Taraba IDPs in the grip of diseases, hunger

Some of the internally displaced persons in Taraba State, who fled their homes in the wake of the herdsmen and farmers’ clashes in January, are battling with diseases and hunger, writes JUSTIN TYOPUUSU who visited their camps

A nursing mother, Mrs. Lamin Kani, was happy when she discovered that she was pregnant. She had, several times, thought of how she would relish the day of her delivery. Her expectation was however truncated when herdsmen invaded the Lau Local Government Area of Taraba State. She had to flee. It was a harrowing experience for her because she ran to protect her life and that of her unborn baby.

With misty eyes and body yet to completely get refreshed, Kani told SUNDAY PUNCH that she gave birth while fleeing from the marauding herdsmen. She also bemoaned the hardship nursing mothers and pregnant women currently face in the camp.

She told our correspondent that she left her house in the afternoon of January 5 when armed Fulani herdsmen stormed their village. Kani said after she ran for some minutes on that day, she got into labour and was delivered of her baby in the bush with the help of other women.

The nursing mother, who disclosed that seven other women had given birth since the camp opened on January 5, added that their most pressing needs were water and shelter.

“At least, we eat three times a day, but water is a challenge. Someone donated a borehole to us, but it is a bit far from where we are camped.

“The weather is harsh and the newborns are exposed to harsh weather. That is why many of them are suffering from cough and fever. I want to appeal to the government to find a solution to these killings so that we can go back to our homes,” she added.

Other sad Kanis in the camp

Like Kani, Mrs. Victoria Yunana and other persons displaced by the herdsmen in Taraba State didn’t know that they would one day flee their homes. In fact, they would have taken such prediction with a pinch of salt even if a soothsayer had told them to expect such in future.

Yunana, an easy-going woman, was among those who witnessed the mass burial of 68 victims of the killer herdsmen in one day at Katibu, in the Lau LGA. The incident changed the course of her life and that of others with only an option of escaping to save their lives.

The housewife and others in the neighbouring villages fled their homes and are currently nursing their wounds from their close shave with death at the Negatavah Government Day Secondary School camp where internally displaced persons are competing for space with schoolchildren.

When our correspondent visited the camp last week, the majority of the children looked sickly, apparently battling various ailments. Besides, they looked pale with many of them crying uncontrollably for lack of food. Yunana said some of the children taken to the hospital were rejected because there was no money to pay their medical bills.

She said, “Their cries are a constant reminder of the ugly memories of the killings by Fulani herdsmen who sacked seven of our villages in three days. About 13 children in this camp are seriously sick. Common among the diseases affecting them are malaria, cough and typhoid fever. I believe the diseases are caused by the harsh environment they are exposed to in the camp.

“We moved in here when children were still on holiday, but they are back now and we have to live with them and it is not right. As early as 6am, we have to wake up and move our things outside for the schoolchildren to use the classes. The school operates morning and afternoon sessions and throughout the day, we don’t have anywhere to rest until the school closes at 5pm every day.

“As you can see, many people are sleeping on the floor outside. They are not happy doing it but there is nowhere for them to lay their heads. The teachers are constantly harassing us that we are making a noise and disturbing their classes but how can we control this number of children?”

Taraba State, one of the states in the north-eastern part of the country, has, lately, featured prominently in the news owing to killings and violent clashes between local farmers and herders.

The Permanent Secretary, Taraba State Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Nulvaga Danhabu, said the frequent clashes displaced over 5,000 people on the Mambilla Plateau in the Sardauna Local Government Area of the state.

According to statistics obtained by our correspondent at the Mile Six, Federal Character Commission and Government Day Secondary School, Negatavah, all in Jalingo, over 7,800 were displaced in the Lau Local Government Area of the state.

A gale of pains at other camps

The story is not different at the Mile Six, Federal Character Commission and Lankaviri camps visited by our correspondent. Mrs. Bistila Navoro, who spoke with SUNDAY PUNCH at Lankaviri in the Yorro Local Government Area of the state, lamented that the camps’ residents lacked basic necessities of life, adding that diseases were taking their toll on the children.

She stated, “This morning (Friday), eight children were taken to the hospital, but they were turned back because their parents could not afford to pay the prescribed money. Where can we get money to pay their bills when we have lost everything in the crisis?

“We call on the government to offset the medical bills of people in the camp who cannot fend for themselves and also ensure our timely return to our homes.”

A mother of five, who identified herself only as Mrs. Victoria, said her children and those of many others were out of school. She called on the government to provide security to enable them to go back to their homes.

A five-year-old boy, Bisu Kani, who was playing with his books when SUNDAY PUNCH visited the camp, said he would want to return to school. “I was in primary one when we ran away from our homes. I want to go back to school. I want to be a doctor so that I can give people injection,” he added.

