Brief – After more than 13 years of insurgency, many people in Borno State are finding it hard to live in harmony with one another, particularly as rehabilitated repentant insurgents – the very people who had tortured and killed their loved ones – return to their communities.

The Neem Foundation, a leading crisis response organisation committed to promoting the protection and wellbeing of communities living in conflict areas, held a two-day awareness programme in Maiduguri on Monday and Tuesday this week.

Neem’s Garba Yusuf said: “Traditional and religious leaders, security personnel, including members of the civilian joint task force, and residents attended. All had been affected in one way or another by the insurgency. Most had lost loved ones. Many of the penitent former insurgents felt stigmatised. We tried to show them the way to live in harmony with one another, to avoid differences, to include all faiths and to strive for peaceful coexistence.”

Bulama Gwange, the ward head of Gwange 1, said: “It was a reminder that we, as leaders, need to treat everyone equally. We will share the messages within our communities and we will teach our children what we learnt because the youngsters of today are the leaders of tomorrow.”

AISHA SD JAMAL