Disturbed by the dilemma of thousands of children who were homeless, orphans in Bama and some affected areas in Borno State because of Boko Haram insurgency, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has called on well-meaning Nigerian to come to the aid of the children by adopting them for a better Nigeria.
Minister who was visibly depressed by the plight of children in Konduga, Bama other made this call during a tour and assessment of havoc wrecked by Boko Haram in Maiduguri.
He called for adequate humanitarian assistance to help alleviate the suffering of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP s).
While addressing the IDPs in Bama and other crisis prone areas, Alh Lai Mohammed observed that Bama that used to be a commercial hub is now a shadow of itself.
Almost all the basic infrastructures in the town suffer destruction by the Boko Haram insurgents.
The minister then assured that federal government would not relent in its efforts to ensure that the displaced persons are adequately relocated to their homes.
He said: “Most of these children here, I’m made to understand don’t have father and mother anymore, they are just there clapping for nothing, and they don’t even know where they are.
“The level of destruction here strucks me, for many of us who have not been here; I don’t think we got the full impact of the war until we got here.
“The tragedy of the victims, mainly women and children, I hope these will serve as a lesson to all of us not to take for granted the unity of this country and to appreciate that there is no alternative to united Nigeria.
“With this visit there are abject sorrow and poverty in the camp, the IDPs children were clapping without even knowing what was said to them.
“If we indeed love this country and we want our future to be secure, I think these IDPs can be adopted by well-meaning Nigerians. These kids basically sleep in open places and don’t even know why they were there.”
On his part, Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, described the past six years as a very sad moment and path of war for people of Borno which many wouldn’t want their unborn generation to experience.