Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno state has said that not every part of the state is under the control of Boko Haram insurgents. According to him, all the stories that are flying in the social media are not true.
Zulum refuted this on Saturday at the Cultural Diversity Day with the theme: “Convergence To Dialogue, Recover and Develop Bama Emirate,” at the Shehu of Bama place. He said the insurgents in Abadam and Guzamala Local Government Areas (LGAs) have been denigrated by the Nigerian Armed Forces. The Governor, who was represented by the Commissioner of Information, Babakura Jato; disclosed: “Today’s event is not about the ongoing insurgency, but to show to the world that it is not about the Boko Haram war,” he said.
He noted that through the hard work and resilience of the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security agencies with support of the Federal Government, Bama recovered from the insurgents in 2016. He said since the return of displaced persons to Bama in 2018, there was no serious issue that would warrant IDPs to get back to camps. “The return of IDPs to their ancestral homes, which cardinal principle to the Governor, the INGOs also restored returnees’ livelihoods and shelter destroyed during the 12-year insurgency. He said that the Mercy Corps has also built 325 solar-powered houses in Bama.
While flagging off the Cultural and Development Day, The Shehu of Bama, Alhaji Umar Kyari Umar El-Kanemi said: “Today’s event is to celebrate the United Nations’ cultural diversity and development, which intends to showcase the rich and robust culture of the people of Bama Emirate.” He said that the cultural event was to promote greater understanding of the language and culture of the people. He noted that those are the basic means of promoting peace and development in the state. “This is a signal to all and sundry that peace has returned to Bama,” he said, as the emirate has restored its lost glory. He added that it provides an opportunity to celebrate the unique, diverse culture and tradition of the people. The monarch noted that the cultural day was made possible with the support and commitment of the state government. According to him, Governor Zulum is committed to the restoration of peace and development of Bama.
The Mercy Corps country director, Ndubusi Anyawu disclosed: “We were able to collaborate with the state and local governments and other development partners to support communities recover from immediate shocks through our emergency life saving humanitarian assistance.” He said the assistance paves ways to build secure, just, resilient and productive communities through peace building and development programmes. He added that in the last two years; the Corps supported the return and recovery of the people with the distribution of food items to 5,000 households for six months. “A cash transfer assistance to 1, 200 households were also made to meet IDP returnees’ basic needs,” he said.
