For Years, I have heard stories of Boko Haram and their gory exploits! How entire Communities have been uprooted from their Ancestral Lands and made Refugees in theirs and other Countries, and I, like many other Nigerians living far from the NE, have trivialised their sufferings and seen it as "one of those things". But inwardly, I have nursed the Idea of Interacting Close-up with some of these Victims and hearing 1st Hand about their Trials! Even though I have encountered some of these Refugees in Taraba, and Yola, I was yet to go with them into their world until some days ago when I visited an IDP Camp in Area 1 Garki, Abuja to study them for a while!

For a Camp right in the city centre, I expected something more organized, however, what I saw was less than satisfactory! The IDPs were basically housed in an Abandoned PRIVATE uncompleted building with virtually no protection from the Vices of the Outside world! Children were left to wander about without supervision and there was virtually NO ORGANIZATION in sight! There's a Matron(called chair woman) who takes care of the day to day running of the camp, but her authority is often undermined by Unruly Idle Men who corner donated relief materials for themselves!
The Govt did well by posting Policemen to the Camp, but they are practically helpless and overwhelmed by the so-called "Lords of the Camps" who do nothing but bully others!
Despite the substantial in-flow of Relief Materials, there isn't equitable distribution since the approach to sharing is by throwing these materials into the crowd and letting them brawl to get their share! Essentially, the Weak ones amongst them don't get much! An Organized setting would have known how to allocate resources according to need!
Thankfully, there's a School nearby for the Children, to keep them fairly busy and they look fairly nourished!
There's also the frustration amongst them for being used for Publicity stunts( one group after the other coming to share gifts and most importantly, SNAP PICTURES)
92% of the People I interacted with their fled from GWORZA and all had heartbreaking stories to tell..

BULLIES: I saw loads of Bullies! These people are not even refugees, but they stay there and bully everyone with their Gangs! The Police seems to condone them! They assault women and visitors openly and snatch gifts meant for other members of the camp in full glare!
Govt should please lock up or shoot these Bastards!

Asseesment: Fair! But the Lawlessness is Heartbreaking! Might is Right here, and they sure do exercise that "right a lot"! Again the Bullies must be Shot!


Recommendation: Govt MUST deploy Full-Time Public Servants who should structure this camps to run smoothly! Only then will Equity prevail and Chaos be eliminated!
The Police Presence is Commendable!

Lessons: I saw Muslims and Xtians living. Side by Side and weathering the storm together! Religion was the least thing on their mind thus lending credence to the fact that Religion is Tertiary when it comes to basic human survival since Hunger, Fear, Terror, Poverty knows neither Race nor Creed! Why then are Nigerians so tensed up about GMB being a Muslim and GEJ being a Christian and are willing to make the whole country a Killing Field in a Few days time! Let's Remember Nigeria country has the 2nd Largest number of IDPs in the world today(Syria is 1st)!

Let's learn from this people and make informed decisions about the country!
The Lawlessness I saw today made me appreciate Government as the ultimate Guarantor of Law and Order!
If an Abuja IDP camp is like this, Definitely those in other states(where there's less EYE SERVICE would be worse)

Best of Luck to GEJ and GMB, make the best person win!

#Dedicated to Mubarak, the 6yr Old Boy I met there who made me his problem, and almost drove me to adopting him!

This breaks my heart. I need a leader; not a pretender.

RickRichards:
This breaks my heart. I need a leader; not a pretender.

Remain calm boss. Change is coming. 7days to go.

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Very sad... yet some feel the suffering of innocents (of whom a great deal are Christians) is just retribution for a 40 year old memory

We need someone who feels our pain and wants us to raise our heads and walk with pride and honor anywhere on earth, not a wannabe emperor who cares only for his own enjoyment

@op
thanks for letting us know what life is like in those camps. Our politicians are not concerned they're only interested in elections