It is not a denial that the devastating effects of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East have left millions of people homeless and thousands of lives lost while property worth billions of Naira has been destroyed. However, it is painful to note that the region has been left without infrastructure due to the activities of the insurgent group.
The United Nations posted on its website around 2021 that more than 1,400 schools were destroyed and many forced to close in the northeast, all as a result of endless attacks by Boko Haram members. Additionally, more than 2,295 teachers lost their lives, while more than 600,000 children lost access to education in the region.
Similarly, the massive destruction caused by the insurgent group has left the northeast without education, without prominent facilities, without good roads, without water and power supplies. This made the region the most underdeveloped region in the nation with high numbers of children out of school, 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 unemployment among the youth, as well as extreme hunger and starvation. This, on the other hand, has deteriorated the situation instead of reducing it to a minimum level.
However, the people of the region began to applaud the president when he first took office, as he intended to restore the region’s lost glory by providing him with some exceptional projects to improve his standard of living, but unfortunately, all the projects were presidents he intended to run were completely abandoned, even though there were only a few months left before his term ended.
So I want the president to know that the Northeast region is in a precarious situation as things continue to fall apart. Initially, let’s start by asking the president, as a matter of urgent public importance, to complete the Manila hydropower project. This will go a long way in helping the people of the region boost their business activities, as well as revamp some of the dying industries in the region.
On the same page, the people of the region will be extremely happy if the president orders the contractors to speed up the long-awaited road project linking Akwanga-Jos and Bauchi-Gombe Road, even though the project was approved by the government around 2018. however, there is nothing on the ground to ensure the completion of the project anytime soon. So if Buhari steps in, the project will help boost the region’s agricultural activities and provide job opportunities for younger generations.
In another development, the president recently inaugurated continued hydrocarbon exploration on the Kolamani River around Bauchi and Gombe states. The projects will go a long way toward helping the region provide job opportunities for its abundant youth, as well as boosting the nation’s economy, particularly in the oil and gas sector. Therefore, if the president intervenes asking the workers to speed up the projects, the people of the Northeast will be very happy.
Given the above, the people of the northeast are asking Buhari and the relevant authority to come to the aid of the region by intervening in the region’s problem. The president must ensure that all awarded projects in the region are completed before the end of his term.
Indis Sani,
Department of Mass Communication, Borno State University:
