Yes, I remember the saying of one of my lecturers: if you have nothing to say, don’t say it here. In short, if you have nothing to say especially with regard to the issue at stake or matter under discourse, better keep quiet to avoid making yourself a nuisance or an interloper. This is in agreement with the slogan of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture on the current security challenges facing the nation, which goes, “If you see something, say something.”
Today, I see something and I will say something and I will say something though in the process I might have crossed the red lines in the interpretation of some, but I passionately plead to ignore the message and not the messenger, no matter how crude, sour or bitter. The message might not be after all a garbage for the dust bin. It might be food for thought, depending on the perspective viewed, though I cannot be a judge in my own cause.
Recently, when signing the state appropriation bill (budget) of 2018 into law at the Government House in Maiduguri, Governor Kashim Shettima told the audience which include principal officers of the state legislature, commissioners and other stakeholders, that they would for now see less of him.
Reason: he would be proceeding to various parts of the state to ensure that all the Internally Displaced Persons of Borno State presently in various camps are relocated to their permanent homes or communities latest May 29, 2018. Before this new date, Governor Shettima had earlier pledged that by May 29, 2017, all the affected IDPs would have been relocated to their permanent homes but that was not to be, as the sudden upsurge in the activities of the terrorists before the designated date frustrated this.
It would be recalled that in his resolve to making the aborted date of May 29, 2017 a reality, the Governor moved temporarily the operational headquarters of the administration from Maiduguri to Bama town, from where he embarked on inspection tour of various construction works on the rehabilitation and resettlement programme of the IDPs in some parts of the state, being a scheme under the Ministry of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement.
In spite of the continued military operations and all efforts by the state government, complemented by the Federal Government…there appear to be serious threats, mostly from within, to frustrate all efforts at making the deadline of May 29, 2018 for the return of the IDPs in Borno, a success
Speaking also on the permanent resettlement of the IDPs in the country at the 9th edition of the Town Hall meeting in Maiduguri, the Minister for Budget and Planning, Zainab Ahmed, stated that the year 2018 is designated for the return of the IDPs to their respective communities, adding that about 3000 Nigerian refugees are still outside the country. Similarly on the occasion, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Abdurraham Dambazau, stated that 80 percent of the refugees in the neighbouring country of Cameroun was from Borno State, expressing the doubt over their possible repatriation to their permanent communities in the absence of adequate preparation for their resettlement. He made reference to the Kampala Convention which states that refugees can return home if they so wish, but not to return to other camps.
With the overwhelming evidence on ground was typified or manifested in the execution of massive reconstruction and rehabilitation of public and private infrastructure earlier destroyed by the insurgents, as well building of new ones, even the doubting Thomas would not dispute the seriousness of the authorities’ -especially the Borno State Government-determination to making May 29, 20118 deadline a reality. This is despite the colossal damage inflicted on the zone by the insurgents. For the past seven years, however, the Northeast, especially Borno, has witnessed unprecedented blood, deaths and sorrow.
Official records indicate that while over two million IDPs had been affected, 100,000 souls have perished, and over 60,000 widows and 50,000 orphans recorded. Over a million houses had also been destroyed, while the amount of damage to public and private infrastructure stood at 9 billion US Dollars. Borno State’s accounts for six billion dollars of the total amount.
Fully aware Borno of State as the epicentre of the insurgency and accounting for about 70 percent of the total destruction and mayhem, Shettima’s administration is partnering with the Federal Government and other development partners in reconstruction and resettlement efforts. So far, remarkable achievements have been made in this regard. Already, the IDPs in Konduga, Beneshiekh and Gwoza are already being relocated to their permanent homes, while that of Bama town is expected to commence soonest, as action on other places concerned is already on.
Ironically, in spite of the continued military operations and all efforts by the state government, complemented by the Federal Government, international donors and other stakeholders, there appear to be serious threats, mostly from within, to frustrate all efforts at making the deadline of May 29, 2018 for the return of the IDPs in Borno, a success.
Since the beginning of the insurgency and up till now the military has been consistent in condemning the political and religious colouration attached to the insurgency which created impediments on the quick and effective liquidation of Boko Haram sect. For instance, the Army Chief of Staff, Lt. General Kenneth Minimah, during his “pulling out parade” ceremony in Abuja years back, regretted that instead of the affected people in the insurgency-infested zone to cooperate with the military to subdue the terrorists, politics and religion took the centre stage.
Even under the present dispensation, the military had in statements, again indicted the elite and politicians in the northeast, especially Borno, of frustrating the efforts of the military in ending terrorism, for their selfish ends. In doing this, the statements alleged that the concerned politicians and groups employed the services of marabous and others, to retard the progress of the military.
The situation becomes more fluid and tempting now that politics is here. The opposition will do anything to make sure that the May 29 date, slated for the return of the IDPs to their respective homes is not realizable, as failure would be a plus for then in their campaign strategy.
Notwithstanding, it is high time the modicum of sense took over man’s irrationality, sentiments, emotion, senselessness and self-centeredness. Borno has suffered enough and has been stretched to the limit. Let May 29, 2018 be. It’s time for the reverse gear. Otherwise, if Borno falls, everybody will fall.
*Izekor, a journalist, public affairs analyst, is a member of the Board of Advisers of The Point.
