Difficulty talking, stiff bodies, lack of basic amenities, confusion, and the fear of another disease outbreak are concerns of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) taking refuge at the LGEA primary school in Adaka, Benue State.
These are individuals who have been displaced from their ancestral homes due to the herders-farmers clashes, who have taken over Tse-Angbande village in Makurdi local government area of the state.
Igbafa Agbande, Veronica Ikyor, and Doris Torm have all been victims of insecurity and have seen the LGEA primary school in Adaka as the only refuge.
The trio’s greatest worry is their well-being and health. And when will they ever return home?
Doris Torm, 23, a mother from Tse Angbande in Makurdi Local Government, has had the toughest time of her life. She narrated how she arrived at the camp, three months pregnant and never had the opportunity to attend antenatal or postnatal care.
Doris, who spoke with bitterness, narrated how her life and that of her family had kept deteriorating because of a lack of good livelihood. Doris, who is presently nursing her six-month-old boy, explained how she was lucky to escape death after delivering her son in a classroom with the help of other IDPs.
Doris explained that though her uncircumcised son has been protected through different free immunisation exercises, she still feels the boy needs better medical care.
The mother noted that recently, a disease outbreak that rocked the camp affected two of her children. She further explained that some children in the camp lost their lives.
“The time of the disease outbreak was one of the most challenging times for me and my children in the camp. You see, sick children and adults. We were told it was measles, but I think it was something more than that.”
She narrated that the hospital space of the primary healthcare center located in the village was not okay for them to seek medical care during the disease outbreak.
Igbafa Angbande, 78, who now lives at the mercy of his three children in the camp, has had what he called the “worst stage of his life.”
“I have been in the camp for over two years since herders invaded our community. Recently, around June, we saw the worst kind of disease outbreak you can think of. Young people and the elderly were all affected, and we also lost two children to the outbreak.”
Igbafa, who could hardly move his body because he had been sick for months, according to his son, Avaa Igbafa, 35, has had to survive on only the drugs they buy from a patent medicine store located in the village.
According to Avaa, he manages his father’s health without any hospital visits.
Sick Veronica Ikyor, 60, from Tse Angande, said her major challenge has been chest pain for the past six months. She explained how the measles outbreak added to her challenges.
Veronica narrated that it has been more challenging to manage her health, explaining further that the recent disease outbreak has made her illness worse.
“In the past, I usually managed to work on the farm to make money for myself and my daughters’ feeding; unfortunately, I was attacked by the disease that broke out in the camp. Since then, the situation has become worrisome for me.”
She explained that during her last visit to the hospital, she was made to pay N20,000, which is unsustainable.
Veronica also explained that the bad state of the community clinic has affected her state of mind, explaining that the offensive smell from the clinic makes life difficult for patients.
‘Renovation Done Without Fixing Burglary Proof’
The reporter visited the health centre in the community which could have offered succour to the IDPs.
The officer in charge (OIC) of the health centre, Hellen Nyiyongu, explained that she resumed work in 2018 and had to repair a leaking roof on the building. She said the last renovation that was done was the repainting of the wall and changing of windows, ”which was not proper work”.
She explained that she resumed as the OIC in 2018 after returning from the school she left for in 2013. She noted that upon her resumption, she took over the building that was sandy with a leaking roof.
She said the renovation that was done only covered the painting of the wall and the changing of some roofing sheets, which did not stop the leaking of the roof.
Giving more details, the OIC said despite the changing of the windows in the PHC building, ”the ones they have today were not fixed by the 2018 renovation team.”
“The renovation was done without fixing burglary proof. On a fateful day, we resumed work and discovered that the whole window had been removed and stolen. Unfortunately, the doors were not even changed from the wooden ones.”
The OIC narrated how she has been able to change the whole roof of the building with “Basic Health Care Funds provided by the government.”
Dearth of Equipment and Essential Drugs
When the reporter visited, it was noticed that the clinic was being renovated with basic health care funds, with the ceiling and tiles of some rooms being changed.
The officer in charge noted that before the renovation work, “they had been living with bats and other reptiles.”
In 2018, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency reportedly supervised the payment of N8.5 million to Austoma Enterprises Nigeria Limited for the renovation of the primary health centre.
The company’s status was not found on the Corporate Affairs Commission portal.
The reporter visited the project site and was told that the roof began leaking the same year the renovation was done by an unnamed firm.
Also, after the ‘renovation’, the management had to commit funds to changing the roof of the hospital building.
According to a source, the project ‘renovator’, which was not Austoma Enterprises Nigeria Limited, failed to install burglary proof, which aided the criminals in stealing the installed windows.
The reporter was told that the clinic’s management is still committing funds from “Basic Health Care Fund” for the renovation of the hospital. These funds would ordinarily have been used to buy equipment and essential drugs, officials said.
Meanwhile, Ms Nyiyongu, said the only work done by the unknown company was painting the wall and changing some roofing sheets and windows.
‘Cost About N12 Million’
The reporter visited the said company along New Otukpo Road in Makurdi. A company ‘spokesperson’ noted that no money was paid to them for the renovation.
Paul Bija, a representative of the company, explained that the only project that was awarded to the company was the construction of a primary healthcare center, which cost about N12 million.
He further explained that the project was completed and ”delivered to the representative of the federal government, who came from Abuja”.
Embezzlement of the Funds Sprawling Maternal Mortality Rate
In 2019, the executive director of MoreHealth Africa, Idara Umoette, explained that no fewer than 1,118 pregnant mothers out of 100,000 die annually in Benue State as a result of complications arising from childbirth.
Also, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), “In 2017, Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate was estimated at 917 per 100,000 live births; it increased by nearly 14% in 2020 to reach 1047 deaths.”
“Maternal mortality rate is expected to rise if nothing is done to improve the state of primary health care centers in the country,” she said.
According to Uche Peter, the aide to Dickson Takighir, the current member representing Makurdi/Guma at the House of Representatives, the ‘authorities’ at the primary healthcare development agency “refused to award the contract to Austoma Enterprises Nigeria Limited.”
He further explained that the House of Representatives member “never nominated the renovation of the hospital; rather, building a fence around the hospital and building a corper’s lodge were nominated.”
The aide further explained that those at the agency “frustrated the execution of the project and awarded it to their preferred company, which was not Austoma Enterprises Nigeria Limited.”
He claimed that a “shoddy renovation was done to aid the embezzlement of the funds”.
An inquiry email sent to the email address found on the website of the Primary Health Care Development Agency to get clarification on the release has not been responded to.
