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While moving around is always risky, fishing has resumed on the Nigerian side of Lake Chad and some farmers have returned to their land. A difficult context due to the presence of the Islamic State group in West Africa (Iswap) in the region. Report in Maiduguri, capital of Borno.
Every week, Danladi takes to the road in his minibus to connect Maiduguri to the city of Damaturu. This axis which stretches between the capital of the State of Borno and that of Adamawa is reputed to be particularly dangerous.
Still, the 29-year-old driver has seen an improvement in safety in recent months. ” Before, there were real problems along this route, but the situation is better today. A year ago, I was intercepted and taken into the bush by elements of Boko Haram, he says. They eventually released me, but not the two passengers I was carrying. We never saw them again. I haven’t had a problem since. »
The security situation has evolved in recent months with the death of Abubakar Shekau, the historic leader of Boko Haram, in May. The faction of the jihadist group affiliated with the Islamic State organization is now largely dominant in the region and it targets the army instead. Iswap also imposes taxes on fishermen and farmers in controlled areas.
« Fishing activities had been suspended, as Boko Haram had taken control of all the villages around Lake Chad and there were no longer any fisherman there, says Mu’azu Issa, secretary of the Borno State Fish Producers and Sellers Association. The situation has improved. There are fewer attacks, the insurgents no longer kill as before. The army authorizes access to the lake at specific locations. In these areas, we can fish and sell our fish without any problem, under the surveillance of the security forces. »
To revive economic activity and agriculture, the Governor of Borno State has decided to empty the camps for the displaced which shelter more than 200,000 people around Maiduguri.
This decision is very controversial even if it is true that attacks against peasants have decreased a little, according to Alhassan Cissé, of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization: “ According to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, cultivated land across the states of Borno, Adamawa and Obe has increased by 5% compared to 2020. »
But for NGOs, the decision to return these vulnerable populations to their lands of origin risks increasing food insecurity, which affects 4.5 million people in the three northeastern states of Nigeria.
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