As part of his needs assessment tour of strategic locations, the new Federal Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs, Senator Basheer Garba Mohammed, during the week, visited the internally displaced peoples’ camp in Yola, Adamawa state.
Speaking during the visit, Mohammed said, “no child should be left behind.
No family should be without humanitarian assistance. Working together, we can, and we will make a difference in the lives of all troubled people in Nigeria.”
Mohammed told newsmen that following needs assessment of the critical IDP camps, it is obvious that there is much to be done by the commission.
“I have met with, and learnt firsthand about the challenges that our IDPs are facing in these camps. I have also spoken with many of the humanitarian workers, to get their views on what needs to be done. Clearly, the issue of coordination and overlapping functions is a major challenge. Additionally, the issue of mapping the specific needs of the various camps for targeted interventions will be necessary. When I get back to Abuja, my team and I will be meeting with technical experts from the federal government, and our international partners like the European Union; the World Bank; USAID; and the United Nations – to figure out how we can effectively map out the complex matrix of Nigeria’s humanitarian response to this IDP crisis.
“At the camps, we were able to distribute health supplies; educational items; and food. As we work to rehabilitate the people of this camp, we have come here with empowerment items like machines and fertilisers. These instruments will help to make the farmers amongst the IDPs in this camp more self-sufficient as they gradually, but surely reintegrate back into society. Again, I thank the people of Adamawa for the warm reception, and I look forward to coming back to examine the progress that we have made in the near future,” he said.