

BY ABDULLAHI ISAH MAIDUGURI
In what can be described as a festive mood full of excitement, 2,043 Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) from Guzamala local government area of Borno state that have lived in Bakasi Camp, Maiduguri were relocated back to their communities..
While flagging off the return of the first batch of IDPs, the Theater Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Rogers Nicolas assured them of their security, as more troops have been deployed to the area..
He said ” as you go back home, your security is guaranteed, as we have deployed more troops to the area. The Chief of Army Staff, Lt General, Tukur Buratai will personally come to Gudumbali to flag off the tilling of the farms”.
He encouraged them to take the opportunity given to them, so that they go back to their communities and pick up the pieces of their lives, as they are free to go back to the farms, fishing and other economic activities.
The IDPs commenced the relocation on Tuesday, June 19, 2018.
Major General Nicholas said that their rehabilitation was jointly worked out by the Theatre Command, the Borno State Government and the Guzamala Local Authorities.
He also urged well-meaning Nigerians and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to support the IDPs with farming equipment and other relief materials to enable them to settle back quickly into their respective communities.
Speaking earlier, the Speaker, Borno state House of Assembly, Hon. Abdulkareem Lawan, who hails from Guzsmala thanked President Muhammadu Buhari and the military for liberating their communities..
” I am excited today, as our people are going back home for the first time after about 4 years of life in the camp. Government is going to provide food items and building materials for you as you get home, Lawan added.
Also speaking, the Borno state commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement, Professor Babagana Umara commended the efforts of the military for liberating the areas, stressing that without security, reconstruction cannot take place..
He said the people of three local government areas of Abadam Guzamala and Matte are going to return back to their communities with 2, 043 consisting 373 households making up the first batch.
“We are going to provide you with building materials such as zinc, cement, doors, to assist you in reconstructing your homes, as well as food items for the next six months to one year to enable you feed yourselves up to the end of harvesting period,”, Prof Umara stated.
A returnee Babagana Kingimi said ” in the last 4 years I have not been as excited as today because today we are going back to our ancestral home after about 4 years of life in the camp.”
Another returnee, a vigilante, Modu Bangs assured that they are going to work with the military and other security agencies to secure their communities.