UN Plans Second Oslo Conference

As the Northeast of Nigeria edges towards real peace, more funds would be raised from Oslo in June this year by the United Nations UN which has finalised plans for a second conference to further stabilise the region.

The amount envisaged for humanitarian needs and further stabilisation efforts this year alone should go beyond the initial one billion dollars for 2018 and beyond as announced by proposed donors.

To see things for herself and justify the myriads of pending needs, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed visited Bama in the company of Governor Kashim Shettima last week.

Amina told newsmen in Bama that she was here to assess obvious gaps in humanitarian needs, and reconstruction efforts recorded by the government so she could report back to the UN in order to identify areas of intervention for 2018 fiscal year.

Borno’s Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement of Boko Haram victims, Professor Babagana Umara told Amina’s entourage that reconstruction efforts by Borno State government have been ongoing with 11,000 private homes, 170 classrooms and school buildings in eleven schools already completed.

The commissioner stressed that township electrification and rehabilitation of 10 boreholes have so far been rebuilt in Bama town returning the city back to its former status.

Amina was in Bama in the company of Governor Kashim Shettima, Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed and Country Representative of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr Mairo Mandara.

At the headquarters of the 21 Armored Brigade the Brigade Commander Brigadier General Audu, represented by the Brigade’s Chief of Staff, Col. Adekeye briefed Amina on the military’s operations in clearance of mines and providing security to IDPs as well as free medical healthcare.

The military declared Bama as largely safe except for the challenges of mines around farmlands located in bushes, where the commander solicited UN’s support in the area of clearing such mines to fast-track return of IDP.

‎Amina Mohammed promised to report her findings to the UN headquarters in New York, with a view to having interventions scaled up to complete efforts of Borno State Government, the Federal Government, and any partner involved in providing support for the people.

About one million private houses, 665 government buildings, 5,335 classrooms, 201 healthcare centres, ‎776 electricity installations were recorded to have been destroyed by Boko Haram according to a Recovery and Peace Building Assessment Report released in 2016, jointly authored by the World Bank, the European Union, the Government’s of the six states in the northeast, and the local and international stakeholders.