A Catholic priest and humanitarian worker has raised awareness about the struggles of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Gwoza Local Government in Borno State, now residing in Girei Local Government, Adamawa State, Northeast Nigeria.
The Cleric, Rev. Fr. Maurice Kwairanga, who is the Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) Coordinator of Yola Diocese, reported the worrisome conditions of the IDPs during a working visit to Fombina IDP camp.
Credit: Maurice Kwairanga.
“She would have been among the people who were abducted or killed in Gwoza.”
“This is an informal camp that is not recognised by the government or any institution. It was set up by the IDPs themselves, with small intervention from the Norwegian Refugee Council. Here with me is Mama Asabe Adamu. She is from Gava in Gwoza LGA. This is where she lives. If Asabe had gone back, she would have been among the people who were abducted or killed in Gwoza in the Goshe area and parts of Gwoza, some few months ago,” he narrated.
The priest who further decried their poor living conditions said, “This is the twenty-first century Nigeria, where a human being, having suffered displacement, is living. See where she’s living. This is not a fairy tale. She has nowhere to go. This is where Mama finds herself. She’s not alone.”
He explained that “The owner of this land gave them temporary use of it, and they have stayed here in displacement for twelve years. And there is no hope that they can go back. Their places are not safe at all.”
Fr. Kwairanga also disclosed that he visited the makeshift house of Christiana, another IDP from Gwoza, where he also met her children, adding that “she is trapped here in this camp with no hope of going anywhere at all.”
The aid worker stated, “This is where she lives with her children. It is even worse, taking you inside her bedroom or her what looks like a kitchen where she does her cooking. This is where she lives. This is her gate. This is the wall of her house.”
Fr. Kwairanga speaking to Christiana, another IDP from Gwoza, at her makeshift house. Credit: Maurice Kwairanga.
“She cannot go back to that community because she risks being killed or abducted with her children.”
At the home of Mariamu Ali, a squalid house, the priest of Yola Diocese lamented that “This is another home as well. Seven of them live in this house. A house in Nigeria in the twenty-first century, where a human being displaced by Boko Haram, her community is occupied by Boko Haram. She cannot go back to that community because she risks being killed or abducted with her children. This is where she has found herself.”
The cleric also stated how he found “a woman on top of her roof on the other side, near this tamarind tree, trying to fix the grass on her roof.”
The Catholic priest who decried that, “This looks like the people living in the seventh century or during the Stone Age,” further posed a rhetorical question, “Do we have Nigerians with hearts who are moved, who can transform the lives of people?”
Kids at the IDP camp, unsure of their future. Credit: Maurice Kwairanga.
“This land can be bought for them either by an individual or by the government.”
On how help can be rendered to the IDPs, the JDPC Coordinator clarified that “this land can be bought for them either by an individual or by the government, and then these people can be resettled here because there is no hope that they can go back. They are now indigenous. They are now people of Adamawa State living here in this community.”
Speaking further, he urged support for the community from the government at all levels and spirited individuals across the board.
Life in the camp: a tree provides shelter and recreation for women and children. Credit: Maurice Kwairanga.
“Those who have, have the means to transform the lives of people in Nigeria – government officials, religious institutions, and other groups that can change the lives of these people. We call on the government, at the local, state, and federal levels, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to change the lives of these people…GDP growth is measured by where these people live and the kind of life they live here.
“If the government or any Nigerian with the milk of human kindness, somebody who is touched, can help this community, buy this land, two and a half hectares of land is for sale, offered for sale, so that these IDPs can each have a piece of land in this place and have a befitting home.
“This is an opportunity. I am appealing to anybody with the milk of human kindness to help this community. If anyone who is a human being, who is moved, who can help to transform the lives of these people, please come to Fombina camp in Girei and help us to transform the lives of these people,” he pleaded.
