BEVERLY HILLS, December 31, (THEWILL) – As the yuletide winds to a close, the Borno State governor , Alhaji Kashim Shettima, has implored all residents of the state to open their hands wide a give a warm embrace to the needy among them.
Maintaining that real heroes must be ready to offer assistance to those in need, the governor specifically called for help for residents of the state who have been rendered homeless by the ongoing insurgence and are living in different Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps across the state and beyond.
Shettima made the call during the presentation of 2015 Appropriation Bill to the Borno State House of Assembly in Maiduguri on Tuesday.
“Let us be heroes by opening our houses and arms to embrace those in need remembering at all times, that you may in future; be in need of help from the same person that seeks your help.”
“The heroes among us today are those who make sacrifice for others. Our soldiers and youth volunteer in the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) who put their lives on the line for us; our citizens who open their doors to accommodate relative and friends displaced from their communities are the true heroes of Borno,” the governor said.
Shettima therefore ordered the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to “identify and recall” all IDPs taking refuge with relations within and outside Maiduguri to camps for food and other relief materials.
Lamenting that a lot of the IDPs are currently not registered by SEMA at the eight established IDPs camps in Maiduguri and Biu, Shettima said: “Our wish and goals are to have all citizens back in their destroyed homes as soon as possible.”
He however said that before that is achieved, “as Government which strives to help those in need so that we encourage them, I have directed SEMA to immediately make public announcements to invite any resident within and outside Borno State who may be offering shelter to any displaced citizen of Borno State to come forward with verifiable information regarding the status of such citizens; so that Government can support the act of kindness.”
He also directed SEMA “to continually go round and put up a permanent machinery in place to ensure that every citizen that harbours displaced citizens is provided our support based on the verifiable number of displaced persons.”
