By Godwin-Maria Utuedoye
The rebuilding process of Okuama after the devastating onslaught by the Nigerian army on it after the killing of 17 military personnel in March 14, would require a coordinated effort from the community, government, and humanitarian organizations.
Bit before doing this, several steps have to be taken to rebuild Okuama:
1. Assessing the Damages: The first step in rebuilding Okuama would be to assess the extent of the damages caused by the Nigerian army’s attack. This would involve conducting a thorough survey of the affected area to determine the level of destruction and the needs of the community.
2. Provide Emergency Relief: The next step would be to provide emergency relief to the indigene and residents of Okuama who have been displaced and affected by the attack. This would include providing shelter, food, water, and medical assistance to those in need. That is what is currently going on at the IDP camp at Ewu-Urhobo, but only the government might not be able to do it all, hence we appeal to spirited individuals, religious bodies, NGO’s and others to assist especially in the area of food supply.
3. Reconstructing Infrastructure: Once the immediate needs of the community have been addressed, the focus can shift towards the reconstruction of infrastructure in Okuama. This would involved the rebuilding of homes, schools, hospitals, and other essential facilities that were destroyed during the attack. Facts shown that only the Anglican Church was spared during the invasion and destruction of the community, meaning a lot needed to be done. First, knowing the number of house that were in the community and those that owned the buildings and this should be as quick as possible.
4. Support Livelihoods: In order to help the residents of Okuama rebuild their lives, it would be important to support their livelihoods. This could involve providing training and resources to help them start or restart small businesses, farms, or other income-generating activities. Just as the chairman of the committee overseeing the IDP camp earlier hinted, that children schools will be integrated into some of the schools within the Ewu community, so too, women and youths who have nothing to do at the moment be engaged through skills learning.
5. Promote Reconciliation and Healing: Rebuilding Okuama would also require promoting reconciliation and healing between the two communities of Okoloba and Okuama. This could involve bringing together different groups within the communities to address grievances, foster dialogue, and promote peace and unity.
In all, the rebuilding of Okuama after the onslaught by the Nigerian army would be a challenging but necessary process. It would require the collaboration and support of various stakeholders to ensure that the community is able to recover and thrive once again.
Should the above steps be ignored, all efforts by the government may become futile. Then those assign to manage the IDP camp should never sees this as an opportunity to loot, but rather to serve. There shouldn’t be a case or situations were food stuffs will be diverted and converted to individuals. That is a grievous sin because the pains of those involved is much and God can take up their fight. So, it is an appeal that no kobo should be stolen from what government is providing or will provide.
1 Comment
Unfortunately the lives of the 17 brutally murdered soldiers can never be rebuilt! What an injustice to humanity. Neither has any thought of building the families they have left behind. What a pity! What a worthless service!