From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has called on the federal government not to treat the alarm raised by the Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, on the recruitment of more fighters by the Islamic State of West Africa Province, (ISWAP) with kids gloves but take the alarm seriously.
Governor Ortom also urged the federal government and NGOs to evolve security strategies that will ensure the return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) back to their ancestral homes without further delay to enable them to continue with their normal life activities.
Governor Ortom made the call on Tuesday at the Government House in Makurdi when he played host to a delegation from the Victim Support Fund (VSF) led by its Chairperson, Mrs Toyosi Akerele Ogunsiji.
“I want to lend my voice to what my colleague in Borno State, Prof Babagana Zulum, has cried out against the activities of ISWAP in that part of the country. The federal government should not take this alarm from the threats of ISWAP lightly.
“The federal government must take proactive steps to send the terrorists away from Nigeria so that we can live in peace. We cannot continue this way. Nigeria deserves more peace than what we have now,” he stated.
Ortom, who recalled that when he came in as governor in 2015, he foresaw the dangers of allowing the activities of Fulani militia herdsmen to fester for long without a permanent solution.
While regretting that the whole country can now see the result today, the Governor however called on leaders of the country to speak up and not remain silent in the face of insecurity.
“The strategic support we want now enables our people living in the IDPs to return to their ancestral lands. Our people want to go back to their communities so that they can live their normal lives.”
Governor Ortom stated that his idea of conducting a mass burial for victims of the January 1st, 2018 killings by militia herdsmen were meant to draw attention to the security situation in the country, saying leaders at all levels need to speak out against the ills in the country.
The governor commended the VSF under the leadership of former Chief of Army Staff, General Theophilus Danjuma (rtd) for intervening in some critical areas in the plight of the IDPs in Benue, describing the elder statesman as forthright and outspoken on national issues.
Governor Ortom called on VSF to intensity support in the areas of improved healthcare services to IDPs, upscale its educational activities from primary to secondary education in the camps, support NGOs to continue to render help to the IDPs among others.
Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Mrs Ogunsiji stated that the visit followed a request by Governor Ortom to the VSF for support to the IDPs, stressing that a visit to the camps has revealed to the team the unhealthy nature of the environment inhabited by the IDPs.
She said they were in the state to get more information from the Governor on critical areas VSF should intervene in both the short and long term so that the organisation does not just throw money at the problems confronting the IDPs.
The VSF chairperson noted that Benue as a critical stakeholder in the area of food security has seriously been affected by food production in the state and country at large and must be encouraged to overcome.