“Our children are dying, many are sick as a result of lack of food. All we are saying is we need food to feed our family."
Thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the Arabic Teachers College camp held motorists for two hours on Maiduguri-Kano Road on Thursday during a protest demanding that the government supply more food to IDPs.
They lamented that for the past two months, the government has not been providing them with adequate foodstuffs, which has forced IDPs to share one daily cup of rice per family.
The protesters complained that have appealed several times to the Borno State Emergency Management Agency (BOSEMA) but they failed to improve the feeding ratio.
“They give us a cup of rice per day. Some us have six children. When we complain they don't listen to us. We are dying of hunger. If we let the world know, maybe they might come to our aid," Abu Mohammed, a protester, told our correspondent.
Aisha Yunus, an IDP and mother of four, explained that most women in the Arabic Teachers College are now street beggars due to the hardships they face in the camp.
"It is the begging on the streets that sustains us; a cup of maize per family is not. Some us have four children. We have suffered enough and we are aware that Governor Kashim Shettima did not know what we are going through. That was why we decided to fight for our rights, so that someone can do something fast about it," Ms. Yunus said.
Another protester, Bashir Musty, added, “Our children are dying, many are sick as a result of lack of food. All we are saying is we need food to feed our family."
Borno State Deputy Governor Mamman Durkwa and BOSEMA Chairman Ahmed Satomi arrived at the scene as they begged the angry IDPs to clear the highway. The IDPs responded by shouting, "You have turned us to streets beggars.”
Mr. Durkwa directed the SEMA to provide foodstuffs with immediate effect and assured them that the State government would not allow such to happen again.
