Nigeria has the highest number of displaced persons
in the world, the United Nations has said.
According to the UN, the continued rise in the
number of displaced persons in Nigeria was largely
due to the destructive activities perpetuated by the
terrorists, Boko Haram, in the north-eastern part of
the country.
It described the insurgency as persistent.
The UN Resident Coordinator for Nigeria, Mr.
Daouda Toure, revealed that over 1.5 million people
were displaced in Nigeria, adding that there was an
urgent need to realise the great extent of the
responsibility that was associated with this
development.
Toure spoke during the 2015 World Humanitarian
Day organised by the National Emergency
Management Agency on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said, “We need to remind everyone that 1.5
million displaced people are part of the biggest
figures as we speak today in the world. So, the
highest number of displaced people today in the
world is in Nigeria. It is not in the ISIS (Islamic State
of Iraq and Syria) or in any other part of the world. It
is here in Nigeria and we need to do something
about it.”
He noted that out of the 1.5 million displaced persons
in Nigeria, almost 90 per cent of them live in
displaced persons’ camp, adding that “they need
humanitarian assistance from people that are not
directly affected by the activities of insurgents.”
Toure said, “We need to come and help them have a
better future for their children. Many of them have
lost their sources of livelihood and it will be difficult
for them to find their feet. This is one reason why we
should mobilise ourselves and resources to assist
those directly affected by the activities of insurgents
and is one of the key reasons for the World
Humanitarian Day.”
In his address, the Director General, NEMA, Mr. Sani
Sidi, stated that in Nigeria, the Boko Haram
insurgency in the north-eastern region constituted
the most challenging crisis for government and
humanitarian actors in the recent history of Nigeria.
Sidi, however, observed that to guarantee the safety
of the humanitarian workers during service delivery
in the North-East, NEMA, in liaison with the military,
had created safe corridors for movement by
humanitarian service providers.
He explained that the universal event scheduled for
August 19 of every year had been set aside by the UN
General Assembly since 2008 to celebrate the
gallantry of humanitarian services providers.
“These are people who have lost their lives or
survived different threats to live while providing
humanitarian services to persons caught on the web
of natural or human induced disasters especially in
violent conflict situations,” Sidi said.
He added that the August 19 date coincided with the
2003 anniversary of the terror attack on the Canal
Hotel in Bagdad, Iraq, where 22 people lost their lives
including the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights and Special Representative of the Secretary-
General to Iraq, Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello.
“This marked the epoch of dastardly act by terrorists
and brought to the fore the risk faced by
humanitarian officials in different parts of the globe.
There is every reason, therefore, to celebrate these
heroes of our time,” the NEMA boss added.
