By By Jamiu Yisa, Nigeria
The Humanity First Nigeria in collaboration with the Humanity First, Canada, was at the Internally Displaced Persons [IDP] Camp located in New Kuchingoro, Airport Road, Abuja on Saturday, the 11th of February, 2017, where it donated food materials worth over N2 million to the 1, 570 IDPs in the Camp.
The humanitarian visit, led by the Chairman, Board of Trustees, Humanity First Nigeria, Dr Y A Habeeb and flanked by other members of the Organisation among who were Mr. Qasim Akinreti, the National Publicity Secretary, AMJN, Alhaji Abbas Owolabi, Hon. Isiaka O. Popoola and Hajia Sunmonu, was well covered by an array of members of the Press from various print and electronic media outlets such as the Daily Trust, Voice of Nigeria, MITV, TVC and STV, among others.
In his address to the IDPs, Dr. Y A Habeeb introduced Humanity First International as a brainchild of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at and an international humanitarian organisation that renders purely humanitarian services to the people irrespective of their religious, racial and ethnic backgrounds.
He mentioned that the organisation has been at the forefront of rendering selfless services such as provision of free medical services, eye surgeries, drilling of boreholes and donation of relief materials etc, to the affected people both at the global and local levels. He said that HF Nigeria in collaboration with HF Canada had drilled boreholes in seven states of the Federation. He added that from October 2016 to January 2017 hundreds of pepple in Kano had regained their sight through HF eye surgeries.
While lamenting the deplorable conditions of the IDPs, he notes that the present humanitarian gesture being rendered by the Humanity First to alleviate the plight of the insurgence affected-people was not the first of its kind by his organisation, noting that his NGO has paid several earlier visits to various IDP Camps across the country among which are those located at Durumi and Maiduguri etc.
In his interview with the press, Dr. Habeeb said Humanity First is motivated to selflessly bear the suffering of others with a view to championing the cause of Islam which institutionalised Zakat [mandatory poor rate] and advocate redistribution of income in order to bridge the gap between the haves (privileged) and the haves not (less privileged) and to alleviate the plight of the deprived in the society.
While responding to the IDPs’ complaint concerning the government’s delay to fulfil its promise of resettling them back home, the Chairman aligns his Organisation with the call on government to expedite effort to fulfil its promise, while at the same time, consoles the IDPs to exercise more patience as the issues of resettlement and rehabilitation involve huge challenges which the government would have to adequately address in due course.
The Chairman further advises the well-meaning public and other humanitarian NGOs to not relent in rendering similar selfless services to the IDPs.
In his acknowledgement of the Humanity First’s services, the representative of the IDP Camp’s Leader, Mr. Aiga Ayuba, who spoke in Hausa Language and identified himself as a native of Gwoza LGA in Borno State, thanked the Organisation for the food materials it donated to bring joy and happiness to their hearts. Similarly, Mrs Ladi Mataiz, the Camp’s woman leader and also a native of Gwoza LGA, while expressing the audence in Hausa language, renders heartfelt gratitude to the Humanity First.
At the end, while presenting the relief materials which include bags of rice, kegs of vegetable oil, indomine, shoes and clothing materials among others, Dr. Habeeb exhorts the IDP leaders to ensure that the materials are delivered to, and shared equitably among, the affected people.
