By Musdapha Ilo

Switzerland has promised to partner with countries affected by Boko Haram insurgency in reconstructing insurgency ravaged areas and resettling displaced persons.

Switzerland’s Charge de Affairs and acting Ambassador to Nigeria, Daniel Cavegn, stated this on Monday when he visited Maiduguri, Borno state, the worst hit state in the six years insurgency, adding that one of the areas of collaboration, especially with the state government, is agriculture because of its job creation potentials.

Governor Kashim Shettima, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Usman Jidda Shuwa, welcomed the partnership, saying the state needs any help it can get to get back on its feet, as the destruction caused by the war is beyond the resources of both the state and federal governments.

“Considering the situation in which we found ourselves and the meagre resources at our disposal, there is the need for foreign partners and international organisations to come to the aid of the state especially in the reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement of the destroyed communities,” he stated.

The governor observed that “Infrastructures such as schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, electrical facilities, public and private residential houses, water facilities, telecommunication facilities, Army and Police barracks and many more have been completely destroyed and require reconstruction and replacements.”

Apart from affecting Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe and other states in the north, including Abuja, the nation’s capital, the insurgency has also caused problems in neighbouring the countries of Cameroon, Chad and Niger, a development that necessitated the creation of a regional force to end and stem its spread.