The Borno State Government has partnered with the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) in the reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement of a million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) into liberated communities.
The 13-year insurgency has killed 40, 000 people with the destruction of property worth $9.2 billion (N3.42 trillion) in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States.
Governor Babagana Zulum disclosed this, last week, during the World Engineering Day (WEND) organised by the NSE at Ramat Polytechnic, Maiduguri.
He said that the WEND, 2022 with the theme: “Build Back Wiser…,” is to celebrate United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) International Day on March 4, of every year in Nigeria. Represented by the Commissioner for Ministry of Inter-Governmental Affairs and Special Duties, Mohammed Wanori, disclosed that; “Engineering is a challenging profession in the world, particularly; where dozens of critical infrastructure were destroyed over a decade terrorism in the state.
He, therefore, reiterated the need to create awareness to “rebuild and develop” the critical sectors of the state’s economy.
According to him, this could restore the people’s livelihoods with the implementation of the state’s 25-year development plan.
Commending NSE for the partnership, he said that the closure of IDP camps in Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC) and Jere have enabled the return of about a million IDPs. The IDPs returned to 18 liberated communities including the eight border communities with Niger and Cameroon.
Besides, he added: “We are working assiduously to fix other infrastructural facilities destroyed by the terrorists.
“We’ll continue to partner with NSE and other stakeholders in the recovery process across the state.”
According to him, the roles of engineering during these challenging moments of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RRR) efforts cannot be overemphasised.
“Over the years, we’ve used our skills to champion and accelerate rehabilitation and reconstruction of many destroyed communities,” he said.
He noted that the collaborative efforts have led to the completion of over 556 projects across the 27 council areas.
He noted that this was in addition to the return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) into their ancestral homes and in line with the Kampala Convention.
“We’re to implement the executive order on local content by engaging indigenous engineers in the rehabilitation and reconstruction drive,” he said, adding that the state government will work closely with NSE for the engineers to be abreast with current realities.
The NSE state Chairman, Babagana Tela, reiterated the society’s support and cooperation in the execution of RRR and sustainable development recovery process.