culled :Tribunenews
THE status of “refugees” now assumed by a considerable number of Nigerians of Northern extraction in neighbouring countries like Niger Republic and Cameroon, in the not too distant past, was only heard of in the media in describing the situation in war-torn countries like Rwanda, Burundi and Congo Democratic Republic. This new stark reality has been occasioned by persistent attacks on the hapless Nigerians by the terrorist group, Boko Haram.
Recent reports put the number of Nigerians that were currently held up in Niger Republic and Cameroon as a result of the attacks by Boko Haram members at 70,000.
A report of the United Nations said that the Nigerian crisis had pushed nearly 40,000 refugees over the northern border into Niger in a drive that was straining food supplies in the drought-prone country.
A school teacher in Niger, Adama Omar, is hosting 17 Nigerian refugees in her home in Bosso local council of Diffa province. She told Saturday Tribune that many other people living in the area are also hosting their fleeing compatriots mainly from Abadam Local Government Area of Borno State.
“We have no choice but to host them and share whatever we have together. We are one people. Whatever affects Nigerians affects us. This is a situation nobody prayed for. And if such a situation came upon us, our Nigerian brothers and sisters would do the same for us. I am a teacher with very little, but the little has kept us going until the government brings assistance,” she said.
In June, Nigerians numbering about 6,240 living in Malam Fatori area of Abadam Local Government Area of Borno State fled their homes following the military operation against Boko Haram insurgency in northern Borno. The Nigerians, who indicated their willingness to return home as soon as normalcy returned in the area, told the state deputy governor, Alhaji Zannah Umar Mustapha, that their hosts had been kind to them.
Addressing the refugees in Bosso local council of Diffa province in Niger Republic, Mustapha thanked the Nigerien government for coming to his compatriots’ aid at a time of need. He said Nigeria and Niger were two countries but one people. The deputy governor said Nigeria would love to repay the favour.
According to Mustapha, the government had brought in 300 tonnes of food items to be distributed to the refugees and their hosts. “We are worried by the development, but we are also happy that you have found friendship with hosts. As a government, we will continue to live up to expectation,” he said.
Briefing the deputy governor on the wellbeing of the refugees, Secretary-General of Diffa province, Hassan Ardo, representing the governor of Diffa, told Mustapha that when the refugees arrived in that country, 6,240 of them were registered, among whom about 1,500 children were immunised against the polio virus.
He said the people of Niger were concerned about the terrorist activities going on in Nigeria, particularly Borno State, and prayed for God’s intervention so that peace could return and the people could regain their sense of direction. Ardo said Niger would continue to appreciate Nigeria for its brotherly role and remain grateful, particularly to President Goodluck Jonathan, who, he said, had continued to be a father to many Nigeriens living in Nigeria.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in its latest report, indicated that a total of 37,332 refugees had fled to Niger, nearly 29,000 of who are officially nationals of that country. The report said that this figure was three times greater than expected, an indication of a difficulty in developing a humanitarian response.
Thousands of refugees have also spilled into Cameroon, prompting Nigeria to reach out for help in policing their shared border. The deputy governor of Borno State, Mustapha, who also visited the border towns in Gwoza Local Government Area, called on Nigerians who fled to that neighbouring country to come back home as the government was making necessary arrangements for their safety.
Saturday Tribune gathered that following the breakdown of law and order in Bama and Gwoza local governments as a result of the activities of Boko Haram, the people of Ngoshe and Ashigashiya town of Gwoza Local Government Area fled to Cameroon, alleging the killing of 13 of their kinsmen.
A member of the Borno State House of Assembly from the local government area, Ahmed Jaha, told the deputy governor efforts to convince the people to return failed as the over 20,000 Nigerians in Cameroon had been declared international refugees.
Alhaji Abdu Ashigashiya said the fear of being killed informed their decision to move to Cameroon. According to him, they would not return to Nigeria because they believed that those killed were not Boko Haram members but innocent civilians, who were branded as terrorists for political and religious reasons.
Also, Mallam Sadiqui Ali told the deputy governor that on June 15, some people came to Ngoshe town with a list of people and arrested three persons who were killed almost immediately without the opportunity of a fair hearing.
According to him, in Ngoshe, Christians and Muslims had lived together in peace and harmony until the Boko Haram crisis. “A colonel came and assured us that no one would be killed unlawfully, but five days later, precisely on June 20, we woke up to the sound of gunshots everywhere, which resulted in the death of eight persons, including a school principal, a headmaster and a central mosque Imam,” he said.
Also Mallam Suleiman Dalhatu, an agric extension worker, narrated how he ran to Cameroon. He said his name was included in a list as a member of Boko Haram, but he had nothing to do with the sect. “We will not return to Nigeria unless and until the government brings to book, those who, out of religious and political sentiments, gave our names as members of the sect,” Dalhatu explained.
The people of Ashigashiya and Ngoshe were asked to form a vigilance group to safeguard themselves and arrest any alien among them. The deputy governor urged them to forward the list of 200 youths from Ashigashiya and 150 youths from Ngoshe, who would be given allowances by the government for helping to secure their towns.
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