How 15 displaced persons died in Jos camp

  It was early. The Sabon Layi Primary School pupils were out on a break. The pupils, both boys and girls, were happily running around the school premises. Groups of girls were busy playing as the boys engaged in a game of football which in the actual sense of the game would have been referred […]

 

It was early. The Sabon Layi Primary School pupils were out on a break. The pupils, both boys and girls, were happily running around the school premises. Groups of girls were busy playing as the boys engaged in a game of football which in the actual sense of the game would have been referred to as unusual because the players in their large number all ran whichever direction the tiny ball rolled to. It was a common scene at the primary school. But just nearby are unoccupied shops filled with displaced persons following the January crisis that engulfed Plateau State this year.

Women, some with babies strapped to their backs, were engaged in the usual morning chit-chat with their fellow women, while their children who seem to be of the same age with the pupils in the school were wandering within the compound of the market shops they now call their home. Although the tone of chatting within the camp may be mistaken for happiness and contentment, a one-minute discourse with the inhabitants of the camp will prove otherwise.

According to the Chairman, Elder’s Council at the camp, Sa’idu Bala, so far fifteen people have died in the camp between January and now. “They died from different diseases like malaria, pneumonia and typhoid fever. They include men, women and children.” He added that the latest victim was a woman who died during childbirth, including her baby.
When our correspondent went round the camp discovered that the place has no provision for bathrooms or toilets. But at the extreme end of the complex, a corner was demarcated with zinc sheets to serve as a bathroom competing side-by-side with another shop occupied by some of the displaced persons.

The camp has no provision for electricity or potable water, while the weeds that continue to grow due to the persisting October rain were gradually invading the surroundings serving as breeding ground for mosquitoes and dangerous reptiles.
According to Sani Ilu, 43, who is among the displaced persons “On the average, seven to ten people occupy each shop/room, and most of us sleep on mats or blankets.”

But in the midst of the present danger faced by the people in the camp, another looming danger is that they have been served with a quit notice. “The owner said he wants to give out the shops to traders. According to him, when prospective traders come to inspect the shops and realize that people are living inside, they refuse to take them,” 48-year-old Muhammad Sani, who was also among the displaced persons, said.

Malam Muhammad Musa, 74, has been sick since the early days of his arrival at the camp, he managed to drag himself out of one of the shops when he heard his neighbours lamenting about their condition. He looked frail in his orange kaftan and a white turban that covered his head. Many would have described the weather as normal but despite the hot sun, Malam Musa told this reporter that he was feeling cold. According to him, “I have been diagnosed with pneumonia at the hospital at Miya Barkate in Toro, Bauchi State, earlier.  I used to go to the hospital when some people were helping me, but now I have no means of doing that.”

From its initial assessment visit to Jos after the crisis, a non-governmental organization known as Save the Children, documented in its report thus: “The current situation based on this site visit and ongoing information received from partner agencies, there are strong indications that the communities affected by the crisis will continue to need direct support for a period of time — particularly those families staying in the IDP camps over an extended period.  While other responding agencies are addressing the basic needs of these families in terms of shelter, food, and other items, few interventions are focusing directly on the needs of children — or take into account the needs of children in their planning and implementation (for example, most food items and medicines are targeted at adults).”

According to Ilu, the children in the camp have lost their school uniforms in the crisis as well as their writing materials. “It was the Save the Children organization that was helping our children by organizing lessons for them when they came immediately after the crises. They also taught them many other things apart from the normal lessons children take in the classroom.”

Further investigation revealed that there are thirty pregnant women in the camp who don’t have access to ante-natal care. Aisha Haruna, 50, is the women’s leader in the camp. According to her, “we now have thirty pregnant women in the camp who have not been going to the hospital.”
Many have wondered why despite the return of peace in the state some people are yet to go back home.

According to the chairman, more than 2000 people were displaced from Rusau village following the January civil unrest that spread across different locations between Jos and Bauchi State, but “more than 200 (men, women and children) are seeking refuge here in Sabon Layi market camp.”

The Plateau State government had earlier stated that all displaced persons should contact their local government chairmen before they return home. According to Malam Bala, “We wrote three letters to the chairman, but we did not receive his response; the first one was dated May 27th and the second one was dated June 7th but all in vain.”

Efforts to hear the reaction of the Jos North Local Government Area chairman Mr. Timothy Buba was unsuccessful. Further efforts to speak with him through his mobile phone also failed.

Many now wonder what will be the fate of the Rusau people as there seems to be no light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Malam Bala said: “We are calling on the chairman to facilitate our resettlement so that we can continue with our lives. People are saying that peace has returned to the state, but some to some of us, it is still elusive.”