Strangers in their own land story of Nigerians forced out of their homesteads by Boko Haram

The insurgency in the North-East of Nigeria has left in its trail ugly stories of death, destruction, displacement and separation of children from parents and husbands from their wives.

The hardest hit are children whose parents had either been killed, separated from them or died during delivery.

Out of the over 6,000 children displaced, just a minute number have both parents  alive. The remaining  have been forced to embark on journeys to unknown destination with nobody pointing the way for them. They are living but without a future, destiny or any place or parents of their own. They are marooned in six camps in Adamawa State, fed, clothed, and given healthcare but without parental care and love.

Baby Teri is one-month old.  His mother died shortly after delivery following the complications she suffered as a result of the devastation occasioned by the war in her area. His mother was one of the internally displaced persons who lost everything including her husband, relations and belongings. Teri is the fifth in the family but his siblings are nowhere to be found. Teri has never taken any breast milk in his life. He was named Teri by his foster mother who cannot breast feed him.

Baby Ibrahim is another internally displaced child. She is lucky to have her mother alive but not so lucky to be given baby foods. At three months she takes solid foods like rice, akara, moi-moi and other adult foods. This is because her mother was advised not to feed her with breast milk because she is ill.

The Federal Government had tried to provide shelter, food, provisions and medication for over 20,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in six camps in Adamawa State alone. There are other camps in Yobe, and Borno States where FG, through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in is taking care of IDPs in the three troubled states every month. Over N1billion is estimated to have been spent on them every month.

Abuja Metro spoke to some of the refugees in the two camps of Damare, Kwanawaya and the NYSC camp, all in Adamawa State.

Helen Ibrahim

My name is Helen Ibrahim. I was delivered of a baby on September 21 and I came here in the camp this month (November). I delivered in my brother’s house. I am from Michika.

I left Michika on Saturday. Then I was due for delivery. I went to a village called Di. On my return from Di, Boko Haram came to the place. The stress of the journey coupled with the anxiety moments, I went into labour. When I was taken to the hospital there, all the nurses and doctors had fled and they took me to Lassa. Also, in Lassa the nurses had deserted the place. Then my mummy brought me to Yola where I gave birth.  I don’t know if my husband is alive or not. My mother who brought me here is caught up in Zurock. I don’t know her whereabouts now. The child is two months old and he eats anything we eat. My problem is that I want to go back,” she cried.

There are also children between the ages of five and 18 years who are out of school and are stranded. Most of them have no parents and they were all anxious about their future.

Catharine Danladi is from Michika. She fled from church, leaving her siblings and parents.
“We left because of Boko Haram. They came on Sunday. We have been here for six weeks now. I attended JSS Michika and I was in SS1.  We are eight in the family. Some of us are not here. My father is here but my mother is in Stom. This is because when the insurgents attacked us we were not together. We were in church. I cannot meet my mummy now and I cannot talk to her because there is no network in Stom,” she lamented.

Vahyala Daniel is 18 and attended Science School, in Uba. He also narrated his ordeal.

“I came to meet my daddy here because when the attack happened I went to our village in Garta, Michika. My mother and my siblings went to the village. We were not in Michika when the incident occurred. My daddy said that on Saturday we should go to our village. The attack took place on Sunday in Michika and he fled. The attackers later invaded the village.  They came shooting and burning shops, houses and markets in Garta in the night.

We ran to Mubi by okada and from Mubi we came here (Yola). Some also trekked to the camp,” he said.

 Friday Dauda from Tudun Wada, Michika recalled to Abuja Metro that:

“Those people (Boko Haram) came in Hilux cars and with machine guns. The sound of the guns was not the normal guns we used to know. They were killing and firing along the road, killing elders, young men and women including babies. They slaughtered people like goat. The soldiers were running away. The soldiers would leave their guns and run away. They complained that they have not received command. They will be waiting for command while the Boko Haram boys are killing people. I have lost over five relations now. My brother serving with the police who visited home in Maiduguri was shot and killed; one of my uncles has been shot and killed. But I thank God I have all my immediate family members intact,” he said.

Mary Emmanuel from Birgidi Village, Michika Local Government stated her own ordeal this way:

“They entered our village around October 17 and 18. When they came, they carried all the women and children. They are still with them. One woman has three children and still there with the insurgents, another one has three and another one has one, another has one two kids and another woman, one and so on. They carried all of them and went away. I and my children escaped around 12.20am from my village to Lassa.

I have two children. My husband is not here. I left him in the village. I left him alive. But I don’t know if he is alive now. Let them clear the way for us to go back home” she appealed.

 Kefas Joshua said:

“I live in Mubi. I left Mubi to go and help my brother harvest some farm produce. It was in Mubi they attacked us. As I speak, I don’t know where my parents are. I do not know where my siblings are. It is only me left in the family and with no one to car for me. I cannot communicate with my parents now. I don’t know if they are alive because we cannot communicate.

Peter Colman

“I came here over three months ago. I am from Madagali Local Government, in Adamawa State.

