The Federal Government has decried the growing humanitarian crisis in the country, particularly in the North-Western region.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, said North West has become a place of concern for the government.
Henzodaily reports that Yilwatda stated this on Friday during a courtesy visit by the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed.
He stressed that the humanitarian crisis in the Northern region was affecting giving attention to other parts of the country.
“We’re concerned about the humanitarian challenges that we have across the country, most especially in the northwest. The northwest now is an emerging area of concern for Nigeria and the government.
“The humanitarian response plan, for now, is focused on Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe, but our concern is that we have more humanitarian activities in other parts of the country, and giving it a global and national outlook will be of interest to the nation and us.
“Katsina right now has more displaced people than Borno and Yobe state put together. And if you look at what’s happening in states like Sokoto, Zamfara, Benue and Plateau, it disappoints us that we need to give attention to those locations.
“We have areas like the banks of river Niger where people were affected by flood, almost all the communities around those banks and Bayelsa state are affected. So, these are humanitarian crises, and there is a need to respond,” he said.
Efforts Being Made By Government
The Humanitarian Minister disclosed that the government has put some policies in place to help manage the crisis.
He highlighted the Ministry’s plan to engage victims in Internally Displaced Persons camps in farming activities to ensure food security for the country and financial empowerment for the victims.
“We are working to provide durable solutions to all the humanitarian challenges across the country, especially for the IDPs. We have signed an agreement with the Ministry of Agric and NALDA for land and fertilizer to be provided to the IDPs.
“We will be cultivating 10,000 hectares this year. We will make 10,000 hectares of land available to the IDPs, and we will be providing all the inputs to support them.
“We are providing two people per hectare, which means that for 10,000 hectares, we will support over 20,000 households with it. With an average of five people per household, we are supporting roughly about 100,000 people in the IDP camps to ensure that they come out of poverty and have a means of livelihood.
“So, we take 70 per cent of what they are going to harvest as cash component for them and we will give them the cash, and 30 per cent as food component,” he explained.
Importance of Partnership With UN
Professor Yilwatda emphasized that a partnership with the United Nations would help guarantee a durable solution to the humanitarian crisis in the country.
According to him, the Ministry targets to empower two million persons with jobs.
“This partnership would ensure that we give durable solutions to our people, move as many people as possible out of poverty, reduce youth unemployment, and ensure safer communities. We want to ensure that all vulnerable groups are not left behind because of what we’re doing, and the UN has assured us of the support and the partnership.
“The target for this year varies because as a ministry, I have a target of creating 2 million jobs this year. And beyond my ministry, there are other ministries also that have been given targets. So I’m working on creating 2 million jobs,” he added.
No Country Can Address Humanitarian Crisis Alone
On her part, the Deputy Secretary General of the UN said no country could tackle humanitarian crisis alone without the support of donors.
Mrs. Mohammed noted that amid Nigeria’s humanitarian issues, climate crises were also a factor that should be addressed.
The former Minister of Environment commended the federal government for its effort in addressing the crisis. She assured the UN’s support and assistance to government programmes.
“Nigeria has many challenges when it comes to humanitarian crisis. Climate is new to the challenges that we face. It needs huge investments in the country so that we can have those transitions that will make us more resilient. We are having more intense climate crises these days with flooding and heat. So, we are working to do foresight analysis, prevent more crises and bring other sectors of the economy to make sure that it is holistic.
“The humanitarian challenges are growing faster than the investments are coming in, its not just in Nigeria, it is everywhere. We are short of the resources that are coming from donors into crises today. The crises are many. And so, we have to work in parallel to look for how to prevent them to begin with.
“So economic programs are important. Just note that in Africa, we have many burdens that are external to what a government can handle. A lot of this has got to do with debt and with access to markets for us to grow our economies at the rate at which we can bring returns to ministries like Humanitarian Affairs to invest in,” she stated.