The Registrar, Institute for Humanitarian Studies and Social Development, Francis Origa, has condemned the growing attacks on humanitarian aid workers, warning that insecurity is hindering relief operations and discouraging people from participating in humanitarian activities, particularly in Northeast Nigeria.
Speaking on ARISE NEWS on Wednesday, as the world marks World Humanitarian Day, Origa raised concern over the growing risks faced by aid workers, particularly those operating in conflict-affected areas, saying such attacks could undermine efforts to provide critical assistance to vulnerable communities.
“Just within three months, according to the United Nations, we recorded 1,932 persons killed. Now, this hinders the activities and operations of humanitarian aid workers, particularly in the northeastern part of Nigeria where humanitarian aid operations, relief operations, are ongoing. Now, people who would want to get involved will fear for their life,” he lamented.
Origa said while attacks on humanitarian workers are a global concern, Nigeria’s situation is particularly troubling, stressing that insecurity cuts across ethnic, religious and political lines and leaves people vulnerable.
“It is a global problem. But Nigeria’s problem is very peculiar. When your security is not guaranteed from point A state to another state, it calls for worry. And it does not respect ethnicity, it does not respect religion, it does not respect political affiliation,” he said.
Calling for a shift from a purely security-based response to a human security approach, Origa urged governments to tackle the root causes of insecurity, including unemployment, poverty and hunger, while providing sustainable socio-economic empowerment for young people.
“I always like to talk about it from the perception of the approach of the human security components. Now, the UN human security component has already outlined that we should focus more on developmental approach. That there are more to the things that are leading to insecurity, other than responding when something happens with deployed security men, with deployed police, with deployed military.
“There are rooted challenges which include unemployment, which include poverty, just as the Goal 1 of the Sustainable Development Goals addresses the issue of poverty, and Goal 2 is looking at hunger. So, if governments really would attack some of these problems and address it from its root causes, then it would need to approach it from the perspective of the human security approach where you address hunger, where you address poverty, where you address sustainable socio-economic empowerment of both the teeming youth population, most especially, who are caught in the web of these crimes and criminalities,” he said.
Origa also disputed the estimated figure of internally displaced persons in Nigeria, putting the number at over five million and stressing the need to address both the causes of displacement and the welfare of those affected.
“We have over 5 million. Because in Benue State alone, we have over 500,000 internally displaced persons in Benue State. You go to Edo State, housed by Home for the Needy, we have more than 5,000 of them. Now, 4,000 of them are in the camp. About 1,000 of them are in clusters within the community that this Home for the Needy takes care of.
“How are we even taking care of the internally displaced persons? Yes, there are two things to it. We look at the causes—why are we having the increase in the internally displaced persons? But then, the fact remains that whatever thing that must have occurred that has led to it, we need to address. While addressing that, we also need to take care of the internally displaced persons,” he stressed.
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