Internally displaced persons (IDPs) have finally been given permission by the Borno State government to return to and resettle into their original homes in Banki in the Bama Local Government Area.

They have been taking refuge in Dalori IDP Camp 2 in the in Konduga Local Government Area since they fled their homes to get away from persistent attacks by deadly insurgents.

The IDPs were given food, money and humanitarian aid by the Borno State government, which also provided vehicles to transport them back to their ancestral hometown.

There were just a few people left from Banki when RNI visited the camp. The rest had already returned to their ancestral homes.

Some IDPs told RNI that although they are very happy about the decision to resettle into their communities, the government still needed to address the critical issues of destroyed infrastructure, insecurity, as well as business and farming activities.

Bukar Zarami Mustapha, a displaced person from the Bama local council, said: “On Tuesday, July 26, the state brought a huge amount of food and non-food items to Dalori IDP Camp 2 so that we could return to our communities with essential items. The government also provided vehicles to transport us to our ancestral homes. We really appreciate the state government’s gesture but we still need support as far as security, social services, business and farming activities are concerned, so that we can live as we did before without any challenges.”

Mohammed Modu said: “We are very happy that now we are finally returning to our hometown and we are very grateful to Almighty Allah and the state government. The problem is that most of our houses have not been reconstructed or renovated and we don’t have any means to rebuild or renovate them. The government needs to address the reconstruction of houses, schools, hospitals and the market square because without these critical infrastructures and social services, such as food, water and healthcare services, there is no way we can live happily in our resettled communities.

“The government also needs to provide farmers with adequate security, so we can restart our farming activities. We could plant beans, even though we are returning to our hometown in the middle of the rainy season when the period of planting seeds is almost over. But we cannot do that without adequate and effective security.”

The official closure of Dalori IDP Camp 2 was last Thursday, July 28.

RNI visited the camp in Kofa village in the Konduga Local Government Area to find out how the resettlement was going.

Many IDPs were standing in a queue waiting to be screened and to collect their cash and other humanitarian aid from officials of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and the Victims Support Fund (VSF).

Some residents were dismantling their thatch houses and tents and loading their property on to trucks or into vehicles.

However, not all the residents, those from other villages in Konduga, knew exactly where the government planned to resettle them.

Alhaji Kadai said: “I’m a displaced person from Meleri Gana in the Konduga Local Government Area and I have spent almost eight years in this camp. And, finally, now the Borno State government has decided to return us to our villages, such as Kayamla. But the government has not told us exactly where we will be resettled. Right now, we are in a queue waiting for our turn to be screened and to collect our package which includes ₦50,000 and food.

“Most IDPs from Bama, Banki and Gulumba have already returned to their ancestral hometowns and now it’s our turn. But we also don’t know what measures the government has put in place as far as security and critical infrastructures, such as the reconstruction and renovation of houses, hospitals and schools.

“We don’t know the exact location where the government will resettle us, only the government authorities know. We are begging the government to provide us with effective security, so that we can continue with our businesses and farming activities.”

Babagana Goni Aji, also from Konduga, said: “This is the situation we are now in. As you can see everyone is packing his/her belongings to vacate the camp. Right now, I’m in a queue to collect my ₦50,000, food items and a ticket to leave the camp. But I still do not know where the government will resettle us. Most of the IDPs from Bama have returned to their hometown but, in our own case, the government has not disclosed where we will be resettled.”

Mu’azu Garba, the chairman of Dalori IDP Camp 2, told RNI that the residents appreciated the help the state government and the VSF had given them to resettle, such as the food and non-food items, money and humanitarian aid.

He said most of the IDPS from Bama were already back in their ancestral hometowns.

“Now it’s just the IDPs from Konduga who are waiting to be screened and to collect their money and food items.” 

He claimed the government had already rebuilt and renovated some of the destroyed houses and schools for the IDPs in Banki. But he said the IDPs from Konduga still did not know where they would be resettled.

He said some people believed that the government would resettle them at the Dalori housing unit built by the state government.

“We are appealing to the government to address the issues of critical infrastructure, especially schools and hospitals in the Konduga local councils so that the returnees will have access to effective healthcare services and their children can go to school and obtain a better education. If not, life will be very difficult for the returnees.”

SHETTIMA LAWAN MONGUNO