Borno aid worker urges support for widows, poor hit by insurgency

From Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri

Maiduguri-based humanitarian worker, Alhaji Ali Tallafi, has called on individuals and organisations to increase support for widows and poor families whose livelihoods have been disrupted by insurgency in the Northeast.

Tallafi, who runs the Ali Tallafi Foundation, made the appeal yesterday in an interview with Daily Sun in Maiduguri.

He said the current economic hardship in the country, coupled with the loss of livelihoods caused by years of violence, had left vulnerable groups, particularly widows, facing severe difficulties.

“This is a critical period for most families, and it is more serious for the vulnerable, the poor and widows. The insurgency has affected their means of livelihood,” Tallafi said.

According to him, many affected families require only modest assistance to regain their footing, including support with accommodation, small businesses and food.

“Some of them just need a small place to live and work, to sell, or even food,” he said.

Tallafi said his foundation had commenced interventions for about a dozen beneficiaries in Maiduguri, including widows, water vendors and petty traders.

He urged other individuals and organisations to support the initiative or replicate similar interventions to assist vulnerable communities in conflict-affected areas of the Northeast.

The Northeast has endured nearly two decades of insurgency and terrorist attacks, resulting in widespread displacement and the destruction of livelihoods across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.