Millions of Nigerians face hunger in wasteland recaptured from Boko Haram

Abdulkadir’s family is one the many families who returned to a desolate waste land after the Nigerian army declared some regions in the Northeast safe to return .

Along with some 32,000 other homeless inhabitants, they are now confined to the camp amid the ruins. Even worse, they are gripped with hunger and also lack basic amenities.

“What we want from the government is to help us,” said Abdulkadir. “We don’t have wood to cook, we don’t have anything in our hands, even soap to wash,” he added in a voice cracking with emotion as he gazed at his children.

The U.N. refugee agency said thousands of others are arriving in camps daily while some 152,000 people have also returned from neighbouring Cameroon and Niger since the start of the year. Millions of Nigerians may soon be in peril if the situation deteriorates where some 4.7 million people in northeast Nigeria depend on food aid.

Authorities expect that when the five-month rainy season begins in May, it will make farming impossible in areas that are now accessible.