{"id":4027,"date":"2013-05-22T02:26:38","date_gmt":"2013-05-22T02:26:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disnaija.com\/nigerian-newspapers\/emergency-aftermath\/"},"modified":"2013-05-22T02:26:38","modified_gmt":"2013-05-22T02:26:38","slug":"emergency-aftermath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disnaija.com\/emergency-aftermath\/","title":{"rendered":"Emergency aftermath"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u2022Internally displaced persons in areas where emergency rule has been declared deserve assistance<\/strong><\/p>\n

Humanitarian crisis has been reported in parts of Borno State where President Goodluck Jonathan last week announced the imposition of emergency rule. In parts of Maiduguri, the state capital where 24-hour curfew was imposed last Saturday, residents are reported to be in dire need of food supply, while shortage of water supply in the neigbourhoods is said to be causing pains. The streets are deserted and the markets closed down.<\/p>\n

This has added a new dimension to the refugee crisis provoked by the Boko Haram crisis. Over the past week, thousands are said to have fled border areas of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states where emergency measures were introduced on May 14. Some of the internally displaced persons have fled the country to war-torn Niger Republic, which has been facing shortages caused by political conflicts in recent times.<\/p>\n

Others are said to be flocking to neighbouring Bauchi, Gombe and Taraba states where there are no plans to accommodate them. This is coming about a year after the floods that ravaged most parts of the country last year, sacking entire communities and depriving the people of their means of livelihood. The people of these states are at the most vulnerable moments.<\/p>\n

Before the Federal Government took \u201cextraordinary measures\u201d to root out the Boko Haram insurgents, it ought to have put in place a policy to protect the innocent people who are now being made to bear the brunt of the conflict. Women and children have been reduced to beggars and sentenced to starvation.<\/p>\n

Even before the latest development that compounded the situation, the director of Action Aid Nigeria, Dr. Husseini Abdu, had decried the absence of a policy framework to protect innocent victims of communal, political and religious crises in Nigeria. In the wake of last year\u2019s flood devastation, millions of Nigerians were internally displaced and the country was described as the worst hit by the scourge on the African continent. Now that war has been literally declared across three states, the problem could only be compounded.<\/p>\n

We call on the government to immediately commence the process of enunciating the right policies. In the interim, well-equipped camps should be set up in states bordering Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.<\/p>\n

It must also be pointed out that there is a dire need for the Federal Government to ensure that the troops deployed keep strictly to the rules of engagement while also assuring the populace that they have nothing to fear.<\/p>\n

It is the duty of all, including the military, to ensure that normalcy returns to the three states as soon as possible. In doing this, support of the state governments, local governments and other democratic institutions that share the burden of the conflict should be enlisted in a bid to bring the situation under control and secure the civilian population.<\/p>\n

Just before the presidential proclamation, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar, had told judges and Kadhis at a workshop in Abuja that the situation was becoming alarming and called for concern. She said: \u201cThese people are forced to flee their homes, ancestral places of abode and places of business due to no fault of theirs. Now, these internally displaced persons are often referred to as refugees in their own countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

It must be noted that conflicts are rocking all countries that border Nigeria in the North-Chad, Niger, and Cameroon. Yet, the terrified population is likely to be driven to those insecure territories where they could be affected by the wars.<\/p>\n

The primary duty of the government of Nigeria is to ensure that the welfare of the people is guaranteed. The innocent victims of this conflict, in particular, deserve to be protected and catered for. The National Emergency Management Agency, Red Cross International, Red Cross Nigeria and International Commission on Human Rights should all be immediately mobilised to wipe tears from the faces of these children and mothers who have become victims of a war they most likely do not understand.<\/p>\n

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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. <\/a>A DisNaija.Com<\/a> network.<\/p>\n

Source: The Nation Newspaper<\/p>\n

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