By SADIQ ABUBAKAR, Maiduguri –
Borno State Government has directed the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to submit details of the number of households affected in IDP camp fire incident for proper intervention by the state government.
Governor Babagana Zulum gave the directives when he visited Muna Elbadawy IDP camp situated on the outskirts of Maiduguri over the fire disaster at the camp that claimed one life, injuring 17 others with over 100 shelters destroyed,
The camp consisted of more than 10,000 households and 50,000 individuals.
While sympathizing with the victims, Zulum announced that the state government is looking at all possible ways to collaborate with the federal government and humanitarian partners to come up with a mechanism to resettle other remnants of IDPs to their ancestral homes or nearby towns such as Ngwom.
The governor lamented that many do not understand why Borno State government is trying to resettle IDPs back to their ancestral homes. He observed that there is no way, at any point the state government is forcing any IDP back to their homes.
Giving example on the terrible situation they are living in. The sanitary condition, poor shelter and congestion, even though the camp is not an official one, hence the need to resettle them back in a dignified manner.
The governor further explained that the resettlement will enable them to reestablish their livelihood and give them the ability to properly discipline and safeguard the moral upbringing of their children.
This will also allow the host communities to develop by decongesting its population, Zulum observed.
Governor Zulum was briefed and conducted round the facility during the visit by the NEMA Coordinator (North East), Usman Mohammad Aji, and the Director General Borno (SEMA) Hajiya Yabawa Kolo.
The coordinator informed the governor that the fire started at about 1 pm from one of the tents at the camp where one of them was cooking. However, it was brought under control by personnel of the State Fire Service.
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