The rising statistics of refugees from the mindless attacks of Boko Haram insurgents have reached a frightening level, creating a crisis of confidence amongst Nigerians as to the preparedness of the federal government to tackle the security challenges head-on. Recent media reports confirmed that some 12,000 Nigerians have already relocated to the Republic of Niger, while over 30,000 mostly from Borno are stranded in Cameroon.
In the midst of this terrible situation is the disappearance of about 390 children in the wake of the fall of Mubi a few days ago. The officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) along with those of the National Refugees Commission (NRC), who have been grappling with the challenges of catering for the refugees, described it as very overwhelming. The crisis has now reached a disturbing level as the statistics paint an increasingly gloomy picture of the situation on ground in the Northeast axis and the neighbouring countries of Niger Republic, Chad and Cameroon. As at September 1, this year, the United Nations Refugee Agency reported that around 100 Nigerians are fleeing into Cameroon on daily basis. This is very scary.
“So, it is a volatile situation along the border there and people are visibly terrified,” said Melissa Fleming of the UN agency, who further disclosed that the body had relocated more than 8,600 Nigerians to the Minawao refugee camp located in Cameroon over the past two weeks. It also moved 5,000 others away from the border town of Fotokol in Adamawa within the same period. Among the over 100,000 Nigerians sheltered in hospitals and refugee camps in North Cameroon are children below five years who are afflicted by acute malnutrition. Also, the recent attacks on Mubi, Adamawa state, have increased the number of IDPs to over 20,000. Ibrahim Hamidu, Red Cross commandant in the area said: “The number of men that we have registered in this camp is 3,015; the number of women is 3,105, the number of under-5 male children is 1,268, while that of under-5 female children is 1,290, bringing the total figure to 9,134.”
However, the official figures of refugees do not include those staying with their relations in various places like Maiduguri, Potiskum and Yola which are considered safe for the time being. On Monday, the Borno state Government had to evacuate more than 2,000 IDPs taking refuge at the NYSC Camp in Damare village because the camp was getting over-crowded. The camp commander, Mr. Ibrahim Hamidu, noted that the IDPs were mostly from Gwoza Local Government Area of the state. They were joined by those fleeing from Uba and Mubi camps following attacks on the towns by insurgents last week and that the camp was still witnessing influx of people from the Mubi axis. He further disclosed: “So far, we have registered 8,146 people in this camp alone and many are still waiting to be registered.”
More pathetic, however, is the fact that most of the camps are fast running out of food supply and medicaments due to the influx of refugees on hourly basis. The crisis would not have degenerated to this sorry state if the federal government had seriously confronted the challenges posed by the insurgency before it spiraled out of control. The current state of affairs is an indictment on the nation’s leadership, which appears to be more concerned about the 2015 polls than protecting the lives and properties of Nigerians which is its primary responsibility. The federal government had vowed in the recent past to declare a total war on the insurgents. It should back its declaration with action and end the madness as quickly as possible so that these hapless Nigerian refugees can return home and resume their normal lives. We also call on the government at all levels to do everything possible to assist the terror victims to enable them cope with the difficulties they are passing through.