Assessment of the National Emergency Management Agency Intervention and the Management of Abuja Municipal Area Council Internally Displaced Persons Camps

Abstract

The camp for internally displaced people has come to represent discomfort, anguish, and suffering. The news of multiple donations made by the government and other individuals contradicts the pleas and complaints made by the displaced, despite the facilities challenges in these camps, which primarily focus on housing, security, health care, and educational facilities. It is expected that the facilities announced to be provided for them should be able to care for the displaced during their period of displacement. With a broad focus, this study examined the management of internally displaced persons' camps in the federal capital area of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) and the Federal Government's engagement through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). The survey design was descriptive. The principal source of data was an interview guide. The results demonstrated that NEMA pays little to no attention to the IDP situation in AMAC because the camps were only established by the displaced individuals themselves, and the situation has made it difficult for NEMA to manage and intervene effectively. This has a negative impact on NEMA's intervention in the IDPs' access to housing, food, safety and security, and educational facilities. The results also demonstrated that NEMA faces serious difficulties in managing the IDP camp, including inadequate federal money and the IDPs' refusal to return to their home states. The study recommends that regardless of the location of IDPs, it is the responsibility of the Federal Government of Nigeria through NEMA to provide basic facilities such as accommodations, educational facilities, food items and security, especially now that there is high rate of sexual abuse in the camps and kidnappings within and around the FCT.