The UN Assistant Secretary-General on Solutions and Displacement, Robert Piper, has described Borno State governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, as an incredible leader.
He remarked when he led a UN delegation to Borno State on behalf of the UN Secretary-General to assess the situation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the state.
Mr. Piper who is visiting the State for the second time after 3 months, said he and his team are in Borno to look at new ways of solving the challenges of displacement. He also noted that the issue was a global problem confronting other countries in the world.
“Over 70% of people around the world are internally displaced. In places like Ukraine because of conflict, in places like Pakistan because of floods, in places like Japan because of nuclear accidents, people who have lost their assets and their homes overnight due to disasters out of their control. We have to do better and we have to do it quickly because the numbers have doubled in the last ten years.
“I’ve come to learn from Borno and to bring the lessons you’ve already accumulated to take these lessons and share them with other countries around the world, how to manage this situation and how to coordinate, how to raise funding, how to make sure displaced people are in the driving seat of the effort and to show personal leadership out there on the front seat.”
Responding to their visit, Governor Zululm said he was delighted to receive them and also have the opportunity not only to learn more about the UN Secretary General’s action agenda on Internal Displacement but also to share with them what they have done to address the protracted problems of Internal Displacement not only by Boko Haram but also by natural causes such as flood, rapidly encroaching dissertation and drought as a result of climate change even before the rise of insurgency in the region.
He noted that there are significant climate and natural causes that have triggered southward migration and the internal displacement of people who are significant agriculturists, especially around the shores of Lake Chad.
According to Governor Zulum, the encroachment has further worsened the situation, resulting in increasing poverty, diseases, malnutrition, youth restlessness and unemployment. The advert of the insurgency has spiked the problem of displacement with over 7 million people from Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States being displaced in the Northeastern region. He explained, however, that his administration has and is still working tirelessly to manage the situation.
“Since the beginning of my administration, we have spent a significant part of the budget strengthening security and building resilience of my people. In the last 2years, we’ve seen increasing peace across Borno State and the Northeast and with the death of Shekau in the last one and half years, our continued effort for non-kinetic efforts to end the insurgency, we are witnessing mass unprecedented exist of Boko haram and ISWAP fighters. “
He said so far, 130 thousand people have been rescued which has also resulted in significant improvement in the security situation across the State especially across local government Headquarters and their surroundings. He however, decried the situations are the IDPs which he described as “extremely bad” and have resulted in a high rate of criminality, gender based violence, drug abuse and lots of other social vices. According to the governor, he is ready to do all it takes to improve the situation of IDPs in the State.
In line with UN Secretary General’s agenda on Internal Displacement, am committed to ensuring that my people are supported to live in IDP camps and either re-settle in the local government of their origin with good security or integrated into any community of their choice or relocate to any part of the country of their choice as free citizens…am also committed to supporting IDPs living as refugees in Cameroon, Chad and Niger to come back home and relive and claim their lands.
He added that he is also committed to supporting their children to aspire to be what they want to be and compete with other children across the world, having good education, nutrition, protection and so on.
