After the Nigerian government soldiers fled and the Islamic insurgents arrived in his village with guns blazing, Peter Fabian ran away along with dozens of other villagers.
"Our homes have been burned, our churches," Fabian said. "Many of our brothers have been killed."
Arriving in a camp here with all his worldly possessions reduced to everything he could carry, Fabian has joined the ranks of 1.6 million other Nigerians who have abandoned their homes amid attacks by Boko Haram. The massive displacement is creating a humanitarian crisis in Africa's most populous nation.
"After Boko Haram pursued the soldiers from our village, they came after us too," Fabian recalled of the attack on Warabe, in the Gwoza mountain area of northeastern Nigeria. He and other villagers trekked across the border to Cameroon, where they stayed about one month. After living on the streets there, they hiked for two days back to Nigeria but did not dare to return to their homes.
Fabian and several other travelers, all carrying their belongings on their heads, walked into the Damare camp as Associated Press journalists were visiting. Thousands of people are staying in fields, construction sites and other improvised settlements in Yola, the capital of Adamawa state in eastern Nigeria.
The army of displaced Nigerians has been left largely to fend for itself to find shelter, food and water, according to the European Union, which last week pledged 5 million euros ($6.2 million) in assistance. The people are flocking to relief centers across the country's northeast, but find overcrowded facilities and a shortage of supplies.
"They are exhausted and vulnerable. We must find ways to help and protect them," said Christos Stylianides, the EU commissioner for humanitarian aid, who put the number of displaced Nigerians at 1.6 million.
He urged national and international organizations to join forces and address "this displacement crisis of a growing magnitude."
Nearly 10,000 people, with gloomy faces, maimed fathers and tired mothers, are now at the Damare camp amid a lack of toilets.
Sylvanus Papka, a top health official, said such a locale is a breeding ground for diseases.
Papka said outbreaks of diarrhea and measles are now under control thanks to a health clinic, but that the lack of sanitation poses a major challenge. The increasing influx of displaced people worsens an already fragile situation.
Some had fled their homes months ago, but it is dangerous to return even if the army wrests control of towns from the Islamic insurgents. Towns like Chibok, where Boko Haram abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in April and struck again in November, aren't safe.
Meanwhile, more refugees are headed to Yola, including from Mubi, a town in Adamawa state that has been on the front lines.
"There are more than 10,000 displaced people from Mubi who are currently trapped in Cameroon republic and we are expecting them at any time in the camp," Papka said.
Huffington Post
Related story: Video - The state of Nigerian governance and Boko Haram
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Video - Muslim leaders condemn Nigerian government
There's been plenty more fall-out from Friday's mosque attack in Nigeria. The country's top Islamic body is calling on Nigerian Muslims to defend themselves. The Jama'atu Nasri Islam is also accusing authorities of failing to protect civilians from Boko Haram. Meanwhile, volunteers have been helping to clean up following the attack that killed more than a hundred worshippers.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Children victims of Boko Haram
Nigerian officials say some 1.5 million people have been displaced by Boko Haram's violence.In Adamawa, one of the three states most affected, a push by the radical group to seize territory over the past three months.
Nigeria cancels U.S. military training
The animosity between the Nigerian government and its American counterpart has deepened with the Nigerian government cancelling a plan to have the United States military train a battalion of the Nigerian army to confront the extremist Boko Haram sect.
Nigerian officials did not provide reasons for the decision Monday, but the United States government said it regretted the move.
“At the request of the Nigerian government, the United States will discontinue its training of a Nigerian Army battalion,” the U.S. government, through its embassy in Abuja, said in a statement.
Relations between the two countries have been at a record low with Nigeria accusing the United States of not providing sufficient support for its fight against Boko Haram.
After months of informal allegations, the Nigerian Ambassador to the U.S. Ade Adefuye, had in November openly accused the United States of refusing to sell arms and equipment to Nigeria to help defeat Boko Haram.
In its response, the American government said it has supported Nigeria to the extent its law permits, and accused the Nigerian security forces of human rights violations.
The U.S. said its laws disallow sales of arms to countries with such human rights record.
Even so, the American government said it has provided some military equipment to Nigeria.
The two countries are not also relating well economically after the U.S. fully suspended buying Nigerian crude oil in July, a decision that helped plunge Nigeria into one of its most severe financial crises as oil price falls to a seven-year low.
It is not clear whether the latest decision to suspend the military training relates to previous economic and military incidents between the two countries.
Nigeria’s supervising Minister for Information, Nurudeen Mohammed, could not be reached immediately, as well as presidential spokespersons, Reuben Abati and Doyin Okupe,.
But the U.S. government said in its statement that the first two phases of the training were conducted between April and August 2014, and had provided previously untrained civilian personnel with basic soldiering skills.
“Based on mutual assessment of the Nigerian Army and U.S. trainers, a third iteration of training was agreed upon with the intent of developing the battalion into a unit with advanced infantry skills.
