Bama Stands Still As Zulum Shares Cash And Trucks of Food Stuff To Residents

By Gbenga Akingbule

It was an atmosphere of visible joy and excitement as over 90,000 vulnerable male and female residents of Bama file out individually and in groups on Wednesday to receive combine sum of N400 million alongside thousands of bags of grain and textiles.

Gatekeepers News reports that the humanitarian gesture, which was also extended to People Living With Disabilities (PLWD), is aimed at supporting the less privileged members of the community, according to Zulum.

The Governor who carried out the distribution of cash, food items and textiles in Bama, a town that was once occupied by Boko Haram terrorists, stated that substantial parts of food items was gotten from a recent President Muhammadu Buhari’s Humanitarian Day Launch in Maiduguri the state capital.

According to a 2016 assessment report co-authored by the World Bank, the EU, United Nations and Nigerian Government, Bama is identified as the worst affected by Boko Haram’s destructions and displacement, hence, Borno Government’s special attention on areas of reconstruction and humanitarian aid.

Governor Zulum, flagged off the distribution in front of the Shehu of Bama’s palace amidst the gathering of thousands of beneficiaries.

“More than 60,000 male residents each received two bags of rice and maize while 30,000 female residents each received a wrapper and N5,000 cash.

“The Cash and food distributions took place at four locations. Three of these were in Bama town and one at Gurusoye, a village on the outskirt of the town.

Governor Zulum was directly involved in coordinating the aid distribution to ensure substantial reach and transparency.

The governor also met and approved cash and food support to numerous groups including those of volunteers, elders, different levels of traditional rulers who help in intelligence gathering.

Various sums of money were released to the groups depending on their numbers in order to enhance access to livelihoods as residents gradually return to farming and other businesses, which were hitherto hampered by violent activities of insurgents.

Governor Zulum revealed that “substantial quantity of the food he shared came from the food launched by President Muhammadu Buhari as special support for the North-East, during the 2022 World Humanitarian Day which held on August 18 in Maiduguri.

“Rice in thousands of bags, came from the Nigerian Customs Service and the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development through its establishments: the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).”

Also , in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to Governor Zulum on Media and strategy Mallam Isa Gusau “the Governor is constrained to use cash in humanitarian aids to communities because majority of Borno’s 27 local government areas currently do not have banking services, while many of the targeted beneficiaries do not even hold accounts.

The governor’s spokesman, explained that banks currently operate mostly in Maiduguri, Jere, Biu and portions of Konduga that are located within the metropolis, while more than 20 LGAs do not have banking services following Boko Haram’s destructions and displacements.

Gusau also said that the incentives given by the governor has seriously worked against the ability of Boko Haram to use cash in wooing persons with critical humanitarian needs.

“There were times when Boko Haram used as low as N5,000 cash to pay spies and even pay teenagers to set schools ablaze. After careful analyses, the governor’s massive deployment of cash support was considered as potentially effective and it has really helped”, Gusau said.

He added, that “part of the whole idea is to stimulate local economies in communities through financial transactions and to help the communities gradually stabilize.”