NGOs Praise Nigerians For Love Towards Cameroonian Refugees
3 min read
Chiemeka ADINDU, Calabar
Community Refugee Relief Initiative, CRRI and The Fomunyoh Foundation, TFF which are two international nonprofit organizations have extolled Nigerians for their show of love and care to over 80,000 Cameroonian refugees who are taking refuge in different states in the Country including Cross River, Taraba, Benue, Akwa Ibom amongst others.
They expressed this in Calabar after touring refugee camps both in rural and urban areas as well as major cities including Calabar, Oban, Akor, Adagom I & III, Okende, Ajasor, Basua all in Cross River state, Ikyogen in Benue state, and Abuja.
They distributed food items including; rice, noodles, drinks amongst others to the refugees in the various camps across the Country and Cross River in particular. They were delighted with the way Nigerians are opening their doors and hearts to these ones who have become homeless due to unforeseen happenings in their home country.
In their separate speeches, Dr. Celestine Atangcho and Christopher Famoyouh who are Chairman, BOD of CRRI and President/Founder, TFF respectively said they were impressed with the hospitality Nigeria and her people have given to Cameroonian Refugees who now reside in Nigeria.
In his remarks, Fomunyoh said “we want to put in a word of appreciation and thanks, genuine, sincere gratitude to the people of Nigeria, to the ordinary citizens of Nigeria for what they are doing to the Cameroonian refugees, for having open their hearts and their minds and their houses and their neighborhoods to Cameroonian refugees.
“We have been very touched by that and I see the love that Nigerians show towards these refugees. It’s remarkable, it’s truly brotherly love. We want to thank the authorities of the states that are harboring the refugees, notably, Cross River state, Akwa Ibom state, Benue state, Taraba state and all of the other states in which there may be a couple of refugees, including the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja, there’s a refugee camp settlement in Abuja”.
The narrative was also the same on the part of Dr. Atangcho who applauded the Federal Government of Nigeria for the attention they’re paying to refugees who have found their way to the country. He said many countries of the world may not accept refugees in their lands considering the economic realities of the day.
“We really appreciate the government of Nigeria for their attention during this crisis and for the appeals they’ve continued to make for the international communities to address the root causes of the conflict, and to bring the conflict to an end so that these refugees can return to their homes.
“It is a strong reminder that as Africans, we have to look out for each other because we’re each other’s keeper. I have been so touched by that and I want to use this opportunity to sincerely thank them for what they’re doing. It’s been noticed, it’s being appreciated at all levels and we remain very grateful and I think that people will always be grateful for that,” Atangcho noted.
