Why Plateau IDPs don’t stay in camps, victims narrate ordeals
Bokkos town in the Bokkos Local Government Area is one of the LGAs still habouring internally displaced persons in Plateau State six months after one of deadliest attacks that saw victims felled by gunmen in their various communities on the Christmas eve of last year.
During the unprovoked but deadly attacks which affected over 25 communities, no fewer than 150 persons were killed.
Arewa PUNCH reports that as of the last count, there are over 10,185 displaced persons currently registered in the 13 camps scattered around Bokkos town.
Findings by our correspondent showed that among the locations where the IDPs are registered include: the St Thomas Catholic Church, Christ Apostolic
Church, Nabut; Church of Christ in Nations, Tading; Church of Christ in Nations, New layout; Evangelical Church Winning All; Christ
Apostolic Church, Hausa; and Church of Christ in Nations, Takai.
Others are: COCIN Central, COCIN Takawai; CAC Tarangol; St Peters Anglican Church, and Nasara Baptist Church.
When Arewa PUNCH visited the camps on Sunday, it was observed that, unlike other states with similar challenges, displaced persons in Plateau State are hardly found to stay put in their camp sites.
One of the displaced persons in Bokkos, Gladys Bulus, blamed the situation on the cultural peculiarities of the people.
According to her, most of the displaced persons in Plateau State were not camped in designated locations because they would rather prefer to stay with their relatives and other loved ones.
Bulus who said she lost one of her children to the attackers while trying to escape to Bokkos town affirmed, “It is true that If you go to places like Bokkos, Mangu, Barkin Ladi where we have IDP camps, you will find out that a lot of us were only registered as displaced persons but many of us are not staying in those designated camps.
“It is only a few of us that you can find. The rest have gone to stay with their sympathisers, many of whom include their relatives, friends, loved ones, and acquaintances, among others.”
Continuing, Bulus further narrated, “Like me, I went to stay with my father’s sister after we were chased away from our Mbar community by the gunmen last December. I even lost my son .
“Since then, life has taken an ugly turn, and it has not been easy. The truth is that many of the surviving victims are able to find accommodation with relatives because they believe that what affects one affects the other. So, that spirit of accommodation is still with the people despite what has happened,” she stressed.
Another displaced person, John Madaki, said staying in the designated IDP camps is not easy because of the harsh conditions at are experienced there.
“If you go to some of these IDP camps, you will cry with pity for those IDPs staying there because at most of these places they stay, they are in the open lacking amenities like water, toilets, bathrooms, and other other necessities of life.
“These IDPs struggle to find space to sleep on the bare dusty floor. That is why they are harbingers of the various types of diseases. You can’t stand the stench and odour in these camps coupled with the quarrels and fights.
“So, if you can find a place outside the IDP camps, it is better. Those outside the camps only come around whenever camp officials notify them that there are relief materials to be shared with them. That is the only time you can find others go there and after collecting their share like raw food or other items, they disappear and return to where they are staying,” Madaki better enlightened.
A peace advocate, Rev. Gideon Para-Mallam, who has been working for the resettlement of the IDPs, also added his voice to proffer more reasons why the Plateau IDPs don’t live in their dedicated camps.
Para-Mallam told Arewa PUNCH that “because there are no well-marked and well-built or makeshift buildings to accommodate IDPs by way of assistance from either the Federal Government, the state government or the World Bank in Plateau State, yet sustained attacks in communities have gone on for over a decade, these IDPs naturally will always abandon the temporary church sites as camp locations for them.
“This makes the need to develop IDP temporary residency a real challenge to be addressed.
“What we have as IDPs in places like Bassa, Riyom, Mangu, and Bokkos to mention a few are mere centres, makeshift places and not solid structures where any person would like to stay long inside.
“The IDPs are also not fully stationary on one spot because they left their farmlands, and the desire to return to their farmlands is always very strong – they want to plant crops so that they would have something to eat. Food at these centres isn’t guaranteed. They would rather not be beggars if they can avoid it.
“More importantly, many of those who abandoned their communities during the attacks and are still fortunate to have their houses intact will always after a few months stay in the IDP Centres, often prefer returning back at the earliest opportunity.
“Lastly, the IDPs have also discovered that when they are attacked and run away from their communities, the attackers often sneak back to occupy their villages and grab their belongings, including their farmlands. That explains why they always want to return whenever there is some semblance of peace and security, which they consider to be fair enough, they begin to return.
“So, adequate security is a way of securing their homes and farmlands. They will never cede their lands. The only challenge is that sometimes they are re-attacked. This calls for adequate security for those who return. This is the least the Federal Government can do and need to do to similarly assist the state government,” he pointed out.
Our correspondent reports that because farming is the main occupation of the displaced communities, therefore, it remains a source of attraction to the various communities.
Due to insecurity, which still pervade the affected communities, it has been difficult for the displaced persons to return to their ancestral homes
The Special Taskforce in charge of maintaining the peace in the state has consequently, warned that the development portends a huge danger for the state and it’s people who rely on the agrarian communities for food supply and agricultural produce
While the state government appears to be doing its best to mitigate threats to farming in the affected communities so as not to aggravate food shortages in the state, the security agents are facing increasing pressure to resettle the displaced persons back to their ancestral homes without further delay.
