Amid efforts to restore displaced persons in the North East to their normal lives, the United Nations (UN) has said the situation was worsening owing to the widespread insecurity in the region.
Addressing State House correspondents yesterday after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, lamented the deplorable condition of the refugees.
Kallon, who led a delegation of seven experts to the Villa, said: “The situation is still extremely difficult in the sense that the populations are still kept in garrison type of camps. People are not able to return to rebuild their lives and livelihoods. There are periodic attacks by non-state armed groups. So, it is quite a difficult situation at this point in time.”
He assured Buhari of the global organisation’s readiness to provide support to the Nigerian government, particularly in the areas of development and humanitarianism. The UN official called for enhanced dialogue with a view to achieving a lasting solution to the lingering insurgency in the area.
“So, the conflict is still ongoing. It’s not over. But today again, I told Mr. president that in addition to the military effort, there is need to complement that with enhanced dialogue and political approach process in search of durable solution to the crisis. So, we think various approaches have to be used to find a solution.
“But when you talk about conflicts in Nigeria, we are talking about three typologies – there is no one size fits all. You have identity-based conflicts, resource-based and power-based conflicts. Each of those typologies requires different approaches and solutions – that is the complexities we are dealing with,” he added.
