The Borno State Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Lawan Abba Wakilbe, has advocated urgent intervention to empower released Boko Haram captives to enhance their economic and social protection.
Wakilbe made this statement during a courtesy visit by Hamsatu Allamin, Chief Executive Officer of the Allamin Foundation for Peace, on Friday in Maiduguri.
According to him, the call was imperative to fast-track support and integration of the victims into society to enable them to resume normal life.
The commissioner lamented that some of the freed victims were exposed to sexual abuse due to their vulnerability, poverty, and lack of support.
“I recently encountered an 11-year-old girl surrounded by three children. It was heartbreaking.
“The Cameroonian authorities repatriated young girls aged 13 to 15 with multiple children.
“These vulnerable individuals need urgent reintegration and support,” he said, adding that the spate of sexual abuse could be attributed to poverty and lack of viable alternatives for survival.
He also called for the establishment of Technical, Vocational Education, and Training, TVET, centres in border communities like Bama, Gwoza, and Kamburungara to empower the resettled victims of conflict.
“We need sustainable programmes to address their vulnerability and provide alternatives. Poverty drives many of these individuals into vices like prostitution. Once we offer skills and support, they can rebuild their lives,” he said.
Wakilbe stressed the need to focus attention on handling conflict-affected children, noting that traditional education systems were ill-equipped to address their unique needs.
According to him, a lack of long-term planning in addressing the education needs of conflict-affected children has been a key concern, adding that donor agencies implemented programmes that failed to meet their immediate needs.
He said that teaching local languages like Hausa in areas where Kanuri was dominant missed the point and stressed the need to focus on teaching in English to ensure that the children adapt to modern education.
The commissioner noted that some donor-funded programmes failed to address the immediate needs of the region and urged them to prioritise capacity building for educators and implement viable long-term solutions for conflict-affected persons.
He said the state government had trained over 300 women in vocational skills and distributed start-up packs to enable them to become self-reliant.
Wakilbe reiterated the government’s commitment to partnering with development organisations and agencies to address problems affecting victims of the conflict.
In her remarks, Allamin called for interventions to address critical issues identified during the peace-building programme initiated by the organisation.
She said the organisation identified serious issues that required immediate, proactive, and sustainable interventions to address.
Allamin said the foundation had rehabilitated hundreds of women and girls involved in the insurgency under its community-based deradicalisation of women and girls in the state.
She said the deradicalized women had encouraged their peers in the bush to surrender to the authorities.