Abuja – The UN is mobilising international support for Nigeria to alleviate the burden of Internally Displaced Persons due to Boko Haram onslaught in the North-East.
UN Peace and Development Adviser Zebulon Takwa told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday that Nigeria should not be left alone to handle the IDPs burden.
Takwa said Nigeria was too important for the international community to abandon in the ongoing efforts of humanitarian support, early recovery and reconstruction in the North-East geo-political zone.
The UN official expressed regrets that some international donor agencies and partners believed that Nigeria was rich enough to tackle its problems and hence, did not need international help.
“What we are trying to do is to work with the Federal and state governments to let them realise their potential and mobilise the international community to say Nigeria should not be left behind.
“One thing that we are all confronted with is that the partners or people outside there think that Nigeria is a very rich country,” he said.
According to him, while it is true that Nigeria is rich, there is what the international community can do in the interim to alleviate the burden of the IDPs.
[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560″]
He explained that waiting for Nigeria to stabilise to provide all the humanitarian support to the IDPs could take time and worsen the situation of the victims at camps.
Takwa explained that Nigeria had paid its dues to the international community, adding now was the time for them to show solidarity with Nigeria.
“Nigeria has played a great role in other countries, now is a time for the international community to come to support Nigeria.
“Before it can stabilise in the ongoing battle against insurgency, to be able to make use of its potential to cater for all the needs of the IDPs may take time.
“So, we are saying there are immediate things that we can all do and kick-start the process, then we orchestrate what we call a ripple effect for development.
“So, UN will continue to mobilise and appeal to partners to really join hands so that we can alleviate this huge burden of the IDPs and reconstruction issue.”
Takwa emphasised that if the international community mobilised to alleviate the huge IDPs burden, it would enable Nigeria to stand on its feet to play its global roles.
“If Nigeria is on its feet, it will be able to do more not only for itself, not only for the sub-region but for Africa and the world at large,” he said. (NAN)
