NEMA on the Radar of Silent Achievements

Amidst despondency and despair, the National Emergency Management Agency is doing its best to bring succour and hope to Nigerians, writes Dahiru Hassan Kera

The cardinal objectives of many government ministries, departments, agencies and other parastatals is to provide the most needed services as it’s being enshrined in the Nigerian constitution and other relevant civil service rules and regulations as obtainable. There are certain peculiarities and exceptionalities in operation within various organizations which is equally centered on achieving the desired and set objectives.

While some may find it easy and fun handling their designated task, to some it wasn’t that easy because it involves sacrifices, courage and risk taking to execute their assignments and render the needed services beyond office comports. The Nigerian military, police, security and civil defence corps, state security service and other sister security agencies were the notable organizations where sacrifices has to be made for the general well-being and peaceful coexistence of the Nigerian nation. But there are silent organizations that have been putting in their best to bring succor, relieve and hope to Nigerians amidst despondency and despair; National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is without doubt fall into this category.

Apparently, Nigeria has witnessed a series of environmental and climatic disasters, communal and sectarian clashes and above all the dreaded and horrendous Boko Haram menace where thousands of lives were lost, properties worth’s billion of naira destroyed and pathetically millions of innocent people were equally displaced from their homes especially in the north eastern region of Maiduguri, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi and Taraba where a good number of hunger striking Internally Displaced Persons were camped under the supervision of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and its ever resilient, pertinacious and dogged Director General, Mohammed Sani Sidi whom ever since he assumed the leadership of the organization, he has restlessly transverse all the nooks and crannies of affected states despites the security challenges risen from the perceived ambush attacks and buried landmines by the militants.

On the other hand, there was flooding in virtually all geopolitical zones of the country which left hundreds of thousands homeless in their wake, houses, farmlands, barnyards, residential estates, and commercial plazas submerged while the affected people depends on NEMA for their shelter and feedings.

National Emergency Management Agency under the visionary leadership of Sani Sidi has spared no effort in tackling the aforementioned emergencies wherever and whenever they occur and through painstaking and meticulous management of the lean resources by formulating way to ensure that the limited resource at his disposal are well utilized for the benefit and welfare of millions of IDPs under his agency’s care and tutelage. Whenever those disasters occur, NEMA is the first agency to be called to action and at short notice.

Since the broke of the Boko Haram crisis that climaxed between 2013 to 2015 there has been occupation of communities by the insurgence, destruction of public and private infrastructures, destruction of means of livelihood, drastic decline in socio-economic activities and displacement of many persons including women and children. There is about 159,445 IDPs in Adamawa, 63,148 in Bauchi, 27,376 in Gombe, 46,942 in Taraba and 112,671 in Yobe states respective. NEMA through its well-designed programmes and collaboration with Borno State government and establishment of humanitarian Cells in Maiduguri and Sub-cells in Adamawa and Damaturu to create access for aid workers who provide assistance to the increasing number of IDPs living in formal camps, self-settled Centres, satellite camps and host communities was able to recently distributed the relieve materials that include; 187,141 bags of rice, 105,350 bags of maize, 37,670 bags of millet, 43,840 bags of guinea corn, 46,094 bags of beans, 9,015 bags of gari, 10,630 bags of salt and 37,165 bags of sugar while other supplements and condiments were also distributed.

Equally, NEMA has set up an operations office in Gombe to cater for displaced persons taking refuge in Bauchi, Gombe and Taraba States, which hitherto were handled by the North East Zonal office located in far Maiduguri and staffs were also deployed from the NEMA headquarters to Maiduguri humanitarian, Damaturu and Yola Sub-cells respectively. Being occupied with multiple responsibilities, NEMA has also received Nigerian returnees from the republic of Niger; Chad and Cameroon where about 16,595 and 13,046 persons were received through Sahuda border crossing near Mubi in Adamawa and at Geidam in Yobe state respectively.

Apart from feedings, clothing, building materials and drugs were also been factored in the NEMA’s interventions. In an unrepentant efforts to cater for the treatment of victims of insurgency, the following hospitals were earmarked; specialist hospital Yola, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital Bauchi, Nursing Home Maiduguri, Federal Medical Centre Gombe, General Hospital Potiskum and Neuro Psychiatric Hospital Maiduguri where thousands of victim have received treatment while a sizeable number of affected victims are still receiving medical attention in the various hospitals coupled with the deployment of medical assets, medical team, equipment such as two mobile Intensive Care Units and revolving funds domiciled at the major hospitals in Maiduguri and Yola.

Finally, with these and many others achievements in tube line of the NEMA’s humanitarian, relieve and rescue services under Sani Sidi, the agency, its committed and hardworking staffs and many other donor agencies has done a lots to alleviate the sufferings of the affected persons in the various Internally Displaced Person’s Camps and those laying in the hospitals.