From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has revealed that 80 percent of children of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Benue State are out of school.
Executive Secretary of SEMA, Dr Emmanuel Shior disclosed this on Thursday during the distribution of food and non food items to displaced persons across the 23 local government areas of the state.
Shior noted that following the incessant herdsmen attacks on communities in Guma, Logo, Okpokwu, Kwande, Agatu among others, which had resulted in the continued stay of IDPs in camps, the state government established emergency schools in camps.
He however regretted that those emergency schools could only accommodate 20 percent of the children of displaced persons.
“We have so many communities in the state where schools are not in session. I fact some communities in Guma LGA were deserted except that our people are strong and don’t fear death, so, they still return to the communities but these communities are not safe for children and that’s why in many communities, children are not there.
“Though, we have emergency schools in few areas like Abagena and Daudu, but schools are not in session I locations such as Torkula and some other parts of Guma, Logo, Agatu, Okpokwu, Kwande and some other places.
“To talk of percentage of out of school IDP children in the state, only 20 percent of them are in school with the arrangements of emergency schools.
The SEMA boss lamented the little attention the federal government was paying to the humanitarian crisis in the state while the North East is being given all the attention.
“The Federal government has not paid attention to the challenges of IDPs in Benue State, whereas, the humanitarian crisis in Benue is similar to the challenges of IDP in the North East. But so much attention has been paid to North East by the same federal government.
“Also, majority of the international partners that are in Nigeria to assist federal and State governments to address these challenges have been directed to pay more attention on the North East. That is why you don’t see some of them here,” Shior said.
The SEMA boss listed the food items to be distributed to IDPs to include; beans, rice, noodles and yam adding that the federal government through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) only gave 1,000 cartoons of canned beef of 24 cans per carton.