.
Schools and mosques, among others had also become targets of terrorist attacks during which pupils were abducted and worshippers killed. Many women had also been abducted. The natural thing to do for survivors therefore is to find solace in IDP camps just to escape from the cycle of violence visited on them and to have peace of mind.
One of the camps where the victims are currently holed up, trying to come to terms with their situation is theGwada IDP camp, in Shiroro Local Government Area of the state. Sunday Tribune was at the camp to obtain first-hand information on how the residents are coping with their situation.
A resident of the camp, 19-year-old Joseph Luka, used to live in Kaure community in the same local government of Shiroro, but due to incessant attacks by bandits he and other residents of the community felt that it was no longer safe to continue to live there. Thus, they made their way to the camp about two years ago.
Kaure community residents were not the only ones who took that decision. Villagers from Rafi and Munya Local Government Areas of the state also made up their minds that enough was enough and packed their movable belongings to take residency at the Gwada IDP camp.
Luka, said though the local, state and federal governments had been making efforts to keep the residents of the IDP camp comfortable through constant supply of relief materials like food, mattresses, mats, blankets, mosquito nets and drugs;however, the displaced persons would have loved to have peace restored to their communities so that they could go back and start living their normal lives again.
“What we want the government to do for us is to ensure that we return to our respective communities as soon as normalcy is restored in Shiroro, Rafi and Munya local governments. Some of us are from different parts of the state, but most of us here are those who were displaced from Shiroro Local Government Area which include communities like Kwaetas, Chukuba, Kurebe, Iburo, Kusasu, Erena, GaladimaKogo, Malufa, Sabongida, Grumana, Bassa and many other communities,” he explained.
Luka stated further that most of the IDPs were fully engaged as local farmers, miners, fishermen and casual labourers, among others, before being forced out of their communities by the terrorists. He added that since coming to the camp, getting a means of livelihood to survive had been a major issue. The youths especially, he said, have been trying to look for jobs as farm labourers in surrounding villages so that they can earn a living through legitimate means in order not to be seen as lazy people, but without success.
“Before now, especially as of the time we arrived at the camp, we had well over 2,000 IDPs here; but now, almost two years later, some people have been able to go back to their respective villages because normalcy had returned. People like me and the others you can see around have chosen to remain because the terrorists’ camps are very close to our communities in Kaure ward in Shiroro Local Government Area of the state,” he said.
Another resident of the camp, Mrs. Kadijat Umar, a fashion designer and a mother of four, was displaced alongside her husband by terrorists from Zazaga community in Munya local council. With nowhere to go, they made their way to the IDP camp set up on the premises of Central Primary School, Gwada.
“Here, I sew clothes for some customers, friends and relations inside this camp in Gwada IDP camp in Shiroro local government. Relatively, we are enjoying peace here and the state government and other non-governmental organisations have been trying their best to cushion the effects of the hardships on us. Our children are also trying to cope with the situation,” she explained.
To survive and continue to take care of their four children, Mrs. Umar said her husband, Malam Umar, a trader, goes to the market daily to sell some items such as Quran, prayer rosary, prayer mats and other religious items.
She told Sunday Tribune that she and her husband are, however, looking forward to returning to their community in Munya Local Government Area as soon as peace returns, just as she prayed for a change of attitude from the armed terrorists who had rendered so many families homeless.
She regretted that terrorists had killed several family heads, nursing mothers and aged women, including some innocent children. She noted that many children had become orphans and turned to beggars as there was nobody to take care of them after losing their parents in a most violent way. She said apart from these calamities, many houses, farmlands and crops had been destroyed by bandits with many people still missing.
In spite of government’s efforts, the situation in the camp remains pathetic. Those in the camps face an imminent outbreak of epidemic disease(s), due to lack of drugs and medical personnel in the clinics mean to cater for residents in both camps. The clinics are supposed to cater for the 444 persons in GwadaIDP camp and 2,7O2 people in Kuta Central Primary School, Kuta.
One of the leaders of the Kuta IDP camp, MalamAbdullahi Mohammed Mashiku said residents need food, healthcare facilities and education for their children.
A woman leader at the camp, HajiyaAwalZakari, corroborated MalamMashiku’s views, adding that most of the youths and men within the camp are currently jobless despite promises of being enlisted for skill acquisition programmes by the National Directorate of Employment since two years back.
According to her, children within the camps also lack adequate care from both the council and state governments, except for help coming from some NGOs partnering with the camps’ managements to supplythose in primary school pupils with text books, exercise books, school sandals, school bags and Mathematical sets to enhance the children’s academic performance.
As things stand, residents of the IDP camps at Kuta and Gwada are not happy. Though they feel a little safe from terrorist attacks, they fear for their health and well-being. Even despite little help from NGOs, their ultimate goal is to return to their ancestral home; but his hope seems not realisable in the near future given the reality on ground.