Displaced persons from the Konduga district of Borno State say they have waited long enough – they want the governor to fulfil his pledge to resettle them in their ancestral hometown.

Displaced persons from the Konduga district of Borno State in Nigeria’s northeast have had enough … they are demanding that governor Babagana Umara Zulum keeps his promise to resettle them in their ancestral hometown.

“Throughout last year’s election campaign, the governor promised we would be allowed to return to our hometown of Kayamla in the Konduga Local Government Area. But he has not fulfilled his promise. Nothing was done. We have been away for more than 10 years. We want to go home now,” said Malum Amsami.

He and other displaced persons told RNI that they had fled from Kayamla to escape persistent, deadly attacks by the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’way Wa’l-Jihād (JAS), more commonly referred to as Boko Haram.

Most were housed in official internally displaced persons’ (IDP) camps in and around Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State.

When the official camps were shut at the end of December 2021, they moved into informal IDP camps in host communities. The “lucky” ones were able to stay with relatives.

Amsami said displaced persons from Kayamla kept hearing about others who had been resettled in their ancestral hometowns.

“We have been displaced for more than 10 years. The governor keeps promising to resettle us but so far, he has not kept his word. He has let us down.

“Our living conditions are appalling. We do not have proper shelters, there is not enough food and clean water, sanitation is poor, there are no medical facilities and our children roam the streets because they are not in school. We do not have even the basic amenities. How much longer must we live like this?

“Before the insurgency, we farmed and ran small businesses. Then we were forced to flee. We abandoned our properties, including our houses and valuables. We had to give up our livelihoods. For more than 10 years, we have been forced to live in congested camps. We cannot get work. We cannot provide for our wives and children.

“All we get from the government are promises and more promises. It’s enough now. We want to go home. It is time.”

Fanna Tijjani, originally from Kayamla, told RNI that displaced persons were tired of moving from one camp to another.

“We are always in search of proper shelters. I am sick of always being on the move. At present, I live in a community IDP camp behind Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri. For more than 10 years we have been moving from one camp to another.

“We get no help from the Borno State government, humanitarian agencies or non-governmental organisations [NGOs]. We lack food, water, medication and shelters. Everything is so expensive; we are lucky if we have one meal a day.

“Our children are suffering from hunger and malnutrition. Many of the women are also sick. Breastfeeding women do not get enough food, so there is no milk coming for the babies. Our babies are dying because they are starving. Men try to get work but there isn’t any. Many of us rely on begging just so that we can provide one meal a day for our children.

“All we want is for the government to keep its promise and resettle us in our ancestral home where we can live in a dignified manner.”

Ba Modu Goi-Goi, the deputy head ward of Kayamla town, told RNI that there were more than 200 villages and hamlets that fell under the town before the area was attacked by insurgents and inhabitants were forced to flee.

“Kayamla town is an agrarian community in the Konduga district. For some time now, it has been relatively peaceful and secure.

“But there are no inhabitants in the town even though security has improved. The community wants to return but they are not allowed to resettle themselves. They have to have clearance from the Borno State government. The problem is that critical infrastructure – such as hospitals, houses, schools, markets and other public buildings – needs to be rebuilt or renovated because Boko Haram destroyed everything.

“Governor Zulum promised to resettle our hometown while he was campaigning for the 2023 election. But we are still waiting. Since the election, he has not said a word. All we can do is to sit and wait.

“We keep hearing how the government has resettled other displaced persons in their ancestral hometowns, such as Dalwa, Dalori, Banki, Ngoro-Soye and others.

“We are tired of waiting. We are tired of living like refugees in our own state. We want the governor to fulfil his promise. We want him to take all the necessary measures to resettle us in our ancestral home. And we want him to do it soon. We just want to go home.”

SHETTIMA LAWAN MONGUNO