Heinous acts perpetrated by insurgents in the Lake Chad Basin since 2009 have rendered millions of people homeless and properties worth billions of naira destroyed which affects the livelihood of survivors of the attacks.
In an effort to ascertain the needs of victims of the insurgent attacks with the aim to assist them, the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) has asked countries in the region to formulate an Action Plan on nine pillars for Regional Stabilization Strategy (RSS).
The pillars are Political Cooperation, Humanitarian Assistance, Security and Human rights, Disarmament, Demobilization, Rehabilitation and Reintegration of persons associated with Boko Haram.
Others are Humanitarian Assistance, Governance and the Social contract, Socioeconomic recovery, and Environmental Sustainability, Education, Learning, and skills acquisition, Prevention of Violent Extremism, and Building peace, Empowerment and inclusion of women and Youth.
Speaking at the event held at the American University of Nigeria AUN Club Yola the State Commissioner for Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Reintegration and Human services Mr. Elijah Tumba has explained that the Technical Review of Adamawa state Territorial Action Plan is meant to harmonize documents that will provide holistic approach to interventions in the areas of humanitarian development and peacebuilding in Adamawa state.
He made this explanation at the meeting of humanitarian and development workers in the state aimed to contribute to the development of the document for onward submission to the Lake Chad Basin Commission and Governors’ Forum for humanitarian development and peacebuilding in the state.
“We actually bring together all humanitarian and development workers in the state to contribute to the development of the document so that it is a harmonized document that will provide holistic approach to interventions both in humanitarian development and peace in Adamawa state
“We are reviewing the work that was done by the various groups since the programme started last year and the documents after revalidating will be sent political review and shared by the RSS secretariat in N’djamena and will meet in Cameroon in May to look at the documents”, he said.
Tumba said the programme which started last year will consider various documents after revalidating and then forwarded them to the secretariat of the Regional Stabilization Strategy in Ndjamena, Tchad.
In her remark at the occasion, the United Nations Representative Zara Goni said the agency is working in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe.
She stated that the agency is expecting the implementation of the action plan laid down for participants for the development of the region.
In his message, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri represented by the Special Adviser to Governor on Basic Education, Alhaji Bashir Tukur declared that Adamawa state government is fully in support of the nine pillars of the programme and will do everything that is required for the development of the state.
“The review of the plan will give a clear road map of accessing funds from the commission so that citizens in Adamawa will feel the impact of the Lake Chad Basin Commission”, he said.
Some participants, Usman Ahmed Dadah, Stephen Yerima and Galaxy Tami expressed satisfaction with the foresight of the organizers, and maintained that the documents, when implemented, will address the needs of people affected by activities of Boko Haram insurgents in the Lake Chad Basin.
Dadah who is the chairman Board of Trustees of Dadah Foundation said implementing the document by the Lake Chad Basin Commission will be the reflection of the wishes and aspirations of Adamawa people as compiled and submitted by them.
“If somebody will sit down either in Maiduguri, Chad, or Cameroun to formulate a document for us, it will not touch the areas of our needs”, he said.
