Just as the nation enters the lean season, UN humanitarians issued an alert on Tuesday regarding the dire situation for millions of people—primarily women and children—in northeast Nigeria who continue to be affected by protracted armed conflict.
In Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) states, there are well over eight million people in need of assistance, and 600,000 of them are thought to be suffering from severe food insecurity as a result of the ongoing, 12-year-old extremist violence centered around the Lake Chad region.
Boko Haram still a threat
According to Matthias Schmale, the UN’s top relief official in Nigeria, the once-dominant Boko Haram militia continues to launch indiscriminate attacks despite being significantly depleted since the group’s leader was killed over a year ago. ISWAP, another extremist offshoot, is dangerous as well, despite its own setbacks, he said.
According to Mr. Schmale, the acting UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, as in previous years, a startling million people are also out of the reach of international aid teams.
More than 80% of those in need are women and children, who also experience “abductions, rape, and abuse,” and who live in Borno state, which he described as the most “unstable place to be” due to indiscriminate attacks.
Out of the 8.4 million people who need assistance overall, he told journalists in Geneva that the UN hopes to assist at least 5.5 million. “2.2 million people are currently displaced due to the conflict. We’ve just begun what is known as the lean season, which typically lasts until September but lasted until November last year, indicating that climate change is also having an impact.
No oil dividend
Mr. Schmale noted that although Nigeria is a major oil producer, it lacks refineries which means that it has not benefited from the global surge in energy prices, linked to war in Ukraine.
“It’s early days yet in terms of understanding the full impact, as you may know, in Nigeria from the beginning there was speculation as to whether Nigeria would benefit as an oil-producing country.
We’re not seeing that in fact at all, because Nigeria, as contradictory as this may sound, depends very largely on imports of refined oil so, the price rises we’ve seen are not benefiting Nigeria, that’s one concern.”
In time, the massive country could feed itself and avoid ever costlier food imports, the UN official insisted, although for the moment, it lacks the infrastructure and agricultural investment required to be competitive at a global level.
Acute malnutrition
Of particular concern are the 1.74 million children under five who are expected to be suffer from acute malnutrition in the north-east in coming months.
“A key message is ringing the alarm bell,” Mr. Schmale said. “If we don’t get immediate funding soon for an initial multisector response plan worth $350 million, we will have a crisis that will be much worse in a couple of months.”
He added: “We hope that the international community realises that you ignore a situation like in the north-east of Nigeria at your own peril; it could have far-reaching consequences beyond the borders of Nigeria if we’re not able to keep it stable.”Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG).Media files