Shocking! Why 5 Nigerian children will die every hour

A loud explosion which immediately claimed the lives of many residents had frightened him but the pandemonium which followed was what forced him to say his last prayer as a 13-year-old boy.

With death staring right at him, Lekan looked to the heavens and took to his heels ignorant of the fact that he was faced with more dangers ahead. This is because an erroneous step on one of the explosives or landmines littering the ground, could easily send him to an early grave.

But as fate will have it, death wasn’t going to take Lekan in the afternoon of January 27, 2002.

January 27, 2002 was a dark day in Nigeria’s history as over 1,000 Nigerians were killed in Ikeja, capital of Lagos following multiple explosions in Lagos armoury at Ikeja cantonment.

The Lagos armoury explosion was an accidental detonation of a large stock of military explosives and ammunition at the Ikeja military cantonment.

The fire created by the debris from this explosion burnt down a large section of Northern Lagos, and created a panic that spread to other areas. As people fled the flames, many stumbled into a concealed canal and were drowned.

“As a witness of the January 27, 2002 Ikeja bomb blast, I understand the plights of those leaving in the North especially in those areas terrorized by Boko Haram,” Lekan told NAIJ.com while recounting his ordeal.

“Have you ever felt you were a walking corpse even though you are still alive? That was how I felt when I was taken to a rehabilitation camp after that scary experience,” the Federal University of Technology graduate added in an emotional laden tone.

“That is still the worst day of my life as so many people died that day especially little children,” Lekan told NAIJ.com.

But while Lekan could withstand the threat of high calibre bombs and still live healthy, that hasn’t been the cases for some rescued captives of the Boko Haram insurgents in the Northeast.

Boko Haram threat

The year 2009 marked the period of Boko Haram’s violent uprising as series of attacks by the terrorist group became crystal clear that terrorism was at hand.

According to Laolu Akande, the senior special assistant to the vice-president on media and publicity, at least 20,000 people were killed by Boko Haram, between 2011 and 2015 in Nigeria.

Borno state has been worse hit by the crisis with a loss of $6bn while Yobe and Adamawa states were next in devastation.

It was gathered that the Northeast region suffered damages worth $3bn in housing alone while it also suffered damages in terms of livestock which brought about the need to restore agriculture in the region.

But after six years the Boko Haram insurgents turned the life of Nigerians into one unending nightmare, the Nigerian military began to turn the table against the terrorist group towards the end of the last administration and at the inauguration of new government on May 29, 2015.

However, despite the military reclaiming territories held by Boko Haram, the living conditions of the captives rescued from the terrorists’ hideout has left many saddened.

READ ALSO: Hunger hits IDP camps: Borno authorities divert relief materials

Boko Haram captives die in IDPs camps

Since Boko Haram insurgency started in 2009, more than 1.8 million people were forced out of their homes within 2011 – 2015.

Today, there are over 2,000,000 internally displaced persons (mostly women and children) from the insurgency in Northeast Nigeria and another 80,000 taking refuge in neighbouring Cameroon, according to figures from the Nigerian Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

The displacement of children from their homes is creating a huge problem for the region as record shows that Northern Nigeria has the highest number of out of school children in Africa.

Regardless, the Nigerian military have continued to haunt the Boko Haram fighters as they look to set more hostages free from the terrorists.

However, recent reports of starvation at camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) have raised concerns within and outside the country.

It was gathered that at a camp in Bama, a town in Borno state, 200 children are said to have died from hunger while many suffer malnutrition.

This was reported just before the Nigerian military disclosed it rescued over 5, 000 hostages held captive by the terrorists’ group on Sunday, June 26, while ten terrorists were killed in several clearance operation in the Northeast.

Hostages rescued by the army are usually subjected to security screening and subsequently taken to IDP camps. It is expected that the newly rescued persons will also be distributed to the different IDP camps.

But with challenges of feeding and sanitary conditions presently rocking the IDPs, concerns have been raised about if the relief items and food materials donated by the government and other non-governmental organizations are actually being used on these refugees.

