The Tiv Youth Organization (TYO) has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take decisive action to address the persistent insecurity ravaging their communities.
At the organization’s end-of-year lecture in Abuja, TYO President for the Abuja Chapter, Chief Joseph Saater Undu, implored President Tinubu to issue a directive mandating security agencies to eradicate insecurity, particularly in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps located in Benue and other regions of the country.
Undu expressed dismay over the federal government’s failure to respond to previous requests for the return of displaced persons to their ancestral homes. He condemned the escalating attacks on their communities, emphasizing that even expressways in Benue and Nasarawa states have become unsafe for travel.
“The current administration has failed to heed our earlier call for the return of our people back to their ancestral homes after five months in office. Instead, the attacks on our communities are increasing every day,” Undu lamented.
“We are again asking him to issue a clear directive to security agencies to eliminate insecurity in our communities and enable the return of our people back to their ancestral homes, not in clustered homes as proposed by the Federal Government. This is not our traditional settlement pattern in Tiv land,” Undu asserted.
He further underscored the need for the government to create a secure environment conducive for the return of displaced persons to their homes and to provide financial assistance for the reconstruction of their homes in their respective ancestral lands.
Undu reiterated the Tiv people’s unwavering opposition to the government’s proposal for clustered homes.
“Government should expel the invading armed herdsmen and allow our people to return home. No cluster homes for our people,” Undu declared emphatically.
During the same event, Professor Ukertor Gabriel Moti, a Professor of Public Sector Management and Governance, delivered a lecture titled, “Internal Displacement: Impact on Food Security, National Security and Unity.”
Professor Moti highlighted the inextricable link between displacement and conflict in Nigeria.
“The connection between displacement and conflict in Nigeria is evident and has deep-rooted underlying development deficits. The protection of IDPs in the country ultimately requires seeking durable solutions to address the challenges they face,” Professor Moti explained.
He further emphasized the need for clearer mandates, effective coordination, and a specific framework to address the plight of IDPs in the country.
“The existing institutional arrangements, while struggling to manage the situation, particularly in the short-term, are hampered by current policy deficits and the lack of a specific framework to adequately address the situation or cover medium to longer-term requirements for IDPs,” he stated.
