Stakeholders seek special poverty eradication programme in N/East

Stakeholders in the North-East have called for special fund to empower people affected by the Boko Haram insurgency to eradicate poverty in the war ravaged region.

The stakeholders including farmers, fishermen, traders, educationists and social activists spoke in Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe and Yobe while responding a survey.

The stakeholders opined that insurgency is one of the factors responsible for the growing poverty and emergence of militia group involving the use of heavy weapons and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

They averred that security challenges negatively affected food production, caused large scale displacement and exposed over 1.8 million to hunger and extreme poverty in the region.

According to them, the measure is imperative to provide livelihood, alleviate poverty, enhance wealth creation, build resilience, check vices and address insecurity.

Mr Ibrahim Ahmed, a social activist, said the poor living conditions of the affected persons have reached astronomical dimensions and defied solutions offered due to the alleged institutional fragility and corruption.

He said government in the region should prioritise palliative measures to address the root causes of insecurity and strengthen governance.

The activist said that to guarantee sustainable development, peace and stability, the states must rise and tackle poverty decisively.

"The federal and state governments should initiate a strategic programme against insecurity because conflict is a major fuel of poverty. If farmers return to the farms, there is hope that poverty will recede and create jobs,'' he said.

In Yobe, the All Farmers Association of Nigeria AFAN (AFAN) said the insurgency has impoverished many farmers in Gujba, Yunusari and Geidam Local Government Areas of the state.

Alhaji Usman Ngari, AFAN Chairman in the state, said many farmers had either fled the areas or remained in fear as a result of the activities of the insurgents.

"Between 2020 and 2022, no fewer than 100 sesame, beans, millet and sorghum plantations were destroyed by the insurgents in Gujba, Yunusari and Geidam.

"Many farmers had fled the areas and are now living in poverty in Damaturu and Bajoga in Gombe State, while those that remained, are living in fear.

"Before the insurgency, some of the farmers produced between 600 and 100 bags varieties of crops such as beans and millet, but they are out of business now," Ngari said.

According to him, the ban imposed on circulation of fertiliser in the region by security agencies further worsened the living condition of displaced farmers.

He said that farmers now relied cow dung and organic liquid fertiliser which had low efficacy on soils in parts of the state.

The Chairman urged the state government to liaise with the security agencies to begin supply of the commodity to registered farmers, and revive the moribund Fertiliser Blending Plant, Gujba.

"The Gujba Fertiliser plant was recently destroyed by Boko Haram insurgents when they attacked the town.

"We are, therefore, appealing to government to beef up security in the area and revive the plant to make fertiliser cheaper and more accessible to the farmers," he said.

One of the affected farmers, Yahaya Yawale, recounted that at the heat of the insurgency in 2014, he abandoned his farm, property and fled to Jakusko.

"Before the insurgency, I used to harvest over 100 bags of sesame, beans and millet, worth over N1 million annually.

"Besides, I also owned three shops dealing in essential commodities, unfortunately, the insurgents looted the goods worth about N5 million," he said.

Yawale said he returned to Buni Yadi in 2020 and engaged in petty trading dealing in sugar and salt, valued at about N15,000.

Also, Mohammed Sule, a wheat and rice grower, said that insurgency had caused drastic drop in his production capacity by over 95 per cent.

"I used to harvest over 100 bags of rice and 50 bags of wheat before the insurgency.

"At that time, I usually smiled home with over N800,000 from the proceed of the sales of the grain at harvest.

"Presently; I only cultivated five bags of wheat and one bag of rice last year as a result of insecurity.

"We are constantly fleeing Geidam and return when there is relative peace. Even if you stay, going to the farm is dangerous because of the activities of the insurgents," he said.

Alhaji Baba Shehu, Executive Director, Network of Civil Society Organisation, said about 10,000 households had been displaced due to insurgency in Geidam, Gujba and Yunusari LGAs.

More so, Abubakar Ali, a fisherman in Baga, Borno, who corroborated earlier opinion said that insurgency had forced him to abandon his trade and relocated to Maiduguri.

Narrating his ordeal, Ali said he fled the fishing community alongside hundreds of fishermen in 2019 following series of attacks coordinated by the terrorist group.

"I stayed at Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Maiduguri for over two years.

"I returned to my home under the resettlement programme initiated by the Borno government," he said.

Another fisherman, Musa Bulama, said that thousands of fishermen and fish traders were forced out of business due to the insurgency.

"I am idle and have nothing to do. We can no longer harvest fish from the river for fear of attacks by the insurgents".

Mr kime Sheriff, a displaced transporter, said that he lost all his property including trucks and busses to the insurgency.

Sheriff said that he had fleet of vehicles shuttling between Maiduguri-Gomboru-Ngala, Kusouri and N'Djamena in the Republic of Chad.

He said the insurgents seized some of the vehicles and vandalised others while three of the drivers lost their lives in the attacks.

"My business worth several million of Naira before the insurgency, but now I am poor.

"I have two wives and 14 children, we relied on food support from State Emergency Management Agency and development organisations.

"In many occasions, we beg to get what to eat," he said.

To address the problem, Dr Ishiyaku Abubakar, a Lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Bauchi State University (BSU), Gadau, said that economic security was critical to ending poverty in the region.

He stressed for the government to introduce proactive programmes to enhance skills acquisition trainning, provide alternative means of livelihood and build resilience to withstand shocks.

"To end poverty, we must focus on providing people living in poverty with the tools to gain economic security.

"It is essential for them to gain access to healthcare, water and sanitation, sustainable food sources and greater opportunities for their children to participate and grow," he said.

He urged government at all levels to provide employment opportunities to unemployed youths that pose serious security threat in the region and the country at large.

Also contributing, Mr Rambi Ayala, a member of the Gombe State House of Assembly, stressed the need for collective efforts to address security challenges and eradicate poverty in the region.

"Security situation affected virtually every business and it has rendered the economy comatose.

"The situation is not appealing, every Nigerian must be involved to help the security agencies to carry out their constitutional mandates.

For his part, Alhaji Usman Michika, AFAN Chairman in Adamawa, urged the federal and state governments to adopt new security strategies to restore peace in the region.

This, he said would enable farmers to return to their farmlands, fast track resumption of commercial activities and encourage growth of Small and Medium Scale enterprises across the region.