IDPs, IDPs in Durumi, Garki Abuja, have lamented the deplorable living condition in the camp, saying that they are dying of hunger, disease and other factors that threaten their lives.
Newslodge collected that more than 3,000 people displaced from Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states by the activities of Boko Haram insurgents and bandits currently live in the camp.
The camp president, Mr. Umaru Gola, told Newslodge that the living condition in the camp is currently unbearable, describing it as inhumane.
He said: “Everyone has been forced to face their destiny. We are alive to this day by the grace of God and the help of some good-humored Nigerians who come from time to time to donate items to the displaced. “
According to the president, weekly members of the camp are buried due to hunger and curable diseases, noting that “the young people among us are the ones who try to help us in most cases.
“They go out every day and get involved in activities like commercial motorcycling just to help the situation, but some of them we bury like twice a week or sometimes once a month due to traffic accidents.”
When asked how they access the medical facilities at the camp, Umaru said that a government agency offered them free medical care, regretting that the agency stopped two years ago.
“For about two years, they have left us fighting on our own, most of the time, when there is a health problem that is beyond us, we go to churches and mosques to ask for help.
“Sometimes when rich people visit us, we tell them about our challenges, maybe about some people in the hospital and they help us pay medical bills,” he added.
When Newslodge visited the camp on Monday morning, several children were seen wandering around as parents complained about the lack of money to send them to school.
One of the parents, Ms Hanatu, a mother of five, while talking to our correspondent, said that since they joined IDPs at the camp in 2015, there has been no prior education for their children due to lack of money.
“Our concern is how to feed them so they don’t talk about school yet. Since Boko Haram killed their father in 2015 and took over our village in Borno, my children have not gone to any school. “
When asked if he would love to return to his state when normalcy returns, he said: “We don’t like the life we are living here today, our greatest prayer is that one day we will return to our ancestral home and continue. our lives there ”.
Another displaced person who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity revealed that the bad environment has exposed them to various diseases in the camp.
He said: “We are slowly dying, this is not where human beings should live. Because of the environment, as you can see, our people get sick every day and some die from lack of medical facilities. We want the government to help us. They should come and rescue us from this difficulty.
“We are also Nigerians and we need to feel relevant in society like everyone else. No one would choose this horrible kind of life, it is the condition we find ourselves in. “
Benue’s internally displaced need help – cries out Governor Ortom
.