Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State yesterday said Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in parts of the state consume about 1,800 bags of 50 kilogrammes of rice daily.
The governor made this known as part of his address at the first annual Dialogue on Rebuilding Peace in Borno State, organised by an advocacy group, AOA Global, in collaboration with the State Government at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
Shettima highlighted what he called food emergency, following the influx of IDPs trapped by insurgents, before they were freed by the military.
He said: “As we speak, we are battling a crisis of feeding the mass of humanity in Borno. The military has rescued communities trapped, due to the presence of Boko Haram insurgents on certain routes. This has led to a mass exodus of IDPs from these communities to emergency camps.
“In Borno today, about 1,800 bags of 50 kilogrammes of rice, which constitute three trailers of 600 bags each, are required daily to cater for IDPs across the state. This does not include ingredients, such as tomatoes, vegetable oil, beans to balance carbohydrate, onions, salt and other elements. For our regular camps, 984 bags of rice are consumed daily, based on a Data Tracking Matrix of the International Organisation on Migration, working with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).
“This figure of 984 bags is for the camps in Maiduguri, Jere, Dikwa, Bama and Damboa. For Maiduguri and Jere, 787 bags of rice are consumed daily by the 152,000 IDPs in 17 camps and two relief points at Madinatu and Muna garage, where food items are distributed to IDPs living outside camps in Maiduguri.
“For Dikwa, which has 75,000 displaced persons, 101 bags are required daily. Bama requires 50 bags daily for 32,000 displaced persons, while Damboa requires 40 bags daily. These are as per the Data Tracking Mtarix of the International Organisation on Migration”.
Gov. Shettima added that there are areas where interventions are made on bi-weekly basis and cited the example of Gwoza where two trucks totaling 1,200 bags of rice, are conveyed every two weeks, translating to 85 bags daily. He also made mention of Banki, where IDPs camps receive 1,200 bags in two trucks every two weeks.
“At Ngala where we have 7,000 persons in camps and 60,000 living around communities with no source of food, a minimum of 140 bags of 50 kilogrammes of rice are consumed daily. In Monguno, which has 48,000 IDPs from both Monguno and Marte, 60 bags are required daily; in Baga and Kroskawa, 58 bags are required daily for 33,000 IDPs. In Sabon-Gari, 21,000 IDPs need 40 bags daily, while Nganzai has the least, which is 1,300 displaced persons. Besides population, consumption is also dependent on the ratio of women and children, who consume less than men”, he said.
The dialogue was attended by the Minister of Solid Minerals, Kayode Fayemi; his Health counterpart, Professor Issac Adewole, international development agencies, Global Shapers and private sector partners.
The Chief Executive Officer of AOA Global, Ayoade Olatunbosun-Alakija, said the dialogue was meant to draw from the experiences and knowledge of participants towards coming up with a rebuilding road map of the North-east region.
The political counsellor in the British High Commission, Ben Llewellyn-Jones, said his country had committed £32m worth of assistance to IDPs while the USAID country director, Michael Harvey and a representative of the UNDP Resident Representative, Fatima Samoura, all pledged their continued support to help rebuild Borno State after the devastation of the insurgency.
