The World Bank has earmarked $800 million to support the rebuilding of infrastructure destroyed in the North-East by the Boko Haram insurgency. Also, the North-East Nigeria Recovery and Peace Building Assessment (RPBA) team yesterday announced that the impact of the conflict in the region cost $9 billion.
The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Ms Fatma Samoura, announced the World Bank’s plan yesterday in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, during a courtesy visit to Governor Kashim Shettima. Samoura, who is also a UN Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative, said the UN was scaling up its presence in Borno and other North Eastern states ravaged by the insurgency. “On Wednesday, we had a long discussion with the World Bank team that came from Washington to attend the workshop.
“The workshop is for validating the year’s findings of the recovery and peace-building assessment. “They have promised to leverage $800 million for the North-East to respond to recovery, rehabilitation, de-mining, waste management and debris processing for the North-East of Nigeria,” she said. The UN representative regretted that the UN was having challenges in mobilising resources for Nigeria in view of the humanitarian crises in other parts of the world.
“As we all know, the Syrian crisis that is affecting Europe is also taking a heavy toll in terms of funding from our traditional donors. We are trying our best to ensure that our advocacy and our communication strategy are up to the level where we will be receiving more attention from the donor community.
“The humanitarian response plan, as we speak, is just 10 per cent funded, meaning we have only received $24 million. “This is out of $248 million budgeted for the North- East for 2016,” she said. Samoura, however, pledged that the UN would continue to complement the World Bank and the EU supports to address the root causes of poverty and exclusion in the North-East.
“The UN will be on your side in order to address the humanitarian situation. The UN will also support the Borno Government in its work on recovery and rehabilitation for the safe return of the Internally- Displaced Persons (IDPs) back to their areas of origin,” she said.
Samoura said her visit to Maiduguri was to demonstrate the sympathy of the UN to the appalling situation of the 1.8 million people who have been displaced by insurgency. Responding, Shettima commended the UN for standing by the government and people of Borno in identifying the root causes and also finding lasting solutions to the insurgency. Shettima, however, described the $800 million pledge by the World Bank as grossly inadequate in view of the enormous challenges left behind by the insurgency. “It is in the interest of humanity to rally round Nigeria over Boko Haram.
The developed world gave Turkey $2 billion to resettle refugees from Syria. “There are about two million IDPs from Borno and 20 local government areas were overran by Boko Haram and there is food crisis now in the state,” he said.
Meanwhile, the RPBA team said it would need $6 billion to perform recovery efforts in the crisis torn area. The data, released at the two-day final validation and consensus workshop in Abuja, noted that the devastation happened between 2011 and 2015.
Presenting the report, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Dr. Mariam Masha, said that Borno was worse hit by the crisis with a loss of $6 billion. According to her, the region suffered damage worth $3 billion in housing alone, while it suffered damages in terms of livestock, which brought about the need to restore agriculture in the region.
The RPBA said Yobe and Adamawa states were next in devastation, adding that the devastation in other parts of the region is enormous, but with less gravity. She said no fewer than 20,000 lives were lost while 1.8 million people were displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency.
Masha said that the planned “interventions is going to be done over time based on resources that are available. In the report, the RPBA recommended a four-year strategic plan to restore the North-East to progress and development. The plan was divided into two equal phases of stabilisation and recovery, and would cover such areas as agriculture, housing, transportation and education over the fouryear plan.
