President Muhammadu Buhari has said he is responsible enough not to allow
\nstarvation kill millions of Nigerians.<\/p>\n
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Mallam
\nGarba Shehu said this on Sunday in a reaction to the recent alarm by some
\naid agencies that starvation would kill one million internally displaced
\npersons in the northeast next year.<\/p>\n
He said the nation appreciated the increasing humanitarian assistance
\ncomplementing the federal and state governments’ efforts in the region
\ncurrently facing humanitarian crisis.<\/p>\n
Shehu explained that the crisis was a problem Buhari’s administration
\ncontinued to handle with great sensitivity.<\/p>\n
He stated: “This notwithstanding, we’re concerned about the blatant
\nattempts to whip up a nonexistent fear of mass starvation by some aid
\nagencies; a type of hype that does not provide solution to the situation
\non the ground, but more to do with calculations for operations financing
\nlocally and abroad. In a recent instance, one arm of the United Nations
\nscreamed that 100,000 people will die of starvation next year. A different
\ngroup says a million will die.<\/p>\n
“The displacement pattern as revealed by the National Emergency Management
\nAgency (NEMA) with the International Organisation for Migration indicates
\nthat there are currently about two million people who are displaced. Only
\nabout 20 percent of this is however in IDP camps. This much reduced
\nnumbers are in Borno in 13 formal and 16 satellite camps; four of such
\ncamps currently operating in Adamawa and about the same number in Yobe.
\nThe larger number of the IDP population is living either in self-settled
\ncamps or with host communities. The affected states with active
\ncollaboration with NEMA and the recently inaugurated Presidential
\nCommittee on Northeast Initiative are deeply involved in efforts to
\ncushion the humanitarian challenges especially on food security and
\nnutrition.<\/p>\n
“Through an ongoing arrangement, NEMA provides raw food items to IDPs at
\nformal camps, self-settled centres, host communities and satellite
\ncentres. The states for their part provide condiments, firewood and
\nmaintain environmental quality of the IDP camps. Beyond the IDP camps,
\ngovernment agencies are\u00a0 distributing food in host communities. The T.Y
\nDanjuma-led PCNI is currently doing this in Borno State. In addition to
\nthe supply of food, the Federal Government, through NEMA and the PCNI, has
\nmade the provision of drugs to some major hospitals in the zone as a
\npriority. These agencies have also been deploying on continuous basis,
\nmedical teams and equipment to the North-East to support the provision of
\nmedicare to the IDPs.<\/p>\n
“This country has a responsible government under the leadership of
\nPresident Muhammadu Buhari which is doing a lot to bring relief to the
\ndisplaced people. The Nigerian government which has been making the most
\nefforts in the entire endeavour will continue to work closely with the
\nlocal and international response groups to overcome this humanitarian
\ncrisis. At this time when the focus is gradually shifting to towards
\nrehabilitation, reconstruction, resettlement, recovery and the dignified
\nreturn of IDPs back home, we can do with all the support out there in the
\ndonor community.<\/p>\n
“We do not, however, see the reason for the\u00a0 theories and hyperbolic
\nclaims being made ostensibly to draw donor support by some of the aid
\nagencies. The situation on the ground, as it exists, provides sufficient
\nmotivation to all well-meaning donors to come and do a decent part. The
\nhype, especially that which suggests that the government is doing nothing
\nis therefore uncharitable and unnecessary.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Muhammadu Buhari has said he is responsible enough not to allow starvation kill millions of Nigerians. Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Mallam Garba Shehu…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":53419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n