Denmark has offered to help in clearing farmlands in Borno State of land mines planted by Boko Haram terrorists so that displaced Persons returning to their homes can safely engage in farming activities.

A delegation of the Danish Refugee Council, led by the country director in Nigeria, Shah Luton, made the promise during a meeting with Governor Kashim Shettima in Bama.

Luton said: “We have seen serious destructions here in Bama.

“We also know that as people prepare to return they will be concerned about going back to means of livelihood, one of which is their farms.

“We will offer to bring specialists to remove mines planted in those farms to make it possible for people to use the farms.

“We will also want to know your other priorities so as to know where to intervene.”

Governor Shettima  had appealed to the Danish delegation for assistance in the rebuilding of the state devastated by terrorists, saying that the financial burden was way beyond the state’s capability.

Shettima said his office had been temporarily relocated to Bama so that he could better supervise ongoing reconstruction works in the area.

He promised donor countries and agencies that his government will continue to be transparent with regard to donations and charities towards the rehabilitation and resettlement of  displaced Persons.

The governor criticized those who he said were in the business of peddling falsehood about the situation of IDPs or destruction in their midst in order to get donations.

He said: “Here in Borno State, we have two million IDPs, the issue of IDPs has become big business that every state would claim they have over 700,000 or 500,000 as the case may be.

He pointed out that some of the IDPs in Yola, are from Borno.

“Borno was the nerve centre of the uprising; we have suffered more than any other community or any other state in the federation.

“The population of Maiduguri has swollen from about a million to three million now,” Shettima said.

He insisted that his government was not asking for cash donations rather it requires assistance in the form of building materials.

Shettima said the areas of need include  the ongoing reconstruction including schools destroyed by the insurgents, intervention in agriculture to create jobs, and gender empowerment with particular interest in education and economic empowerment of women.