Thousands of returnee Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Borno State are facing dire living conditions as more than 15,000 families remain without shelter, with many surviving on just one meal a day.
The returnees, who recently arrived from refugee camps in Cameroon, Chad and Niger, lamented that although they were asked to return home, they have been left without housing, food or adequate support.
Many now sleep in makeshift shelters, abandoned buildings, or under open skies — vulnerable to harsh weather, disease and insecurity.
At one of the camps in Maiduguri, a father of six narrated his family’s ordeal: “We are homeless, hungry, and tired. The government asked us to return, but we were not given houses, no food, no security. How do we survive?”
Mothers in the camps also decried the worsening situation, saying that their children often go to bed hungry, with some families relying on thin maize porridge once a day. Health workers have raised alarm over increasing cases of malnutrition and disease outbreaks, exacerbated by overcrowded conditions and poor sanitation.
The Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has reportedly made efforts to distribute food items and other relief materials to some of the affected camps.
However, community leaders say such interventions are grossly inadequate compared to the overwhelming need, leaving thousands without meaningful assistance.
They emphasised that unless the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs strengthens its partnership with the state government, the humanitarian crisis will persist. “What we are seeing is a gap between policy and action. There must be stronger collaboration and sustained attention to these people’s needs,” one community elder remarked.
Observers warn that continued neglect could aggravate insecurity in the affected areas, as hunger and frustration among the displaced may fuel social unrest or expose vulnerable groups to extremist recruitment. They urged Governor Babagana Umara Zulum and lawmakers representing the state to scale up interventions urgently.
Residents are now appealing to all tiers of government — federal, state and local — as well as local and international humanitarian agencies to act without further delay. For them, the issue is no longer about promises but survival itself: food on their tables, roofs over their heads and dignity restored.
Ali Timothy, Department of Mass Communication, University of Maiduguri