B/Haram: 54,911 widowed, 52,311 orphaned in Borno — Shettima

Borno State Governor Kassim Shettima says Boko Haram insurgents caused a lot of havoc on the state “such that we harvested a total of 54,911 widows and 52,311 orphans.”

He said the statistics were extracted from the recovery and peace building assessment conducted by the World Bank in partnership with the European Union and the Nigerian Presidency.

Shettima spoke in Maiduguri Tuesday while receiving a prominent Islamic scholar with vast followers on the social media, Sheik Mufti Ismail Menk.

“They destroyed 30% of the total strock of houses in Borno, 956,453 units of houses. I really don’t want to bore you with the statistics, but they destroyed 5600 classrooms, 512 primary schools, and 38 high schools and tertiary institutions of learning.

Shettima expressed his administration’s efforts, strides, and some future plans for the betterment of the populace, saying “We are building mega schools, across the length and breadth of the State, about 40 of them to take care of over 50,000 orphans whose parents were killed by Boko Haram. All our classrooms are going to be equipped with digital technology aids.

“In all our schools, we are going to feed them one meal per day. It pains because as leaders, our kids are going to posh schools, while the masses are growing up denied access to western education.”

Sheik Menk said even before the tour, he was amazed by the structures he saw on his way to the Government House from the airport.

Famous Islamic Scholar from Zimbabwe, Sheikh Mufti Menk presents a copy of his book, ‘Motivational Moments’ to Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State (left), at the Government House in Maiduguri on Tuesday afternoon. The Sheikh was in Maiduguri to deliver lectures at Al-Ansar Mosque and the University of Maiduguri.