Chairman of the Presidential Community on the North East Initiative (PCNI), Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), has said that the federal government is committed to rebuilding a better, peaceful and prosperous North East.
Danjuma made the declaration at the North East Humanitarian Innovation Hub stakeholder’s engagement meeting which held at the American University of Nigeria, Yola on Tuesday.
According to him, the meeting is the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari which is anchored on a national strategic framework guiding all interventions in the region.
“Innovation is one of the core values of President Buhari’s plan. This is why the PCNI is created to collaborate with the office of the vice president, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the American University of Nigeria, Yola in convening this workshop.
“This workshop has become necessary because the challenges confronting humanitarian actors in the North East demand creative solutions to empower the youth and Displaced Persons with the skills, competencies and tools to transform their circumstances,” Danjuma said.
Danjuma, who was represented by his deputy, Alhaji Tijjani Musa Tumsah, clearly stated that the Buhari plan did not envision Nigerians in the North East region as passive recipients of assistance.
He noted that among the cardinal objectives of the meeting was to create a platform to empower Nigerians as a whole and the affected persons in particular, with the actual means to address the challenges confronting the country.
“During the engagement meeting, the stakeholders are to initiate a process that will provide the means by which positive ideas can be applied as innovative solutions to the pressing humanitarian concerns facing the region,” he added.
He pointed out that the desire of the PCNI was to ensure that the outcome of the Programme save lives and improve the living conditions of the vulnerable population.
In his speech, the deputy coordinator, International Committee of the Red Cross, Mr. Ahmad Kazoumi, said the committee had been supporting people of Nigeria especially in the north east in various humanitarian aspects.
Kazoumi believed that the problems and challenges currently facing Nigeria could be only solved by Nigerians themselves.
“We believe that Nigerians are in a better position to solve their problems, rather than enforced on them.” Kazoumi said.
Also in her remark, the President of American University of Nigeria, Dr. Down Dekle, said that the university has played a great role in supporting humanitarian services and initiatives to tackle the challenges in the region.
A participant in the meeting, Chairman of Madagali Local Government area of Adamawa, noted that the affected communities in the region want immediate action taken to rebuild the region.
Participants were drawn from various universities in the region as well as humanitarian actors and innovators, experts and professionals, government and private organizations.
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