Borno, UNICEF reintegrate children affected by insurgency

From Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri

Borno State government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have launched a partnership programme to rehabilitate and reintegrate 1,033 children survivors of insurgency in the state.

The State Commissioner of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Lawan Wakilbe in a remark at the launch of the socio-economic reintegration programme for children affected by armed conflict, said in Maiduguri the state may be sitting on time bomb if the affected children are neglected.

“Many of them were forcefully conscripted by the insurgents over ten years ago. They were made fighters, some girls were married off to different husbands against their will. Now that they have been rescued, which school curriculum should we give them?” he asked rhetorically.

Wakilbe said UNICEF and Borno State government are partnering to train these children in various skills.

UNICEF Country Representative in Nigeria, Wafaa Saeed said the launch of the reintegration programme marks a significant milestone in a collective effort by government and partners to empower adolescent boys and girls who hold key to the future.

“These girls and boys have faced unimaginable challenges, yet their potentials and resilience remain unbroken,” she stated.

She said years of armed conflict in the Northeast have been marked by grave violations against children including abduction amd sexual violations.

Saeed explained that the 1,033 beneficiaries included 567 boy and 466 girls. “Training will be combined with life skills, psycho-social support and official certification,” she explained.