Shettima solicits global support as re-building Borno gulps $6bn

The sum of $6 billion equivalent to about N2 trillion is required to rebuild structures destroyed by Boko Haram terrorists in Borno State, Governor Kahim Shettima said in Istanbul, Turkey when he was addressing World Humanitarian Summit organized by the United Nations. Governor Shettima told international donors and humanitarian organizations with focus on attracting partnerships […]

The sum of $6 billion equivalent to about N2 trillion is required to rebuild structures destroyed by Boko Haram terrorists in Borno State, Governor Kahim Shettima said in Istanbul, Turkey when he was addressing World Humanitarian Summit organized by the United Nations.
Governor Shettima told international donors and humanitarian organizations with focus on attracting partnerships to compliment ongoing efforts by the federal and Borno state governments towards rebuilding communities across the 27 local government areas that suffered destruction.
He said a Post Insurgency Recovery and Peace Building Assessment Report on the state recently as validated by the World Bank put the amount required for the reconstruction of the state at $6 billion.
The governor said if the target of Boko Haram is to destroy structures and schools to obstruct education, the group had made a mistake as government and the international community would reconstruct and furnish schools in the state and provide modern amenities to encourage learning.
He said the entire local and outdated structures destroyed in the affected villages would be replaced with modern buildings to be allocated to affected villagers at no cost.
The reconstruction of schools, local government secretariats, hospitals and residential accommodations for locals has since started in the state with several estates built in the state capital to accommodate those still migrating to Maiduguri before the completion of the reconstruction of their villages.
The Special Adviser on Communications and Strategy to Governor Kashim Shettima, Malam Isa Gusau in a statement quoted the United Nations describing problems caused by the Boko Haram insurgency around the Lake Chad as one of the most neglected major crisis in the world.
“In the Lake Chad Basin, Boko Haram’s brutal cycle of violence has uprooted 2.4 million people from their homes and livelihoods. Civilians, particularly women and children bear the brunt of the attacks. Africa’s most recent and fastest growing displacement crisis is driven by deep-set converging challenges which have translated into record of people requiring urgent assistance.