Old woman living in shanty gets new house

A 70-year-old woman living for years in a shanty in Maiduguri, will have a reason to smile because the government has agreed to provide her with a roof over her head. 

The pitiable story of the aged Yakolo Umar is prominently shared on different platforms of the  social media in the last few days. 

According to the stories the old woman had lived in a shack made from discarded roofing sheets and rags in a dishonorable situation for four years before she grabbed the attention of the public. 

 According to the stories, Umar had earlier occupied a bed space on a property belonging to a relative before she was allegedly thrown out.  She relocated a shack on a plot of land she bought at Jiddari Polo long ago. 

Help finally came her way when Governor Babagana Umara Zulum’s Adviser on Public Relations and Strategy, Malam Isa Gusau stumbled on the stories on social media and alerted the Commissioner, Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement, Engineer Mustapha Gubio, about her plight. 

The commissioner had after consultations directed the construction of a befitting two-bedroom house on the plot she bought long ago and lived on for four years. Malam Gusau is said to have followed up the directive up to the start of work on the new house.   

Meanwhile, Commissioner Gubio has assured of speedy completion of the house, which will also consist of a toilet, kitchen and a perimeter fence. He said his ministry regularly pays special attention to vulnerable persons especially the aged in all its humanitarian activities.