Boko Haram: Borno IDPs protest inadequate food supply

Internally Displaced Persons in Bama, Borno State on Tuesday complained about the quantity of food supplied to them in their camp by the State Emergency Management Agency.
The displaced persons voiced out their grievances when members of the House of Representatives Committee on the IDPs visited the camp.
A spokesman of the IDPs, Mallam Bukar Kolo, told the legislators that the IDPs were faced with acute food shortages at the camp.
Kolo said: “We were happy when the camp management abolished the centralised cooking system last week due to our complaints.
“But the introduction of household cooking has not solved the problem.”
Kolo accused the SEMA officials of supplying inadequate food items to households under the new system.
He said: “I have a family of 30 dependents but they gave me a 10kg bag of semovita, a 50kg bag of rice and some few items.
“These food items are expected to last three weeks before another supply, but we have already exhausted the supply.
“This arrangement cannot work because the food supply is grossly inadequate.
“How can 30 people feed on food that cannot feed more than 10 persons?”
Mallam Mustapha Modu, another IDP, corroborated the claim.
Modu said: “The food supplied to the displaced persons is not sufficient.
“We are still living in hunger because the food supply is too small to sustain us.
“We want you to please intervene and ensure that more food is supplied to us.”
But the IDPs’ Camp Manager, Mallam Babagana Grema, faulted the IDPs’ claims.
Grema said: “It is true that we gave them one bag of rice and one bag of semovita each.
“But we have made provision for additional supply to families who have exhausted their supply.”
Responding, Alhaji Sani Zoro, the Chairman of the committee, promised to tackle the problems.
Zoro said: “We are here on a fact-finding mission.
“Our aim is to ascertain and see the living condition of the IDPs.
“We will report back to the House and ensure that necessary action is taken towards alleviating your concerns here.”