Ambazonia Refugees Benefit Land And Money From Cross River State government

By Mbah Godlove

Ambazonian refugees in Nigeria’s Cross River State are due to benefit monetary aid and land made available by the local government.

Eteng Williams, Cross River’s House of Assembly Speaker, disclosed recently during a Humanitarian Development Nexus meeting that 100 hectares of land and N800 million have been donated Southern Cameroonians seeking refuge in the state.

Conspicuously present in the meeting were the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), Nigeria states ministries and some international agencies.

According to the Honorable Speaker, the provision of the hectares of land is geared toward enabling the refugees to do farming — a work that will make them be self-employed — and self-reliant.

Eteng Williams congratulated the UN agency for construction works in the community hosting the Ambazonian refugees.

“We need you to carry the state government along as you continue with your commendable involvement and support to ease the burdens of the refugees and host communities,” he pleaded.

He reckoned the work done by the UN agency so far. This ranged from among others, the construction of inner city roads, schools, temporary residential blocks for the refugees, and implored the UN to also make the provision of desks for school kids, and dig boreholes in refugees’ host communities.

“On our part, the state government has since extended a further sum of N800 million and 100 hectares of our lands to enable the refugees do some farming,” he added.

The Head of the UNHCR sub-office Cross River State, Mulugeta Zwedie, revealed that the rationale for holding the joint meeting was to suggest means that will ease the burden of the mass influx of Ambazonian refugees in the two major camps of Ogoja and Calabar in the state and in a camp in Benue.

“In two years, we have extended assistance and impacted the refugees as well as the host communities through partnership, infrastructure, education, capacity building, social protection, healthcare etc.
“To avert social challenges, we still have to sustain continual cash and other assistance to the refugees and host communities until they are able to return,” Zwedie averred.

Since the outbreak of the Ambazonian war of independence, owing to the atrocities of the baby killer troops of French Cameroun, over half a million Southern Cameroonians have been seeking refuge in neighboring Nigeria.

The refugees in Nigeria like any other displaced Ambazonian are hoping on the international community to pressure the dictatorial Biya regime to succumb to their desires, being nothing else than immediate and complete independence.