By Olukayode Michael, Maiduguri
The United Nations on Wednesday said the international community is concerned by the alleged indiscretion of some international humanitarian organisations working in the troubled Northeast Nigeria.
The military recently closed some offices of Action Against Hunger and Mercy Corps in the Northeast, for alleged activities against the interest of Nigeria interest.
Speaking in Maiduguri during a courtesy on Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Umara, the UN under-secretary for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, Mark Lowcock, said everybody is working for the same goal and won’t want the law of the country to be broken.
He said “should there be any problem of the activities of humanitarian organisations in the country, it is not just for Nigeria but for the entire international community.”
He said this the agencies themselves understood, stressing that: “Everybody has similar goal here and it is to reduce the pains and sufferings of the people.”
Lowcock while emphasizing that the international community would not want the rule of law of the nation to be broken, said “all the international agencies operating in the troubled region are registered with the authorities in the proper way.”
He added that there (humanitarian organisations) activities are equally been monitored by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the fund they are spending were gotten from reliable sources especially foreign governments who ensure that the funds are used for the purpose for which they were given.
He said the foreign donors ensure that the funds are not be diverted, noting that these international agencies operate where the government has access to.
He lamented that the crisis in the Northeast continued to pose threat to thousands of people in the troubled area.
Lowcock said both the military and international humanitarian agencies need to collaborate to bring succour to millions of people affected by the Boko Haram crisis.
He said there should be proportionate response from both the military and the humanitarian actors, and it is only by this that the problem can be dealt with.
He said that international agencies are operating under the legal framework provided by authorities in the host country.
The UN chief noted that most of the staff of the UN agencies, INGOs, NGOs are Nigerians and they have ensured that about 3.8 million people have been reached this year alone.
He said that this is instructive as without there efforts the suffering in the troubled area would have been much greater.
Earlier the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouk, said Nigerian government appreciates the efforts of the international humanitarian agencies working in the Northeast in providing humanitarian assistance to the people of troubled region.
She said the current problem with the closed humanitarian agencies had to do with national security but that her ministry was working to settle the rift.
She said there was ongoing move with the military, Borno State Government and agencies concerned to resolve it with respect to international norms and best practices.
The intervention, she said is to buttress the issue of trust and understanding, noting that the military and the INGOs have provided security and relief to millions of people of the troubled region.
She said investigation is still ongoing on the issues leading to the banning of the activities of the accused INGOs, adding that in the meantime her ministry will ensure that the people were not affected by the banning of the activities of the accused agencies.
She promised that food and other relief items would be sent down to affected areas of the Northeast.
She said there should be optimism that there will be peaceful resolution of the matter in the interest of all parties.
The governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Umara, on his part, said the people of the state cannot continue to depend on food and other relief materials from humanitarian organisations and would love to see the crisis over soon enough.
He appealed to the United Nations to come to assistance of the Nigerian government by helping with modern war equipment that will assist the nation in winning the war against insurgency.
He noted that the nation should be assisted with modern aircraft that would be deployed in bombing the hideouts of the insurgents.
Umara said the people are tired of the war and want to relocate to their homelands.
He said everybody is working for the same goal and won’t want the law of the country to be broken. He said should there be any problem of the activities of humanitarian organisations in the country, it is not just for Nigeria but for the entire international community. He said this the agencies themselves understood. Everybody has similar goal here and it is to reduce the pains and sufferings of the people. He said they do not want the rule of law of the nation to be broken.