Troops Establish School for IDPs in Bama Camp

• NEMA vows to continue supporting IDPs in Borno

Senator Iroegbu in Abuja

Nigerian troops of 21 Brigade, 7 Division of the Nigerian Army have established a temporary school for the children at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp located in Bama town, Bama Local Government Area of Borno State, using military tents.

The Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Col. Sani Usman, in a statement on Sunday said the project is to further assist the internally displaced persons and enhance civil-military relations.

Usman said that the school comprised six military tents in which soldiers not on essential duty served as teachers.

In addition, he said, some of the IDPs who were teachers before their displacement, also teach in the school.

“Presently, the school has a population of over 3,000 children. The Brigade has also establish a section of adult education for women.

“Impressed with the laudable initiative, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) also assisted the Brigade with two additional tents and school bags for the pupils, while Borno State Urban Education deployed a Principal to assist in running of the school,” he stated.

According to Usman, the United Nations (UN) Assistant Secretary-General and the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel, Mr Toby Lanzer, and Borno State Government celebrated the recently held World Humanitarian Day with the IDPs in the school and commended the efforts of the Nigerian Army for establishing the school.

Similarly, he said, an American non-government organization (NGO), Empower54, equally impressed with the fact that “despite the heavy responsibility of fighting off the terrorists daily, the soldiers are making time to teach the children”, appreciates the soldiers of 21 Brigade for their selfless effort by establishing the school in a blog and hashtag.

In a related development, a total of 55, 950 bags of rice, 30, 214 bags of maize and others assorted food and non food items were handed over to the Borno State Government by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for distribution to various Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Maiduguri between February and July this year.

The Media and Public Relations of NEMA, Mr. Sani Datti, said also supplied to the state government within the period were 10, 400 bags of beans, 10, 135 bags of sugar, 100 bags of millet, 1, 200 bags of maize grits, 2,100 cartons of tomato paste, 2, 100 cartons of Maggi cubes, 1,500 bags of salt, 180 bags of flour, 2400 jerry cans of vegetable oil and 2,400 jerry cans of palm oil.

According to Datti, these items, were supplied by the Federal Government through NEMA in fulfilment of an existing MoU with the state government.

He disclosed that the last tranches delivery of relief items to the state government was on Tuesday when the North east zonal coordinator of NEMA, Mohammed Kanar, handed over 8, 000 bags of rice, 3200 bags of beans, 1000 bags of millet and 1, 200 bags of maize to the Borno State Emergency Management Agency.

He further disclosed that the next delivery is this week, once the supplies are completed.

He said: “This month (August), the agency delivered additional 3,100 bags of rice, 3000 bags of beans, 1850 bags of Guinea corn, 650 bags of millet and 1200 bags of rice (50kg) in the few days based on request from the state government to augment the regular supplies which were presented to the SEMA Chairman, Ahmed Satomi, and Chairman Monitoring/ Distribution of Relief Items to IDPs in Borno state, Alhaji Mohammed Sani.

“Similarly, NEMA has delivered relief materials directly to the IDPs in the satellite camps and IDPs camps in Maiduguri, comprising of 4, 367 bags of rice, 1, 330 bags of beans; 1, 508 bags of millet, 2, 600 jerry cans of vegetable oil, 100 jerry cans of palm oil, 46 cartons of milo beverage, 150 cartons of tomato paste and 1, 850 pieces of nylon mats from March to July.”