Despite Gudumbali being occupied and under the control of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) insurgents for the past three years, Borno State governor Babagana Umara Zulum has set up a committee to facilitate the safe and dignified resettlement of displaced citizens in the besieged town, as well as in another town, Mairari, in the Guzamala Local Government Area.

Sugun Mai Mele, the commissioner for local government and emirate affairs, and Mustapha Gubio, the commissioner for reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement, will be the co-chairmen of the committee, which includes 22 other members. No time limit was given for the resettlement, which could take several months. The committee would have to collaborate with the military to ensure Gudumbali was safe before resettling people there.

Working with the army and other security operatives, it would have to assess the situation on the ground. People would be resettled only when the army gave clearance that the towns were safe. It could take several months.

Some internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Guzamala, who are now living in Maiduguri, told RNI that they were elated to hear about the establishment of a committee to resettle them. However, they urged the government to take all the necessary measures to ensure the towns would be secure, that there would be health facilities and that it would be safe to farm again.

Bakaila Wazamma said: “Of course, we are very grateful to the Borno State government for coming up with measures to resettle us in our hometown. We were even invited to Government House to witness the inauguration of the committee. We are very happy.

“We have been clamouring and pleading with the government to return us to our town.  Fortunately, God has answered our prayers and we will go back home soon. God willing. Because, here in Maiduguri, we are living a very tough life; some of us are renting a house, we do not have enough money to take a good care of our families and we are not farming or have any other business activities to sustain our livelihoods.

“We are just living like that. Since the government has now agreed to return us, we are fully prepared and we have the courage and resilience to return to our ancestral homes and continue our farming and business activities.”

Konto Hassan Gudumbali said: “I don’t want to speak about the inauguration of the committee, so much. But I want to talk about issues of insecurity, social services and critical infrastructure. Because, for us to return to our hometown, there must be adequate and effective security before we go.

“We also need a decent water supply. Even before our displacement, we had issues of water scarcity. By now, even those boreholes that we used to manage have been spoilt. So, the government should examine the water supply issue urgently.

“Our houses are completely devastated. Because most of the residents live in a mud houses, they have been badly damaged. The government should rebuild our houses before we return.”

Hassan Gudumbali said that if the government implemented all the urgent issues, they would be very happy to return.

“The main issues are the provision of adequate security, social services, as well as critical infrastructure, such as hospitals, schools, markets and houses, among others. We desperately want to return to our hometown and continue rearing livestock, farming and business activities in a stable and peaceful atmosphere as it was before.”

Kyari Kura, known as Yalla Boy, said: “We are displaced persons from Guzamala and we have been living here in Maiduguri for more than eight years now without being able to do anything constructive. When we heard the news that the government would be allowing us to return home, we became so excited. It almost felt as if we had already returned when we gathered at Government House to witness the committee being inaugurated. It’s better than giving us ₦100,000.

“Our life is very tough here. When the Borno State government shut down Bakassi IDP camp, all of us from Guzamala scattered to various places. Some of us rent a house here in Maiduguri, some are in Monguno, Gubio and Gajiram, among other places. Some did not have a place to stay, so they erected a tent under a tree. Honestly, we are facing a lot of challenges ranging from famine, thirst and no means of making a living.”

Yalla Boy said if the government wanted them to return to their ancestral home, apart from taking all the necessary measures and actions to address the issue of insecurity and to provide all required social amenities, such as food, water and healthcare services, they should also reconstruct our houses, markets, schools and hospitals. He said they were optimistic that the government would resettle them “without any sabotage or delay”.

Gudumbali has been occupied by ISWAP since 2019. The town does not have anyone living there, except members of ISWAP.

Bashir Mohammed Gudumbali, who comes from Guzamala but is now living Maiduguri, said that there had been no presence of security operatives in the town since 2019.

“The insurgents have controlled Guzamala, particularly Gudumbali for more than three years. It’s because there have been no soldiers, police or Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) members in the area since 2019.

“However, on June 18, 2018, some people returned to Guzamala. Then, on November 5, 2018, the Nigerian Army chased away the ISWAP fighters from Gudumbali, following a fierce battle. Some of the former residents returned to the town. On December 8, the military got intelligence that the ISWAP fighters were planning to attack the town again and they started regular patrols, during which they caught some people and locked them in the military barracks.

“Despite the fierce fighting between soldiers and ISWAP insurgents, the people bravely continued to stay in Gudumbali until January and February 2019, when the ISWAP fighters invaded Gudumbali again and chased away the residents. There were gun shots coming from all directions and, once again, the inhabitants fled the town. Since then, there have been no residents living in Gudumbali.

At the end of 2021, when the Borno State government shut down all the state-run IDP camps within Maiduguri, the people of Guzamala scattered to various parts. Some even fled to Niger and further afield.

Mohammed Gudumbali said it was time for the government to secure and safeguard not only Gudumbali but the whole Guzamala Local Government Area by deploying troops so that the residents could return to their hometowns.

“Even in Mallam Fatori, in the Abadam Local Government Area and one of the places hit hardest by the insurgents, residents have been resettled successfully. Now they are living peacefully, with many security operatives on the ground to protect their lives and property. I don’t know why the government cannot take the same measures in Guzamala.”

Although Guzamala was said to be the only local government area among the 27 in Borno State that was still in the grip of ISWAP, Zulum said in January this year that there were two local government areas of Borno State, Abadam and Guzamala, still under the control of the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’way Wa’l-Jihād (JAS), better known as Boko Haram.

SHETTIMA LAWAN MONGUNO