Benue State government has expressed worry that the state is producing a generation of illiterate children following the huge humanitarian crisis occasioned by activities of Fulani herdsmen militia in the state.
The Senior Special Adviser to Benue State Governor, on Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, and NEPAD, Mrs Magdalene Dura and Chairman of Technical Committee, stated this when she led other members on a public presentation of the Benue State Humanitarian Response Plan (BSHRP).
Mrs Dura disclosed that in the last five years, most of Benue’s children are out of school while they are in the camps.
According to her, from 2011 to the end of 2021, 21 out of the 23 Local Government Areas in the state have come under attack by herdsmen, leading to the displacement of over 1.5 million people.
“Besides the Fulani-induced humanitarian crisis, Benue State is also besieged by nature-induced humanitarian disasters like flooding and protracted communal clashes.
“Majority of the displaced persons are living in host communities, others in official government camps while there are also unofficial camps set up by the IDPs themselves as self-help measures spread across the state. These persons have lost their shelter, livelihoods, some even health.
“In deed, the most worrisome is that Benue is producing a generation of illiterates as most of our children, in the five years, are out of school while they are in the camps.”
She also noted that the dire humanitarian situation in the state is further compounded by the influx of Cameroonian refugees into kwande Local Government escaping the conflict in their country.
While stating that the IDPs have had their livelihoods destroyed and are in need of protection, food, shelter, medical assistance, Mrs Dura explained that the Benue State Humanitarian Response Plan is designed to align humanitarian response to the realities of operating and achieving impact in the context of Benue State.
She explained that the plan is a practical demonstration of the commitment of the State Government and its partners to a full-fledged response to the humanitarian crisis in the state.
According to her, in designing this plan, the Benue State Technical Committee on Humanitarian Response, adopted the provisions in the National HRP and aso drew useful insights from the recommendations of the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT).
The Committed therefore advocated that National and international humanitarian actors should bring more capacity to rescue and reverse the humanitarian situation in Benue State.
The committee also urged humanitarian donors to increase their support for Benue State and the Benue valley of Nigeria to enable implementing organizations reach and meet their needs based on the full extent of their potential capacity rather than resources.
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They also advocated, among others, that all relevant stakeholders should step up efforts to reach people in need in inaccessible areas, including through the support of the Government of Nigeria.
Receiving the document, Governor Samuel Ortom commended the committee for a good job saying the continued stay of IDPs at camps unsettles him.
He said state government will do it best to see that they are resettled back to their ancestral homes.
“From my interaction with the IDPs including the children, all they want is to go home. A society where over 1.5 million of it farmers are in camp cannot progress.”
Ortom who called on the Civil Society groups to push the plan to all parts of the World expressed hope that their collaboration with state government will go a long way in solving the challenge.
