Hell to heaven: Professor Zubairu’s designs for IDPs

I was the rapporteur.  By the time the professor stepped up to present his paper, participants were already sitting on the edge of their seats; probably because the professor had interjected throughout the presentation of others, we wanted to know what he had to say of his own.   Few minutes into the presentation of how […]

I was the rapporteur.  By the time the professor stepped up to present his paper, participants were already sitting on the edge of their seats; probably because the professor had interjected throughout the presentation of others, we wanted to know what he had to say of his own.   Few minutes into the presentation of how monorail could be built in Minna, how slums of Bida, Suleja and Minna should be built up instead of brought down, we were hooked.
Few weeks later, over several conversations, Professor Zubairu told me that the situation of the internally displaced persons (IDPs), although unfortunate, can be a blessing, if the in-coming government uses this opportunity to rebuild their communities using sustainable housing principles.  In doing this, the professor said, the UN-HABITAT, which helped him to establishthe Centre for Human Settlements and Urban Development, CHSUD,where he’s the director at Federal University of Technology Minna, would be of tremendous assistance.  Following is the gist of Professor Zubairu’s message.
About the displaced people
Boko Haram took over 13 local governments in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states. These include: Adadam, Mobbar, Ngala, Marte, Kala-Balge, Mafa, Bama and Gwoza in Borno state; Gujba and Gulani in Yobe state; Madagali and Michika in Adamawa state. A further ten local governments in Borno state had been partially occupied. These include: Guzamala, Kukawa, Mogono, Jere, Magumeri, Konduga, Bomboa, Chibok and Askira-Uba.
From the recent survey of the affected areas, there are about1.5 million internally displaced families and a similar number living as refugees in Niger Republic, Cameroon and Chad from the affected areas. Majority of the internally displaced families have relocated to large cities like Jalingo, Yola, Maiduguri and many of the medium and small towns, thereby overstretching their infrastructure to breaking point and threatening their tranquility, social and economic activities. Similarly, Boko Haram has virtually destroyed the economy and social structure of most of the towns and villages within the affected local governments.
However, the high hope and expectation of must Nigerians is that the Boko Haram saga will come to an end sooner than later, leaving the challenge of how to resettle and assist affected people to rebuild their lives and economy.
It is against this background that the Centre for Human Settlements and Urban Development, Federal University of Technology, Minna is collaborating with related Built Environment professionals to produce a plan for the redevelopment and modernization of the towns and villages currently being liberated from the Boko Haram insurgents, in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States; and to develop a mechanism for the sustainable economic empowerment of the affected families.
The solution
Among other things, we want to prepare redevelopment and modernization briefs that will include economic empowerment measures and provision of Social Housing, based on the provision of the National Housing Policy, 2012.  In addition, our redevelopment and modernization plans would be based on modern concepts such as New Urbanism.  Further, we’ll first implement pilot projects to establish an effective basis for replication and up-scaling in the affected areas.  
As a model, we’ll produce a plan for converting the GGSS Chibok into an International Girls Secondary School. The school is to teach both arts and science courses; to be powered by solar energy; water supply through rainwater harvesting; to be built with renewable and low carbon building materials   and components; with enhanced campus-wide security system such as CCTV.
To pull in tourists to the affected areas and in keeping with the international practice, we’d like the government to establish an Insurgency Museum in the Chibok village to serve as a reminder of the atrocities of the Boko Haram insurgents. This will be similar to the Genocide Museum in Kigali, Rwanda.
Why?
We remain convinced that through the effort this tragedy can be turned into prosperity for the internally displaced families in particular and for Nigeria in general.
CHSUD strongly believes that this project is the least we can do for our affected brothers and sisters (internally displaced and living as refugees in the neigbouring countries), who are the innocent victims of this needless tragedy.
Where has this been done before?
The tsunami in Thailand (2004) and Japan (2011); the ideological/ethnic wars in Angola, Mozambique and Rwanda resulted in massive destruction of lives, properties and economies of these countries. The tragedies seemed also to have given impetus to the governments to embark on the redevelopment and modernization of the affected areas and communities as part of the healing process and to boost their social and economic fortunes. The Rwandan case is to me one of the best examples attracting global attention.
Rwandan government initiated numerous measures aimed at promoting reconciliation between the Hutus and Tutsis. These included the reactivation of traditional confidence building initiatives such as he ‘Ingando’- a month-long reconciliation retreats; encouraging survivors and perpetrators to live together; population participating in community work every last Saturday of the month to enhance cohesion; but more importantly, integrated city development planning methods were introduced involving the construction of large modern housing estates for all, interestingly, one of these was called “Abuja-in-Kigali”; modern ICT driven schools; and extensive use renewable energy systems to generate electricity through private sector operated solar farms, etc.
In addition to building a modern and prosperous nation, Rwanda has made a giant stride in healing itself of the Genocide. The Genocide Museum is also a powerful and permanent reminder of the tragedy of the past.
For the new powers that be, and any other person interested, I’ll forward the professor’s contact, his paper at the retreat: Housing And Urban Development Challenges of Niger State, and his paper on the IDPs: Turning The Adversity of The Internally Displaced Persons into Prosperity Through Effective Redevelopment and Modernization of The Local Government Areas Affected By Boko Haram Insurgency  in  Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States.