Midjiyawa Bakari, Governor of the Cameroon’s Far North Region, has raised concern over the dire humanitarian conditions of 115,000 children in Minawao Refugee Camp, Cameroon.
He advocated for urgent international support to address the dire conditions facing the displaced children in the camps across the Lake Chad Basin.
Bakari said this at the 5th Lake Chad Governors’ Forum on Thursday in Maiduguri.
The governor said that Minawao refugee camp accommodated about 115,000 children, many of whom lacked access to education and healthcare services.
“The mortality rate in the camp is between 70 and 100 deaths per week,” he said, adding that lack of humanitarian interventions could expose the children to radicalisation, malnutrition and diseases.
According to Bakari, education and social welfare programmes are imperative to cater for the needs of the children, and protect them from becoming future security threats.
He underscored the importance of a coordinated regional approach to security and reconstruction, lamenting that the decade-long Boko Haram insurgency ravaged infrastructure and livelihoods in Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad, and Niger Republics.
According to him, the Cameroon’s reconstruction plan, launched by President Paul Biya, focuses on the rehabilitation of destroyed areas and new development projects to compensate for the decade-long stagnation.
“A budget of 1,810 billion CFA francs has been allocated to rebuild schools, hospitals, roads, and other critical infrastructure,” he said.
He listed some of the major road projects to include Kousseri – Maroua Highway, damaged by the Boko Haram insurgents’ attacks, leading to delays and difficult travel conditions.
“The road linking Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon is in a terrible state. During the rainy season, drivers spend up to three weeks on the journey. Work has now resumed, and construction will begin in the coming days” he said.
Commenting on de-radicalisation programme, Bakari said the DDR centre focused on re-education and reintegration, as well as sentisitising repentant insurgents to the ills of suicide bombing and other forms of violence.
“While Boko Haram has been significantly weakened, sporadic attacks still occur, and it will take time to fully restore public confidence,” he said.
The governor lauded the security collaboration between Cameroon and Nigeria, particularly the direct coordination between him and his Borno counterpart, Babagana Zulum in tackling cross-border threats.
“With Governor Zulum, we have built strong ties, whenever a security or economic issue arises, we communicate directly to find solutions,” he said.
He urged international partners to increase humanitarian aid and development assistance in the region, noting that the challenges were too vast for individual governments to handle alone.
“The Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), UNDP, and PROLAC have been instrumental in our recovery efforts. However, more resources are needed to accelerate development and improve the lives of our people.
“The UNDP has reconstructed police stations, military barracks, gendarmerie offices and customs facilities as well as equiped security personnel with vehicles and modern tools,” he said.
He also stressed the importance of cross-border cooperation between Cameroon, Nigeria and Chad, particularly in security, refugee repatriation, and economic development.
Bakari said the Governors’ Forum helped to provide practical solutions to pressing issues, adding that more resources were necessary to accelerate development and improve the lives of the people.
He further advocated for periodic regional meeting, to enhance cooperation and rapid response to security, economic and social challenges