Senate laments condition of border towns

Posted by admin Legislature, Senate Sunday, October 16th, 2011

The Senate Committee on States and Local Government Administration has decried the neglect of Nigerian border communities by the Federal Government.

The Chairman of the committee, Senator Kabiru Gaya, said in a statement in Kaduna on Sunday that the Federal Government’s lack of interest in the welfare of the nearly 22 million people living in the border towns had been responsible for the deplorable state of basic infrastructure in those areas.

He demanded to know what the Federal Government had done with the abundant resources at its disposal when citizens living in its about 2,000 border communities wallowed in abject poverty. Gaya criticised the N4m given to the Border Communities Development Agency in the last quarter.

The statement reads in part, “Our border towns are neglected and subjected to ridicule. In a borderline where Nigerians and other countries live very closely, it is discovered that there are no water and electricity on the Nigerian side, while the others (communities) belonging to other countries enjoy full electricity, pipe borne water, every social amenities, and so on.

“A perfect example of this episode is the situation of Banki, a town in Borno State that shares borders with Cameroon. It is so close that a compound occupied by inhabitants may have one part in Nigeria and the other part of same compound in Cameroon. The sad thing here is that the people in Nigeria are neglected; they live in abject penury without water or electricity, while the Cameroonian counterparts enjoy full electricity, pipe borne water, including good roads.

“Nigerians now resort to tapping electricity from the inhabitants of Cameroon. Even their community leaders are in the know of this. This is absurd, and it’s not a healthy development.

“Another sad example is the people of So’o in Jada LGA of Adamawa State. Their primary schools have no roofs, keeping the pupils under the threat of rain and sun. How can our children, leaders of tomorrow learn in such an unpleasant atmosphere?

“We have been told of a town called Kenu in Kwara State. It has boundary with Benin Republic. The children of Kenu town of Kwara State go on a ferry to school in Benin Republic because there are no schools in that Nigerian town. We are aware of this mishap that took place when 43 school children from the town died in a boat mishap on their way to the school in Republic of Benin.

“We still have problems in the Bakassi area. Until this hour, the inhabitants have not been positively inhabited. We equally heard of a town, Tongeji, in Ipokia LGA of Ogun State, where children leave for Benin Republic to get primary and secondary education. Then what is Nigeria doing with all her abundant resources?

“This committee has 21 states, which are bordering other countries of Africa, with almost 22 million Nigerians. It is absurd that in the last quarter, the sum of N4m was given to Border Communities Development Agency.”

-Punchwp_posts