When one hurts himself, it takes some time for the scar to disappear but the scar of being a refugee never disappears in one’s history; being a refugee is equal as a new born baby. Thus, one needs to start life afresh for losing his relatives, home, property, among other necessities of life.
According to United Nation Refugee Agency, presently Nigeria has a total of 304,562 refugees with over 2.1 million internally displaced. This figure indicates that Nigeria has a long way to go in tackling the menace of insecurity in the country.
Boko Haram insurgency, armed banditry, communal clashes are the major factors contributing to the increase number of refugees and IDPs in Nigeria, human beings need a peaceful environment to live before engaging in any other activity that has to do with growth and development.
As result of insecurity, Nigeria is missing in almost everything, including education, health, water supply, roads, agriculture, and many more, and there is no society can be develop without achieving a secured nation.
To cushion the hardship, the United Nations designated 20th of every year in honour of the refugees globally, and to celebrate their strength and courage for being forced to flee their homes, towns, countries as a result of conflict or persecution as well as finding solutions to their problems.
Similarly, I want to register my words to the federal government to emulate other nations in reducing the hardships of refugees and IDPs and add value to their lives, especially those affected by incessant insecurity situation of the nation.
Nigerian refugees seem to surfer more compared to other nations because of the nation’s insecurity. Whenever there is insecurity in a nation, citizens of that nation find life so difficult from every angle talk less of those affected or fall victims of being refugees. Therefore, these people are in critical condition that needs urgent intervention from both government and non-governmental organisations.
To rhyme with this year’s theme, it’s capital truth that together we heal, learn and shine; they are already wounded and left with the scars all over their body, that’s to say the only way these people can be healed is by reintegrating them fully into the new communities they find themselves and fill their hearts with love and affection as well as helping them with other necessities of life.
The painful point is, most of the refugees and the IDPs are females and children below the age maturity; the worst of it is, the future of these young children is under threat, especially those who lost the whole family.
Refugees and IDPs deserve special intervention, ranging from food, shelter, clothes, education, portable drinking water, to capital to start business in their new communities. Therefore, let’s not leave these people in such a critical plight as nobody knows what will happen to him/her tomorrow.
Going beyond the refugees, there are forsaken and abandoned children in the street of every village and town of this nation who also need to be considered and be given special care to avoid living a dreamless life.
Finally, a lot needs to be done to let these people understand that they haven’t gone far from their original destinations. We need to treat them well to avoid being isolated, let’s reduce their hardship as the theme if this year demands – together we heal, learn and shine.
Stephen Gambo Gadzama,
Department of Mass Communication,
University of Maiduguri
