UN: North-east Needs $1.1bn Humanitarian Assistance in 2022

•Leaders demand new leadership, back TNA

Michael Olugbode in Abuja and Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

The United Nations says $1.1 billion will be needed in 2022 to undertake humanitarian assistance in the Boko Haram-ravaged North-East.

The UN, which revealed that an estimated 8.4 million people would require humanitarian assistance in the region in 2022, lamented that at least 2.2 million persons had been displaced in the last 12 years.

Speaking on Wednesday during the launch of the Nigeria Humanitarian Response Plan 2022, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Matthias Schmale, stated that the conflict in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe had evolved into an alarming humanitarian and protection crisis, disproportionately affecting women and girls.

Schmale said $1.1 billion was needed to provide critical aid and services to 5.5 million people most affected by the crisis.

“For many women, men, boys and girls, the profound impact of conflict in north-east Nigeria continues to be felt painfully,” he said. “Although we have last year seen some hopeful developments, many people have still started out 2022 in survival mode.”

While disclosing that $700 million was realised from the targeted $1 billion, Schmale said should the $1.1 million target for 2022 not be met, the humanitarian assistance would be further trimmed.

“Millions of people struggle to have their basic needs met, and the fluctuating food prices have further destabilised the already alarming food security situation,” stated the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq. “Thousands of children are at risk of becoming severely malnourished, especially during the lean season, which will have a detrimental effect on their future development.”

She added that operationalising the humanitarian-development-peace nexus was key to meeting immediate and longer-term needs, pointing out that “as we work with the UN and its partners to build the capacity of partners in affected communities, we are focusing on local solutions to local problems.”

In a recent visit to Borno, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. Martin Griffiths, explained: “Here, about 70,000 people live in a camp built for 25,000 people — 70,000 people — none of whom know the day when they will be able to go home.”

In the new 2022-2023 multi-year strategy, the humanitarian community will prioritise life-saving needs while also working to reduce vulnerabilities through efforts to build resilience and enhance self-reliance.

Meanwhile, North-East leaders on Wednesday called for new leadership that will ensure inclusiveness and transparency in government.

The call came at the formal launch of The Nigeria Agenda (TNA) in Bauchi. One of the leaders, Alhaji Yerima Aliyu Giade, stressed the need for leaders with exceptional character and skills as critical to Nigeria’s development.

“We want continuity and a person with a good agenda, so the project is timely. We want an agenda with an actor who is serious,” said Giade.

In her remarks, North-East Zonal Coordinator of the Patriotic Coalition, Mrs. Naomi John, said women have a role to play in the Nigerian Agenda because they are in the majority, also stressing that they are the worst-hit during a crisis.

She said TNA would create awareness among Nigerians on the choice of credible and accountable leadership.

Also speaking, former Commissioner for Information in Adamawa, Alhaji Ahmad Sajoh, the TNA convener, reiterated that Nigeria leaders could address worsening insecurity plaguing the country.

In a similar vein, another member of the group, Ahmed Sajoh, likened leadership to a football team that must have a coach and a captain who give directions as to how the team will play.

“if the coach is bad, the team will play badly. So, we need to have leaders who know what to do at the appropriate time,” he explained.

Sajoh commended the North-East coordinators for their resilience and steadfastness in promoting the TNA across Adamawa, Taraba, Gombe, Borno, Yobe and Bauchi.

According to Alhaji Umar Sade, former Commissioner for Information and TNA coordinator in Bauchi, Nigeria needs leadership development systems.

“It is incumbent on Nigerian leaders to understand how cultural differences affect the development and progress of the country.”

Mr ‘Niyi Akinsiju, Chief Advocate of TNA, stressed that Nigerians should be awakened to the need to “emplace leadership” that will ensure transparency in government and integrity in the business of governance.

“What Nigeria needs is a committed, dedicated, responsible and selfless leader like the first and only prime minister of Nigeria, (the) late Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, who gave his all for the good of the country,” said Akinsiju.

He, however, lamented that “nothing has changed since the first coup that claimed the precious lives of the best leaders ever produced” in the country.

“We need to get back to those good years of good leadership,” he added.

He assured that TNA was committed to ensuring that the country’s next leadership does better than the incumbent.