Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, has said the resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their ancestral homes was largely misunderstood by many, insisting that at no time has his government forced anyone to relocate from IDP camps.

The governor made the clarification at the weekend during a visit to Muna Elbadawy IDP camp, which was affected by inferno.

Zulum had during a visit to the camp situated at the outskirts of Maiduguri, where the fire disaster claimed one life, and injured17 others with over 100 shelters destroyed, said it was sad that

many do not understand why Borno State Government is trying to resettle IDPs back to their ancestral homes.

He said there was never any point the state government forced any IDP back to their homes.

The governor, while paying sympathy visit to victims of the fire disaster, directed the Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to list and submit details of the number of affected households for proper intervention by the state government.

Muna Elbadawy IDP camp, situated on the outskirts of Muna-Maiduguri road, accommodates more than 10,000 households, consisting of 50,000 individuals.

Zulum, while sympathising with the victims, announced that the state government was looking at all possible ways to collaborate with the federal government and humanitarian partners to come up with a mechanism to resettle them and other remnants of IDPs in and around Maiduguri back to their ancestral homes or nearby towns such as Ngwom.

The governor, who decried the terrible situation they are living in in the camp, said the sanitary condition, poor shelter and congestion, even though the camp is not an official one, have made it compelling to resettle the IDPs back in a dignified manner.

He further explained that the resettlement would enable them to reestablish their livelihood and give them the ability to properly discipline and safeguard the moral upbringing of their children.

The governor added that this would also allow the host communities to develop by decongesting its population.
Zulum was briefed and conducted round the facility during the visit by the NEMA Coordinator (North East), Usman Mohammad Aji, and the Director-General Borno (SEMA) Hajiya Yabawa Kolo.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.