Last week, the MSF issued a statement saying some 24,000 IDPs are in dire health situation with at least 30 people, mostly children, dying every day.

Two weeks ago, Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno state paid a visit to Bama camp upon receiving reports that hundreds of malnourished persons recently rescued from Boko Haram captivity were dying in a camp in Bama, 75km from Maiduguri, the state capital.

After getting to see the critical conditions of the IDPs, Shettima ordered the relocation of 61 children with acute condition of malnutrition to the intensive care unit of the Umaru Shehu Ultramodern Hospital in Maiduguri where they are currently being attended to.

Another set of over 400 persons with lesser cases of malnourishment were also moved out of the camp to a special care unit for proper feeding and medication.

More children are at risk of dying due to malnourishment

Nigeria is home to the highest number of stunted children in Africa and the second highest globally. Almost one in five Nigerian children is acutely malnourished and more than one in three children suffers from stunting.

According to the United Nations, over 200,000 persons, mainly children are at the risk of dying from malnutrition in Borno state as humanitarian needs of IDPs for food and Medicare rise.

The UN humanitarian coordinator to Nigeria, Mohammed Safieldin, made the shocking revelation at an emergency meeting with donor agencies and the Borno state government in Abuja on Monday, June 27.

Safieldin disclosed that if nothing is done to scale up interventions for food and Medicare to IDPs, the camps are at the verge of losing five children every hour.

The disturbing information came as Governor Kashim Shettima appealed to donor agencies to also look beyond suffering in the IDP camps as some returnees continue to face similar challenges for food and Medicare in their communities.

However, Shettima dropped a bombshell when he alleged that some NGOs are defrauding foreign philanthropists by appealing for funds under the pretence of trying to help internally displaced persons in the state.

According to Sheriff, these NGOs take pictures of insurgency victims and shared them on the social media, targeting unsuspecting philanthropists to part with funds. But the funds, he said, ended up in private pockets.

He said: “I need to open up here by saying that in the midst of credible organizations trying to help us in Borno, we have seen occasional instances of some business groups masquerading as NGOs smiling to the banks on the agony of our people.

“I do not mean to disrespect any sincere NGO but there are those I have seen, whose only interest is to go round thousands of IDPs and figuring out sick and skinny looking infants to pose for the cameras with them and upload on the social media mainly to attract funding from concerned philanthropists abroad.”

READ ALSO: About 700 Boko Haram victims are suffering from malnutrition

How camp officials steal from IDPs

But just as Governor Shettima had alleged there were fake NGOs roaming the streets, a video clip and pictures surfaced on social media showing bags of rice purportedly from NEMA being re-bagged by officials of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency.

The video showed how corrupt camp officials allegedly divert the rice and other items for the feeding of the IDP’s. In fact, just two weeks ago, some soldiers stormed the IDP food store in Borno state government House and tried to force policemen on duty to give up some of the rice meant for the IDPs.

This resulted in a shootout that left some people injured. The situation was however brought under control by the state governor and the military authorities.

However, an angry Shettima directed the police and the State Security Services to go after officials involved in the act. The Nigerian Army has also disclosed that those implicated in the corruption will be punished.

How FG can curb these malnutrition deaths

Nigeria has almost three million IDPs in the various camps, over two million of whom are in Borno facilities. Apart from the humanitarian efforts of international charity groups, the bulk of the burden of catering for the IDPs, especially in terms of feeding, has largely been abandoned to the Borno state government. The federal government-run National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has also struggled to maintain services in the camps.

There is need for the government to arrests this huge humanitarian need, as well as fight the war on insurgency simultaneously.

If the government can take responsibility of the IDPs with international best practices, Nigeria will attract more foreign assistance and collaboration.

Government has an obligation to protect the IDPs and provide for their welfare until they can safely return to their communities. The Buhari-led must do everything possible to ensure these malnutrition deaths are curbed.

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