Some Internally Displaced Persons who resettled in Katarko village, Yobe, said they had resumed farming to reclaim their economic lives after three years of displacement by insurgency.
Modu Bukar, a father of five, told the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday that he had been an IDP at Pompamari Primary School in Damaturu for the past three years.
Bukar said: “When our village, Ambiya Kura, was attacked along with seven others by the insurgents, we fled to Damaturu and stayed in the IDP camp until June this year, when the camp was closed and we resettled here in Katarko.
“Most of us resumed farming as our major means of livelihood to rebuild our economic lives destroyed by the insurgency.”
Another settler, Fanami Ali, told NAN that they resettled in Katarko because it was a more secure community than their original villages.
Ali said: “In Katarko, you can cultivate the farms without any fear, it is more secure and the presence of the military also gives us a greater sense of security.
“Here, we have men and women cultivating their farms to improve their economic status.’
Maryam Abubakar, a widow and mother of six, said that government had been providing the IDPs with their basic needs while in camp.
Abubakar said: “We solely relied on government in the camp; but we are now engaged in economic activities especially agriculture to meet some of our needs.”
The IDPs appealed to the government, local and international organisations to support them with farm inputs and a ready market to sell off their produce to save them from “shylock merchants”.
They also appealed to the government and humanitarian organisations to assist them in overcoming the challenges of shelter, sanitation, health and education for their children.
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