GOVERNOR KASHIM SHETTIMA ACCUSES AID GROUPS OF PROFITING FROM BOKO HARAM

The governor of Borno state, Nigeria, Kashim Shettima, has accused aid agencies working in the state of exaggerating the crisis that has resulted due to the activities of Boko Haram and wasting funds meant to assist victims.

This comes on the backdrop that many victims in the north-east who are now returning to their homes are at the risk of starvation and the aid agencies themselves have accused the government of complicity in the situation.

Borno state has been the centre of the Boko Haram crisis, amounting for one of the worst humanitarian crisis in Nigeria, which has resulted in widespread displacement, violations of humanitarian rights, atrocities, and death.

The Nigerian government’s offensive in the north-east against the terrorist group has resulted in the deaths of over 20,000 people and driven 2.3 million people from their homes. UNICEF says up to one million children have been forced out of school.

Shettima’s comments were made to legislators and journalists at Maiduguri, the state capital. The governor’s concerns echoed the same tone of President Muhammadu Buhari, who also accused aid agencies of hyping the humanitarian crisis to boost funding, in the later parts of 2016.

“Aid agencies including UNICEF are profiting from funds meant to help those fleeing Boko Haram’s Islamic uprising and should leave the country,” as he called for agencies only there to profit “from the agony of our people” to leave.

Shettima said that only eight of 126 registered agencies in Borno state were there to genuinely help, as he criticised UNICEF for buying bullet-proof cars, saying that he did not use such vehicles.

However, he did single out some aid agencies that were doing a good job such as the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Organisation for Migration, the Norwegian Refugee Council and the Danish Refugee Council.

The aid agencies have made no comment on the allegations.

In December 2016, the UN launched a $1 billion appeal for those facing hunger and starvation in the region.

The governor’s grievances may not be unfounded as the state capital, Maiduguri is swarming with the presence of the international community through NGOs. Armoured vehicles ply the routes and most hotels are fully booked.

But the armoured vehicles primarily used by the UN in areas of conflict and cost about $500,000 each have saved lives.

Shettima said that while the government has been focusing on resettling refugees and reconstruction, aid agencies are concentrating on refugee camps.

It won’t be the first time the UN has been criticised for the way its operations are handled, but the claim that the aid agencies are making a profit from the crisis leaves a sour taste in our mouths. There is the question about how the profit making occurs. Aid agencies have heavily invested in the north-east region of Nigeria, providing emergency infrastructure, safety and nutrition programmes.