From Tom Garba, Yola
The German government on Wednesday pledged to assist the Federal Government in rebuilding the insurgency-ravaged North-East.
Mr Burghard Brinksmeier , the Consular Political Affairs and Human Rights of the German Embassy disclosed this when he visited an Internally Displaced People’s (IDPs) camp at St. Theresa’s Catholic, Yola.
Brinksmeier said the gesture was to reduce the financial burden of President Muhammadu Buhar’s administration towards rebuilding the North-East region destroyed by the insurgents.
Brinksmeier said that the government of Germany would assist in rebuilding infrastructure in the zone. He said that he was in the state to get first-hand information on the condition of the IDPs in the state.
He added that he was also in the state to see the level of destructions to enable him correct information to the German government.
Brinksmeier said: “The German government is ready to assist the government of Nigeria to rebuild north east region. Schools have been destroyed; bridges and many other vital infrastructure have been damaged.So my country is interested to help the Nigerian government to rebuild the zone for normal life activities to resume after the crisis.
“Although we cannot do that now because the crisis is still in the region, we can only provide our assistance to rebuild the area when the insurgency is completely wipe out in the region.’’
Mr. Brinksmeier, who was conducted round the camp by the Bishop of Yola Diocese, His Lordship Dr. Stephen Mamza, commended the Bishop for his efforts to ensure that the IDPs were properly taking care of by the church.
Mr. John Dawa, the chairman of the camp, told the visitor that they were sacked from the Girei camp by government authorities.
Dawa said that they spent five days without food inside the bush before the Catholic Church came to their aid.
Reverend Father Morris Kwaranga, the Church head of the IDPs said that three cases of mental illness had been identified in the camp.
Kwaranga however, said that specialized physicians were already working on the affected IDPs.
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