The Boko  Haram boys  started from Gwoza to Madagali Local Government. After Madagali, they came to Michika. When they took over the areas, we had to run away. Some missed their children in the process while some have not seen their children up till now. In terms of food items, we have two meals a day. That is in the morning and night,” he said.

Pastor Bulus Wyda from Izge Local Government

I started running from Izge Local Government to Gwoza to Gulak and from Gulak to Michika;  from Michika to Mubi and from Mubi to Yola. And this journey has taken me 12 months. I do not know where my wife and baby are and I cannot communicate with them.

I have five children. Three of them are with me and my 10-year old daughter is not here and the mother is not here. I don’t know where they are now.
Whatever we are taking here is not satisfactory. We need to go home,” he passionately demanded.

However, the Camp Director, Mr Silvanus Papka said that in Daware Camp alone, there was an initial 10,000 IDPs but the number dropped to 8,023 because the Borno State Government came to evacuate its citizens who came from Gwoza. He also submitted that the number of IDPs is fluid as they are still trooping into the camp.

“We have 8,023 IDPs. We have recorded over 10,000 but the drop was made simply because the Borno State government came in to evacuate its citizens. That is those displaced in Gwoza.

And since the decision to go back was purely voluntary, we had to let them go. But many still remained behind. We still have a lot of people trooping into this town. Just yesterday, we registered over 250 IDPs. And the registration is still on-going. We cannot tell you the exact position now because it is fluid. The position could be 8,000 today and by tomorrow it is 9,000 as the case may be. So, this is the predicament. Regarding the feeding here, we feed the IDPs three times a day. We don’t have much problem with their feeding. Regarding their health, we are doing very well.  Voluntary organizations are assisting us here. In the security aspect, we have about five organizations ranging from the police, the civil defence, Peace Corps, the Boys Brigade and the Red Cross. We have been working together with them and keeping the camp peaceful. That is why the camp here is one of the best in terms of management. Here in the camp we have witnessed 12 deliveries and out of the 12, 11 were successful. Only one was a still birth. Apart from the deliveries, we have also recorded sad moments. We have registered about six deaths. Two were as a result of delivery on the way before they came here. On reaching the camp here they were tired and their situation was pathetic and we had to refer them to specialist hospital. But then it was too late. Two others were as a result of diarrhea,” he recalled.

However, Director General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Sani Sidi, promised to address the challenges in the camps.
“We have been providing food and non-food items in all the camps. Unfortunately, there are reported cases of IDPs moving out with the bedding, especially the mattresses and mats and blankets that have been provided. But that is understandable because they are not moving back to their homes, they are moving back to the host communities or to their relatives. So, we are trying to fill in the gap.

Another area of challenges have is the special needs of the IDPs. For instance, IDPs who need special care like those suffering from diabetes who do not eat the normal foods that they prepare in the camp give us extra burden to handle.  So, these are the areas that we need to concentrate on.

We need to provide special feeding arrangement for those who have special needs. We do also know that there are quite a number of children. There is a programme here in this camp for continuing education under the Safe Schools Initiatives. There are volunteer teachers who are teaching the young girls and boys for their formal education. We will strengthen that. We will support them so that this will continue. And also, healthcare is another challenge. We will collaborate further with the state Ministry of Health and other stakeholders to ensure that there is proper health care arrangement in the camps.

The federal government is doing everything possible to make sure that peace and security are restored in those areas where they come from. It is an on-going struggle and the government will not relent on its efforts until all those areas have been secured. You can also know that remarkable achievements have been made in recent days to secure all those places. So, we are hopeful that very soon, all those places will be liberated and those people will go back to their own towns. It is a prayer and we need to pray very hard,” he assured.

While commending the state government in taking care of the IDPs, he noted that: “We have been to some of the camps. We really commend the efforts of the governor, who has been very passionate about the issues of IDPs even before now. He has visited NEMA headquarters severally, to appeal for relief materials for the displaced persons in several locations across the state.

Speaking on the new location in Malkohi for the IDPs on Numan Road, the Secretary to the State Government, Ibrahim Walye, assured that the place would be made ready soon.

“The place will be fumigated and the chemicals will last for seven months. At least from now on there will be no danger of rodents or anything that will harm our IDPs. This camp can host over 5,000 IDPs. We hope to start bringing them as soon as possible.

Those who will help us clean the place are ready. They are waiting for us to ask them to come in, clean the place and make it  habitable. I should be very excited to announce that NEMA has graciously agreed to increase mattresses here and mats and that will come in very soon.

There is a camp we went to along Numan Road. The owner of that place actually gave it out on volunteer service as his own gesture of kindness. But he will not allow us make some additional structures because it will disfigure his estate. So, we have to move them from there. Today, we are organizing to move IDPs from Shelle, about 500 and from Numan, over 2,000 of them.

However, both the SSG and the NEMA DG roundly condemned the statement made by the owner of the estate that he contributed in the feeding of the IDPs.