THE National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) has revealed that over 6 million people have been displaced by insecurity and natural disasters in Nigeria.
This was disclosed by the Federal Commissioner of NCFRMI, Tijjani Aliyu, during a visit to the Kastina state governor, Dikko Radda, on Friday, March 9.
According to him, as of 2022, the commission has about 3 million displaced persons. However, with floods and other natural disasters, it increased to 100 per cent of displaced people.
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“What do we do if all of them cannot go back? How do we fend for them? Can the government continue to fend them, providing them succour? Absolutely not possible; we have to find a way to teach these individuals trades and give them skills so they can be on their own,” Aliyu stated.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Aliyu disclosed the commission’s intention to construct three well-furnished skills acquisition centres across the Northeast from the 2024–2025 budget.
He said the essence of the visit was to distribute food items to about 700 displaced people in Kastina state.
He said the children of the displaced persons had received educational training funds from the commission, and about 120 of them were trained and given some small starter packs to improve their living standards.
According to Aliyu, the commission discovered a water issue at the Internally Displaced (IDP) camp and promptly solved it by installing a solar-powered borehole.
To address their medical needs, the commission also planned to enrol the IDPs in a health insurance program, according to the head of NCFRMI.
In response, the governor, Radda, praised the commission’s action and stated that it is the joint duty of the federal and state governments to protect the welfare and well-being of internally displaced people.
He noted that there have been numerous security issues in the state lately, particularly in the eight frontline local government councils.
The governor expressed concerns that the food basket of the state had been affected the hardest and that most of the villages had been uprooted.
Radda expressed delight with the improvement in security with the establishment of the Katsina Security Watch Corps (SWC).
Although the governor called for increased cooperation with neighbouring states, he hoped criminals wouldn’t have a chance to hide due to the federal government’s recent deployment of more security personnel.
In February 2024, The ICIR, in this report by Abdulrasheed Hammad, uncovered the sad reality of children who are displaced and endangered by hunger and malnutrition amidst government neglect in Sokoto state.
The report also highlights the harsh lives of refugees in Wurno and Wamakko IDP camps, displaced by bandits and Boko Haram, and the impact on their livelihoods.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance