IDPs rally to go home

A cross section of Internally Displaced Persons

About 1,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) currently in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, have signified intent to voluntarily return to Borno State.

Speaking with newsmen in Ibadan, at the weekend, during a peaceful rally at Moshood Abiola Way (Ring Road), Ibadan, the IDPs, comprising Muslims and Christians, said they are ready to return to their different homes in various local government areas of Borno State, with a view to starting a new life.

Those who staged the rally comprised middle-aged men, women and children.

They appealed to the Federal, Oyo and Borno governments, to help them with logistics for evacuation back home, as soon as possible.

The displaced persons, who spoke through their Chairman, Mr. Philemon Aga and Secretary, Mallam Amada Usman, noted that Oyo has been a good and hospitable place, but, majority of them cannot secure gainful employment in the state and added that life has increasingly become difficult for them to bear on daily basis.

The IDPs raised the alarm that they had been confronted with accommodation problem as over 10 people squat in one room, mostly in uncompleted buildings, where security operatives incessantly swoop on them and effect indiscriminate arrests.

“Consequently, we are having feeding and healthcare challenges, coupled with malnutrition, while our children cannot be enrolled in schools here in Oyo State.

“We have resolved to go back home and begin our lives anew, without further delay, as we strongly believe that home is home, whatever the circumstance,” Aga said.