By Malam Isah Abbas Ahmed
For the past few days, my mind have being traumatized. I am painstakingly following one in a rare, a true Bama indigene, a very good son of Northeast, a concerned Nigeria and a friend I cherished pretty much; Abba Bukar Abba Masta on his Bama Trip.
An honest and adventurous trip that revealed a lot of hidden situation of our own people who are internally displaced due to Boko Haram menace in the region. I was shocked to see how his own house was destroyed. I was terribly hurt and in tears when I sighted pictures of his visit to one of the IDP Camps situated in Bama (BAMA IDP Camp). That quickly took me down memory lane when myself and my good friend in humanity Muktar Garba Maigamo posted pictures of unhygienic food served to IDPs in Maiduguri despite all the monies set aside by the State and Federal Governments to cater for their immediate needs (primarily health, food and shelter) and whole lot of donations from concerned Nigerians and international community. The responses we got and the private messages I received which includes insults and threats from those who think we did what we did for political reasons.
I can imagine the trauma going on in the heart of a woman he featured. A 23-years old mother of two, an IDP member of Bama IDP Camp who lost all her kids to hunger in the camp. While narrating her story, she complained that for 3-days, she neither eat nor drink anything. She added that people in Bama IDP Camp are dying of hunger on a daily basis. Recently, there were a lot of rape cases and unplanned pregnancies within these camps. The girls are ashamed to come out and talk for fear of stigma and discrimination.
I believe this is what is obtainable in 99% of IDP Camps we have nationwide. I wonder why our government at all levels abandon these people. I always imagine and have a thought that these people did not choose to be in this position neither do God dislike them to put them in it.
To our government, I wish to remind you that there will be a day when you will be asked about these people and the judge then is ‘just’!
Our rich and influential people across the country are not helping matters at all. They prefer doing things that will be publicized and attract world’s attention and showcase how financially buoyant they are forgetting the fact that the act of feeding these people alone will bring numerous goodies for them.
Some ill-informed youths who always attribute reality of life to politics also fuel this negligence. They always defend politicians even when they are obviously wrong. I wonder what the Governor is doing with allocations he receives from Federation Account. Whatever he does with the State’s fund, I want to inform him that priority is misplaced. You cannot rebuild a community and allow people to settle in same die before you complete rebuilding.
I also wish to appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari, Education Minister and all concerned in the forthcoming school feeding program to kindly redirect that of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States to IDP Camps. To me, it is more necessary than spending on those who can afford to eat and even go to school.
My appeal will never end without calling on my good friends who are known in pushing issues of national concern on Social Media platforms. Our voices are always heard and mostly acted upon. Let us amplify the voices of the voiceless, cases of the unheard, sufferings of the unnoticed and grievance of the defenseless.
Finally, I will like to call on us all to keep the struggle on with a simple #SaveNgIDPs hashtag on Social Media platforms. By Malam Isah Abbas Ahmed