On the request of President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo
delivered a message of hope, restoration and comfort to Nigerians affected
by the insurgency in the North East when he visited one of the several IDP
camps in Maiduguri on Wednesday.
He also told Nigerians displaced by the insurgency that the federal
government led by President Buhari will not rest until every one has been
resettled back to their homes.
The Vice President, accompanied by the Borno State Governor Kashim
Shetimma and the Director General of the National Emergency Management
Agency (NEMA), Mohammed Sani Sidi, visited the Dalori Camp in the state
capital, the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and the palace of
the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Umar Garbai El-Kanemi.
One of the major highlights of his visit was his stop at the Teaching
Hospital where he interacted with a number of bomb victims undergoing
treatment in the hospital. There he met Aisha Ibrahim, a baby girl who
suffered severe burns from a terrorist bomb explosion. Touching the baby
girl and comforting the mother Ms. Mariam Ibrahim, Prof Osinbajo promised
that plastic surgery would be explored to improve her situation and
enhance her recovery.
Speaking at the Dalori camp, one of the 22 camps with over 18,000 IDPs,
the VP said the President “out of great concern for the welfare and well
being of the very many men, women and children who are in this camp, asked
me to come and to join the Governor to see for myself what exactly is
going on in the IDP camps.”
Continuing, he said the concern was not just for the IDP camps in Borno
State, but all the other states -ie Adamawa and Yobe that have been
affected by terrorist acts and insurgency.
“The President is extremely concerned especially about the welfare of the
women and children, and of course the displacement of the people in the
Northeast and in particular those who are here in Borno State, ” Osinbajo
said after touring the camp interacting with the IDPs including men, women
and children.
“President Buhari wanted me to go round and have some conversations, and
we have tried to do so today. From the brief interactions I have had, it
is quite clear there has been a great deal of human suffering, a great
deal of trauma, ” the Vice President observed.
According to him, “the work of resettlement involves a great deal. It
involves not just taking the people back to where they came from, but
rebuilding their homes, rebuilding their markets, and rebuilding their
places of worship.”
His visit to the camp, is only the beginning of the process, the VP
explained, stressing that “our task has only just started, until every
single person who is in a displaced camp is back in their homes, we cannot
rest. Until every single child, who is an orphan is taken care of, we
cannot rest.”
In order to accomplish the task, Prof Osinbajo noted that the federal
government will be partnering with the state governments, development
partners, and with the aid workers adding that “all of this, we must do
within the shortest possible time, and that is exactly why I am here.”
Briefly hinting on the potential cost and the implications of that for an
administration that inherited substantial and huge public debts, the VP
stated that the rebuilding “is an enormous task and it involves a lot of
money.”
He said, “as you know the administration is grappling with huge debts that
the FG owes. In fact as you know, in the past few months, even in order to
pay salaries of workers not just in the states but also in the FG,
governments have had to look for ways and means to pay those salaries.”
Yet even under those circumstances, Osinbajo assured the IDPs that the
federal government “knows that you who are suffering from terrorist acts
are even worse off. That is why your matters are priorities to the federal
government.”
During the visit he went into a temporary class room on the camp for
children, speaking words of inspiration to them.
He told the children who gave a cheering applause that “the president has
sent me to tell you that he is thinking about you everyday, and your
parents everyday to make sure that you go back home and that you resettle
and that you continue with your education.”
He added that “we are here to make sure that we see how you live here and
how you are doing. And also to find out whatever support the government
can give to you and your families. Very soon, you will be able to go back
home.”
He concluded by telling the children “everyone of you will be a great
Nigerian. You will all stay in school, you will be doctors, you will be
lawyers, you will be engineers, you will be good politicians, you will be
governors, you will be presidents. Yes, that is what will happen.”
The Vice President conveyed the appreciation and thanks of the President
for the efforts of Governor Shetimma, NEMA, UNICEF, Red Cross, other
development partners and all those who have been supporting the displaced
Nigerians all across the IDP camps in the affected states.
All through the visits to the camp, the hospital, the palace and across
town, the Vice President received a warm reception with the people lining
up the streets waving, singing and applauding him.