By Armsfree Ajanaku
The story of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of Okuama recalls the wise words of former United States First Lady, Michelle Obama, who declared that “grief and resilience live together.” The grief of this town of farmers and fisherfolk came from disturbances, which affected the community earlier in the year. In March, there was a clash between some non-state actors and soldiers of the Nigerian Army. That skirmish led to the unfortunate loss of lives of soldiers and community members.
Hundreds of innocent Okuama residents were caught and stranded in the cross fire. It was a case of wide-ranging humanitarian disaster, which left hundreds of vulnerable people exposed. To escape the hostilities, many residents had to hide in forests for days. It took the efforts of the Delta State Government, led by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to advocate for a safe humanitarian corridor to enable displaced residents find passage. Importantly, Governor Oborevwori did not stop at just creating the safe corridor for stranded residents to exit the troubled community. His administration moved decisively by going one step further, to set up a full fledge IDP Camp Committee.
Interestingly, it is from the IDP Camp located in Ewu that the resilience part of the Okuama tragedy started to take shape. Under the leadership of Mr. Abraham Ogbodo, former Editor of The Guardian and frontline Niger-Delta thought leader, the Ewu IDP camp has been playing host and catering for the feeding, education and health needs of the IDPs. The IDP Committee has not only organized the displaced Okuama residents to make life in an unfamiliar camp surroundings bearable, it has used the camp as the rally point to explore solutions, and bring to public consciousness, the challenges faced by the displaced.
Similarly, the daily administration of the camp, especially ensuring food rations, relief materials and medicines go round, are not the only tasks preoccupying the attention of the Committee. It has also gone a notch higher by passionately advocating for the welfare and well-being of the affected Okuama residents. By presenting their plight as a humanitarian disaster, which requires, not only the attention of government, but also the goodwill of all of society, the IDP Committee has been able to galvanize critical stakeholders to respond.
Much emphasis has been placed on the fact that a tragedy of the scale that forced Okuama residents to flee their homes, knows no tribe, religion or partisan consideration. This focus on humanity above every other consideration has placed the activities and initiatives in the camp in the national spotlight. Consequently, the “whole of government and whole of society” approach in responding to the misfortune of the residents of Okuama has ensured this is one of the few exceptional cases, where a sub-national government in Nigeria responds to a humanitarian crisis in a comprehensive way that puts the primacy of the lives of those affected above every other consideration.
As a result, the overarching message crafted and disseminated by the IDP Committee, which has consistently focused on the need for public spirited individuals and organizations in Delta State and beyond to support the displaced Okuama residents, key results are being achieved. The outcome of this consistent advocacy is the considerably significant quantum of donations of food and relief items, which the camp has received.
The Delta State government led the way by sending in food and relief items to the camp in July. Subsequently, political, business, cultural and opinion leaders cutting across partisan and sectarian groups have also poured in with donations of food and relief materials to support the displaced. Top on the list of donors, whose gestures elicited joyous singing and celebration from the IDPs include the Urhobo Consultative Forum and Atamu Social Club, both of which are groups of Urhobo professionals and business persons in Nigeria and abroad. Weighing too with food and relief materials is the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), Ireland. Dr. Matthew Edevbie, an engineer and key operator in the Nigeria’s electricity sector has also been commended for his generous support of the IDPs.
The long list of political, business and cultural leaders, who showed their solidarity with the Okuama IDPs also includes; the Minster of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, Senator representing Delta Central, Ede Dafinone, Olorogun Oskar Ibru, the Executive Chairman of Ughelli North Local Government Area (LGA), Olorogun Jaro Egbo, former President General of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), Olorogun Moses Taiga, President Urhobo Social Club, Lagos, Chief Wilson Okpubigho, and the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Governor of Delta State Ambassador, Ese Joshua Emedifie.
Importantly, the Ewu IDP Committee has worked round the clock to ensure life in camp is not all about being fed. Capacity building programs have been introduced to build the skills of the IDPs in various businesses, vocations and entrepreneurial ventures. The areas of practical skills focused on in the capacity building sessions include soap and insecticide making, tailoring, make-up and headgear tying. This strategy of human capacity development, while in camp has started the process of preparing the IDPs for return to their homes. For school children and the young scholars in camp, regular tutorials have been organized, following their profiling into different classes.
Nonetheless, as the donations and impactful capacity building initiatives keep pouring in to support the welfare and well being of the IDPs, the bigger question of resettlement remains. Chairman Ogbodo has been emphatic that the IDP Camp, and its effective administrative set up, is only a stop gap. The goal is to ensure the IDPs successfully return to their communities and continue with their lives and livelihoods. It is apparent that no matter the level of comfort and amenities the Ewu IDP Camp provides, it still cannot take the place of a home. As such, the bigger question of rebuilding Okuama and the razed homes of its traumatized people remains the most critical task. From the perspective of the IDPs, it is apparent that the smooth functioning of the Ewu IDP Camp is a signpost of the rising expectation of success, as the efforts move towards resettlement. As such, there is optimism in camp that the same touch of excellence and collective responsibility will be brought to bear in the rebuilding of Okuama.
As expected, Chairman Ogbodo has emphasized that the same whole of government, whole of society strategy, which has made the Ewu IDP Camp a place of joy and laughter despite the pain of displacement, should be adopted in the Okuama rebuilding effort. What this means in practical terms is that the collective efforts of philanthropists, home and abroad would required in addition to what the Delta State Government would provide.
In the end, even though the physical and psychological scars from the Okuama crisis of March are yet to heal completely, the humanitarian response has validated the saying that tragedy and resilience live together. From the Delta State Government to the leadership of the Ewu IDP Camp, the efforts so far have shown what is possible when leaders put humanity first. Hundreds of Okuama residents who bore the depressing badge of being candidates for collateral damage, now have the high hopes of safe return to their homes. Their story truly exemplifies the truism is the assertion that grief and resilience cohabit.
