The released funds must be deployed to meet the immediate and future needs of the victims
Although he had difficulty tackling the menace of terrorism in the North-eastern part of the country, former President Goodluck Jonathan had the good sense to initiate several programmes aimed at reviving the lives and communities of the victims of the insurgency. Towards this end, he had launched the Presidential Initiative on North East (PINE) with short and medium term goals of cushioning the impact of the devastation caused by the Boko Haram terrorists. He also launched the Victims’ Support Fund (VSF), chaired by Lt Gen T.Y. Danjuma and which raised N58.8 billion.
However, more than a year after that fund-raising, it does not seem as if there are efforts to rebuild the livelihoods of the people devastated by the insurgency. This is probably because the “war” has not really ended. This perhaps also explains why other programmes like Almajiri Education Programme (AEP) aimed at building 400 schools in the 19 northern states as well as the Safe School Initiative (SSI) have all been put on hold. But there is now a new resolve with the December deadline given for crushing the insurgents by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Perhaps in anticipation of ending the insurgency soon, the federal government, aside the N56 billion already released for the reconstruction of the North east, has also secured a World Bank loan of $2.1b (N393.9 billion) to assist in rebuilding the destroyed infrastructure as well as resettling the over one million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the region.
With schools shut, markets burnt, homes and communities razed down and all forms of economic activities crippled, the need for the intervention can hardly be over emphasised. That is why we support all measures aimed at rebuilding the lives of the people. In the interim, the over-flowing IDP camps will continue to need relief and food items that can provide some basic succour to the victims.
However, the issue demands a serious approach. While the need to rebuild infrastructure like schools, hospitals, markets, bridges, highways, border posts, etc., is crucial, what perhaps remains a cause of greater concern is a psycho-therapy scheme to rehabilitate and re-orientate the people of the region, especially the girl child to not only re-embrace education, but also to stop perceiving school as a certain route to calamity or even death.
No doubt, such a therapy will help to save the children from the trauma of terrorists’ attacks.
One way of achieving this will be to institute scholarship schemes, especially for the girl child in particular and school-age children in general, as a way of encouraging enrolment in the zone. This has become necessary as schools that were neither shut down nor destroyed by the insurgents have remained deserted largely for fear of attack or abduction, or both. This is understandable. A lot of re-orientation will thus be imperative to reintegrate the victims into the mainstream of national development.
It is against the backdrop of the colossal task of rebuilding the region that the efficient and transparent management of the funds so far sourced becomes most critical. The funds which should be managed by independent bodies, devoid of government interference, must be deployed to meet the immediate and future needs of the victims. It is the fear of the funds suffering mismanagement that the World Bank, for instance, is resolved to use International Development Agencies to drive its reconstruction programmes.
Needless to say this fund should not go the way of past interventionist funds like that of the Flood Victims’ Fund of 2011, where not much is known about what use it has been put to. Indeed, we cannot wait to see the end of the insurgency and the commencement of rebuilding homes, villages, towns, etc., in the north east, so the beleaguered people can regain the rhythm of their lives.
