The prevailing insurgency in the North has resulted in the emergence of displaced persons in many of the region’s states.
Some of those displaced by terrorism have been unable to return to their ancestral homes and have sought temporary shelter in Nasarawa State.
The stranded natives have pitched their tents in no fewer than ten makeshift camps in Karu, a border town of Nasarawa State with the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja, after being driven away by repeated attacks by Boko Haram terrorists and deprived of any means of livelihood. Of course, given what they went through before arriving in their new home, they have no desire to return to their ancestral homes.
Despite the fact that they live in squalor in Internally Displaced Person Camps with no basic amenities such as water, electricity, hospitals, or schools, the stranded people find it more convenient and appropriate to stay in these temporary homes rather than return to where they could be killed or recruited to fight for the terrorists. They have been living in this dreadful condition in Karu for more than nine years, with no knowledge of the local, state, or federal governments.
According to an investigation conducted by Arewa Voice in Nasarawa State, only one of the ten IDP camps located in the Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State could boast of having a source of drinking water provided by the local government, as well as a small and non-functional clinic to cater for the IDPs’ health needs.
The situation is exacerbated by the fact that the children of these displaced people do not have access to education in nine of the ten camps, preventing them from furthering their education and becoming useful to themselves and society at large.
However, as bad as the situation appears to be, the internally displaced people have vowed to continue to suffer in their various camps rather than return to their ancestral home, where they claim the Boko Haram is still present.
David Yakubu, the secretary of the internally displaced persons, told our correspondent at the Karu beans market that since they fled Borno State and have been living in Karu for more than nine years, no government, federal or state, has identified with them.
According to David Yakubu, it is the only non-governmental organization in the United States of America that has provided children with shelter as well as a primary school. Churches have made additional contributions over the last nine years.
“No government, federal or state, has identified with us since we arrived in Karu. Only the Karu Local Government has been attempting to reduce our burden. Though, on Saturday (December 31), the Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, paid us a visit for the first time in nine years and gave us many gifts, including money, clothing, and food. “We owe Abdullahi Sule our gratitude,” Yakubu stated.
The secretary, who is also the special assistant to the Karu Local Government Chairman on IDPs, praised the local government for its various interventions to make displaced people’s lives more meaningful. He urged various government organs, particularly the federal and state governments, to come to their aid as life in the ten IDP camps became increasingly unbearable.
According to the IDPs’ scribe, the Karu local government and traditional institutions in the area have been vital to their survival for nine years, providing farmlands as well as a market for the sale of their products, particularly beans, which are now being produced in commercial quantities. How can we go back to Borno State to be killed when our lives are safe in Karu, Nasarawa State? “The only request we have for the federal and state governments is that they provide us with basic necessities like water, schools for our children, and health care facilities, as well as security to protect the various camps,” David stated.
It should be noted that the camps have been in operation for more than ten years and are occupied by displaced people who fled from various parts of the North-East following the Boko Haram attack. The Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency’s Director General, Zachary Allumaga, has denied that the state government and NASEMA were aware of the camps’ existence for more than nine years.
Governor Abdullahi Sule, according to Allumaga, will visit the IDP camps in Karu to interact with the displaced people and donate relief materials to ease their suffering. But why did it take so long for the camps to operate in the state without the government’s knowledge?