An octogenarian, Tarifinas Samali, who sat gently at a spot as our correspondent went round the camp, described the camp as hell on earth. The 82-year-old, who alleged that the herdsmen took over their farms and houses, called on the Federal Government to intervene quickly in the crisis to enable them to return early to their homes.

Samali said, “We are not used to staying like this and depending on goodwill for a living. We are farmers and we are used to feeding very well. It’s painful seeing your children cry of hunger. I must commend the state government for the food and other materials donated to us, but food is not enough.

“There are people in this camp with special diets because of their health conditions, but many are forced to eat whatever is available. I use to vomit any time I eat the food prepared in the camp. I am sick, but I can’t go to the hospital because there is no money.”

She also wondered why peace had eluded the council area when it was the duty of government to arrest the situation for peace to reign.

“When I was growing up, we only used to hear of similar killings in other places, but now, it happened right in Taraba before our eyes. I am tired of this kind of life. I want to go home. Very soon, the rainy season will come and farming activities will begin. We can’t afford to be here until that time,” she stated.

At the Nguroje camp on the Mambilla Plateau in the Sardauna Local Government Area, the camp leader, Abdulmumuni Umar, said all the eight camps on the Mambilla Plateau faced the challenges of shelter, water, food and medical care for pregnant women and nursing mothers.

Umar called on both the federal and state governments to provide security at the camps and relief materials to alleviate the sufferings of the villagers now forced to live as refugees in the camps.

‘State hospital ready to treat IDPs for free’    

However, the state government has directed the IDPs to report to the Specialist Hospital in the state for free treatments.

Reacting to the challenges facing the IDPs in various camps across the state, Danhabu said the state government had done enough to cater to the well-being of the IDPs.

He directed all the IDPs in the state and its environs to report to the state Specialist Hospital in Jalingo for free treatment.

He added, “We have an understanding with the Specialist Hospital and Victims Support Fund, which has so far committed N20m to the treatment of the IDPs.

“I am not sure whether the money has finished, but we also have some NGOs working in that regard. I will dispatch my team to visit the camps immediately to ascertain their needs. But I want to tell you that we have a pharmacist attached to the camps, who is supplying drugs to them.”

Also, the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Darius Ishaku on Media and Publicity, Mr. Bala Dan-Abu, said the government was working hard to ensure the quick return of all IDPs to their homes.

Dan-Abu stated, “Government sympathises with their condition because there is no place like home and whatever we do, we can’t satisfy them. What we are working on is to ensure their quick return to their homes.

“The governor is not in control of any security apparatus; so, we are working out security arrangement with the police and other security agencies and as soon as the Federal Government approves their deployment, we will support them to provide security for the IDPs to return to their homes.”

SUNDAY PUNCH checks at the Primary Health Centre, Abuja Phase 1, Jalingo, and the Nasara Hospital, where the IDPs claimed they were turned back for lack of money, revealed that the state government didn’t make any arrangements for their treatment.

A worker at the health centre, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorised to speak on the matter, told our correspondent that they were not aware that IDPs were not attended to at the hospital.

She said, “Even though we don’t have any directive from any of the government agencies to treat IDPs for free, I am sure they have not been introducing themselves as IDPs, if at all they have been coming to the hospital.

“The cost of treatment in the hospital is low because it is government-owned and government has subsidised drugs to enable many people to have access to medical care, even though many have abused the privilege. I am sure our boss would not turn back a dying child for lack of money.’’

At Nasara Hospital, close to the state Specialist Hospital, a source told our correspondent that the IDPs might have mistaken the Specialist Hospital for a private hospital.

“Ours is a private hospital and we are here primarily to save lives and for business; so, you don’t expect us to buy drugs at a high rate and treat people for free. As far as we are concerned, that is government’s responsibility,” the source said.

Also, a health worker at the Victim Support Fund in Taraba, Careme Sabum, in charge of the IDPs, said even though they had exhausted the money given to them for the treatment of IDPs, they still attended to them pending the release of fresh funds.

She added, “Apart from the drugs we received from SEMA sometime ago, I also held talks with the Permanent Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency on the need for the state government to also assist because the IDPs are mostly from Taraba.

“We are not receiving support from anywhere, but the IDPs keep increasing and we have to accommodate them even though our allocation has not increased.”

Though it is unclear when the IDPs will return to their homes, it is hoped that there would be improved quality healthcare, access to potable water, drugs and shelter among others in the camps.

An evangelist, Mr. Tavoro Job, who spoke with SUNDAY PUNCH at one of the camps, urged residents to join hands with the government to help the IDPs. “Security of our country begins with you and me. Government cannot do it all alone. We are set to return to God in prayers and it is our hope that peace will return soon,” Job added.

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