“We regret premature termination of this training, as it was to be the first in a larger planned project that would have trained additional units with the goal of helping the Nigerian Army build capacity to counter Boko Haram,” it said.
The statement however said the U.S. government would continue other aspects of its extensive bilateral security relationship, as well as all other assistance programs, with Nigeria.
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Nigerian officials did not provide reasons for the decision Monday, but the United States government said it regretted the move.
“At the request of the Nigerian government, the United States will discontinue its training of a Nigerian Army battalion,” the U.S. government, through its embassy in Abuja, said in a statement.
Relations between the two countries have been at a record low with Nigeria accusing the United States of not providing sufficient support for its fight against Boko Haram.
After months of informal allegations, the Nigerian Ambassador to the U.S. Ade Adefuye, had in November openly accused the United States of refusing to sell arms and equipment to Nigeria to help defeat Boko Haram.
In its response, the American government said it has supported Nigeria to the extent its law permits, and accused the Nigerian security forces of human rights violations.
The U.S. said its laws disallow sales of arms to countries with such human rights record.
Even so, the American government said it has provided some military equipment to Nigeria.
The two countries are not also relating well economically after the U.S. fully suspended buying Nigerian crude oil in July, a decision that helped plunge Nigeria into one of its most severe financial crises as oil price falls to a seven-year low.
It is not clear whether the latest decision to suspend the military training relates to previous economic and military incidents between the two countries.
Nigeria’s supervising Minister for Information, Nurudeen Mohammed, could not be reached immediately, as well as presidential spokespersons, Reuben Abati and Doyin Okupe,.
But the U.S. government said in its statement that the first two phases of the training were conducted between April and August 2014, and had provided previously untrained civilian personnel with basic soldiering skills.
“Based on mutual assessment of the Nigerian Army and U.S. trainers, a third iteration of training was agreed upon with the intent of developing the battalion into a unit with advanced infantry skills.
“We regret premature termination of this training, as it was to be the first in a larger planned project that would have trained additional units with the goal of helping the Nigerian Army build capacity to counter Boko Haram,” it said.
The statement however said the U.S. government would continue other aspects of its extensive bilateral security relationship, as well as all other assistance programs, with Nigeria.
Premium Times
Related stories: U.S.A. blocks Nigeria from buying military helicopters from Israel
U.S. responds to Nigeria's allegations with evidence showing aid and support given to Nigerian military
Naira falls to record low
Nigeria's naira touched a new record low of 183.05 against the dollar on Monday, driven by concerns over a sustained low oil price and expectations foreign investors would demand more dollars to pull out of local assets, dealers said.
The currency was trading down 2.4 per cent from Friday's closing level.
The central bank has struggled to keep the naira within its preferred band even after devaluing the currency by 8 per cent last Tuesday in a bid to halt a decline in the foreign reserves of Africa's biggest economy. Oil sales provide around 95 per cent of those reserves.
The bank's target band after devaluation is 5 per cent plus or minus 168 to the dollar, but doubts remain about whether it went far enough given the likelihood of continuing low oil prices and the fact that Nigeria's oil savings were being depleted even during a period of record high crude prices.
The coming weeks will test the bank's ability to maintain that level -- the naira is trading well below it and forex reserves are running out.
Pressure on the currency from lower oil prices risks reigniting inflation, which has stabilised in single digits for the past two years, the first time it has been this low.
Nigeria's economic troubles come at a bad time for President Goodluck Jonathan, who will seek re-election in polls scheduled for February 2015.
Barclays on Monday lowered its expected average Brent crude price to $72 (Sh6,480) a barrel for 2015, down from $93 (Sh8,370) a barrel previously, in a sign analysts have become more bearish following last week's OPec meeting, which left supply targets unchanged.
The Star
Related story: Central Bank of Nigeria issues new 100 Naira digital note
The currency was trading down 2.4 per cent from Friday's closing level.
The central bank has struggled to keep the naira within its preferred band even after devaluing the currency by 8 per cent last Tuesday in a bid to halt a decline in the foreign reserves of Africa's biggest economy. Oil sales provide around 95 per cent of those reserves.
The bank's target band after devaluation is 5 per cent plus or minus 168 to the dollar, but doubts remain about whether it went far enough given the likelihood of continuing low oil prices and the fact that Nigeria's oil savings were being depleted even during a period of record high crude prices.
The coming weeks will test the bank's ability to maintain that level -- the naira is trading well below it and forex reserves are running out.
Pressure on the currency from lower oil prices risks reigniting inflation, which has stabilised in single digits for the past two years, the first time it has been this low.
Nigeria's economic troubles come at a bad time for President Goodluck Jonathan, who will seek re-election in polls scheduled for February 2015.
Barclays on Monday lowered its expected average Brent crude price to $72 (Sh6,480) a barrel for 2015, down from $93 (Sh8,370) a barrel previously, in a sign analysts have become more bearish following last week's OPec meeting, which left supply targets unchanged.
The Star
Related story: Central Bank of Nigeria issues new 100 Naira digital note
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