It is not a gainsaying that the ravaging effects of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East region have left millions of people homeless, and thousands of lives have been lost while properties worth billions of naira have been destroyed. However, it is painful to note that the region has been left with no infrastructure due to the activities of the insurgent group.
The United Nations published on its website around 2021 that over 1,400 schools were destroyed and many were forced to close in the North-East, all as a result of the endless attacks of the Boko Haram members. Besides, over 2,295 teachers lost their lives, while over 600,000 kids lost access to education in the region.
Similarly, the huge destruction caused by the insurgency group has left the North-East with no education, no outstanding facilities, no good roads, no water and power supply. This made the region to be the most undeveloped region in the nation with a high number of out-of-school children, particularly in Yobe, Adamawa and Borno states.
Painfully, the conflicts have left millions of people homeless, causing poverty. Children have resorted to street begging. There is high joblessness among youths, as well as extreme hunger and starvation. This, on the other hand, has deteriorated the situation instead of reducing it to a minimal level.
Nonetheless, the people of the region began to applaud the president when he first came on board as he intended to restore the lost glory of the region by providing the region with some exceptional projects to improve their standard of living but unfortunately, the entire projects the presidents intended to execute were completely abandoned though only a few months left for his tenure to come to an end.
Therefore, I want to let the president know that the North-East region is in a precarious situation as things keep falling apart. Initially, let’s begin by asking the president to as a matter of urgent public importance complete the Manila Hydropower project. This will go a long way in assisting the people of the region to boost their business activities as well as to revamp some of the region’s moribund industries.
On the same page, the people of the region will be extremely happy if the president will command the contractors to speed up the long-awaited road project linking Akwanga-Jos and Bauchi-Gombe Road though the project has been approved by the government around 2018 yet there is nothing on the ground that will assure the project completion shortly. So, if Buhari intervenes, the project will help in boosting the region’s agricultural activities as well as provide job opportunities to the younger generation.
In another development, recently the president inaugurated the continuation of the exploration of hydrocarbon in the Kolamani River around Bauchi and Gombe states. The projects will go a long way in helping the region to provide job opportunities to its teeming youth as well as boost the nation’s economy, particularly in the oil and gas sector. Therefore, if the president will intervene by asking the workers to speed up the projects the people of the North-East will be very happy.
Given the above, the North-East people are calling on Buhari and the authority concerned to please come to the region’s aid by intervening in the region’s problem. The president should ensure that all awarded projects in the region are completed before the end of his tenure.
Indis Sani,
Department of Mass Communication, Borno State University:
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