It is worth praising that Borno State governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, resettled more than 20 communities and hundreds of thousands of people to their ancestral homes with the aim of rehabilitation, reconstruction and bringing back their livelihood.
It could be recalled that Boko Haram insurgents killed thousands and displaced millions of people which caused the problems that the people are suffering from. This loss of life and properties by these insurgency activities in the state created a serious setback to different aspects of human endeavour. Among the important sectors that were hit by the insurgency are education, healthcare delivery and the agricultural sector.
Resettled communities in Borno State are facing serious challenges of education, healthcare delivery and the most economic crises which had a link with the problem of agriculture. People in rural communities depend solely on agriculture which is cultivation of land for growing crops and rearing animals for man use. There is a need for government and non-governmental organisations to assist the resettled communities with farm inputs that will enable them to cultivate land and be self-reliant as a means of post-war crises management strategy. If agricultural activities can be restored in the resettled communities, there would be quick resilience and people’s dashed hope will be back. They will also have something to depend on and the economic and socio-cultural activities would be back.
Experts described health as ‘wealth’. Healthcare delivery service is one of the serious challenges facing the resettled communities in Borno State due to the inadequate primary healthcare facilities in the resettled communities. Accessing healthcare services to resettled IDPs has become a challenge as one has to wait for a long time before getting access to health personnel because of overcrowding in the healthcare centres.
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Auno, a community in Konduga Local Government Council, is one of the resettled communities of IDPs that faces serious challenges of healthcare services delivery. Some of the resettled IDPs spoke on the need for government and non-governmental organisations to come to their aid by providing effective healthcare services, saying that thousands of them depend on one primary healthcare centre for healthcare services which makes it difficult for them to access maternal and paediatric care.
Healthcare services delivery is one of the things that need to be on ground in the resettled communities, so as to provide quality healthcare services to the resettled IDPs who suffered during Boko Haram insurgency. There is a need for government and non-governmental organisations to continue providing humanitarian aid to the resettled communities, especially in the area of healthcare services, because nothing will be achieved without sound health.
Also, providing quality education to resettled communities need to be considered as top priority by the government and humanitarian organisations, as education serves as the best way to fight terrorism and bring lasting peace and development to any community in the world.
Borno State is known as the “Home of Peace’ over a hundred years ago and this name can only be maintained through declaring a state of emergency in the education sector for resettled communities so that the narrative would be changed to a free and prosperous society where peace, unity, love, peace of mind and productivity thrive.
Shamsuddeen Anas wrote from Department of Mass Communication, University of Maiduguri.
