World Bank agrees to sum of $800m for redevelopment of infrastructure in northeast

WORLD Bank officials have earmarked a sum of $800m to support the resettlement of refugees and the rebuilding of infrastructure destroyed across northeast Nigeria by the Boko Haram insurgency.

 

Since 2009, Boko Haram has been fighting a brutal war against Nigeria involving the violent destruction of infrastructure across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states. Boko Haram's reign of terror has resulted on the total destruction of facilities like schools, hospitals, banks and most public amenities across the three states.

 

In addition, the insurgency has led to Nigeria becoming the country with the highest number of internally displaced people (IDP) in the world. According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), Nigeria has 2.2m people living in internal refugee camps and in Borno State about half of the population live in IDP camps in the capital Maiduguri.

 

UN resident and humanitarian coordinator, Fatma Samoura, who is also a UN Development Programme (UNDP) resident representative, said the UN was scaling up its presence in Borno and other north-eastern states ravaged by the insurgency. During a courtesy visit to Governor Kashim Shettima in Maiduguri, he added that the UN and the World Bank have agreed on the figure to be spent on development at a recent workshop.

 

Ms Samoura said: “The workshop is for validating the year findings of the recovery and peace-building assessment. They have promised to leverage $800m for the northeast in response to recovery, rehabilitation, de-mining, waste management and debris processing.

 

“As we all know, the Syrian crisis that is affecting Europe is also taking a heavy toll in terms of funding from our traditional donors. We are trying our best to ensure that our advocacy and our communication strategy are up to the level where we will be receiving more attention from the donor community."

 

According to Ms Samoura, the humanitarian response plan in Nigeria is just 10% funded, pointing out that the UN has so far only received $24m out of the $248m budgeted in 2016. She pledged that the UN would continue to complement the World Bank and the European Union support to address the root causes of poverty and exclusion in northeast Nigeria.

 

Governor Shettima commended the UN for standing by the government and people of Borno State in identifying the root causes and also finding lasting solutions to the insurgency. He, however, described that the $800m pledge by the World Bank as grossly inadequate in view of the enormous challenges left behind by the insurgency.

 

“It is in the interest of humanity to rally round Nigeria over Boko Haram just as the developed world gave Turkey $2bn to resettle refugees from Syria. There are about 2m IDPs from Borno State, 20 local government areas were overran by Boko Haram and there is now a food crisis in the state,” Governor Shettima added.