The Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Tijjani Aliyu Ahmed, has decried the high rate of displaced Nigerians across the country.
Ahmed said most of the displaced Nigerians were not in internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps. He noted that many displaced persons resorted to staying in some host communities.
In an interview with News Central on Tuesday, Ahmed stated that governments cannot be able to fund the financial burden of taking care of displaced persons.
“Of course, people should also be aware that for some times now, or for many years now, we have been facing a lot of challenges in the area of displaced persons in Nigeria.
“As it is today, we have not less than about 6.1 million Nigerians that have been displaced across the country, with an increase in flooding that has occurred in 2022. And of recent ones that have occurred in Maiduguri, of course, the number has risen.
“Some of the international partners may be talking about 3.1 and 3.6 million. Those ones, they are making reference to displaced persons that are living in camps. There are many, more than the number of those that are living in the camps that are living within the host communities.
“And that is why when you put all these numbers together, both the ones in the camp and the ones that are living within the ghost communities, you get not less than about 6.1 million Nigerians that are being displaced,” he said.
The NCFRMI Federal Commissioner said the permanent solution to addressing issues of displaced persons would be to settle them in their homes.
He called for support for the Commission’s programme aimed at settling the displaced person permanently at their homes.
“The National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, Internally Displaced Persons has been trying to do the best it could to ensure that these displaced individuals are given support, are given care, so that they cannot just be left unattended.
“One of the methods that the agency is now doing is to provide durable solutions because you cannot continue to be keeping displaced persons in camps. I don’t think the government can continue to sponsor that kind of heavy financial funding. So the only way is to go for durable solutions,” he added.
Recall that Naija News reported that the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Nentawe Yilwatda, said the government planned to partner IDPs camps for a farming programme.
He said the farming programme would help to provide empowerment for the displaced person while boosting the nation’s food security.
