June 3, 2014
NewsRescue
The story of bravery in the face of unrelenting, unsuppressed Boko Haram onslaught and neglect by the Nigerian government, of the Kala-Balge people is one we are all too familiar with. Today, the people of Kala-Balge and by extension, hundreds of thousands of abandoned and distraught, displaced farmers of Borno need our help.
Kala-Balge stood up to Boko Haram on more than one occasion. They dealt the terrorists severe blows, over the past couple of months, holding their own in the face of criminal neglect by the Nigerian billions of dollars bloated, ineffective security services leadership and executive government. The continuous neglect from the Nigerian government to support communities that resist the terrorists is one reason why several of our northern farming villages are resigning to sign truces with the terrorists. In the face of gross sabotage and abandonment by the government, their options and hope increasingly tanks.
The people put up brave resistances in these communities, but Boko Haram easily continues to acquire a constant death-delivering supply of Nigeria’s army’s best fire arms and rocket propelled grenades, tanks and Armored personnel carriers, APC’s, bought with Nigeria’s oil revenue, which they use to defeat the best resistance of these poor communities, barred by the government from their right to bear effective arms for self defense. In effect, these poor communities are under onslaught from federal funds purchased arms being directly and indirectly channeled to terrorists.
When Boko Haram returned with a vengeance last week, they crushed the Kala-Balge resistance according to news reports, killing over 40 villagers and resulting in the displacement of others. There is a refugee crisis in this area today as many farmers ran to the Nigeria-Cameroon border. According to the latest BBC report, under the scorching heat of the Borno Sun, Nigeria’s refugees are suffering from exhaustion, lack of food, water, shelter and medication.
Nigeria’s emergency assistance service cannot reach them, because as we all know, the Nigerian security service deployed to Borno only covers a few miles out from the Maiduguri capital city, leaving communities like Gwoza, Kala-Balge, Chibok and other names we are all familiar with for the wrong reasons today in hitherto ‘peaceful Borno,’ ‘naked’ at the daily mercy of terrorists.
Thus far the Nigerian government has failed to support the right of these people to bear arms. Very few from the capital are brave enough to venture to these affected areas and NEMA says, though they have supplies for our refugees they cannot yet get ‘conveyors,’ people who dare to take the supplies down there.
There is a crisis to our food basket as some wealthy people for some odd reason are bent on exterminating the Nigerian farmers and driving them off our fertile farm lands. The Nigerian government and ministry of Agriculture is largely ignoring this crises of our farmers under deliberate terror attack.
This is a call for our common humanity. This is a time for us all to step-up and act to be brothers to our farmers in the north and the food suppliers of Nigeria; the poor masses, the group to which majority of us Nigerians belong.
Kala-Balge needs your help. In whatever way you can, please volunteer helps and support for these people who have no offence and no reason to suffer so for our failures as a people and nation. If you wield power or influence to get the unconscionable Borno State and federal administration to approve and support the right of these people to bear arms to defend themselves, please unleash this locally and internationally. If you have any access to send donations up there, please do. You can visit ENDS support page [http://ends.ng/donate/] to make donations and contact us for ways to support Nigeria’s farmers in crisis.
Under increasingly greedy, failed, corrupt and inept administrations, tomorrow, who knows, it may be us expelled from our homes.
Please help the northern farmers under siege.
Please help the people of Kala-Balge.
Dr. Peregrino Brimah for http://ENDS.ng [Every Nigerian Do Something]
Email: drbrimah@ends.ng Twitter: @EveryNigerian