UNDP premieres documentary to inspire hope in people affected by insurgency

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has released a documentary to inspire and foster hope in people who suffered displacement as a result of the Boko Haram conflict.

The documentary titled ‘Ngannaram: The Homecoming’ is centred on the poignant story of hardship, grief, and anxiety experienced by individuals who had been displaced by the insurgency. 

The film highlights their journey, starting from the initial insurgent attacks on their villages in 2015, which threw their lives into disarray, to the intervention programme organised by UNDP in 2022.

Speaking at the unveiling of the documentary in Lagos, Mohamed Yahya, resident representative of UNDP Nigeria, said the project is part of the visionary and innovative approach of the regional and stabilisation facility (RSF).

“The story of Ngrarannam and the rebuilding of Ngrarannam, was led by the Borno government, and we supported them. It is a story of resilience, renewal and refusal to accept the conditions that were given to you, either by conflict or things that had nothing to do with you, ” he said.

“So to hear the stories of women who have lived in internally displaced camps for about a decade and children who were born in those camps are going back home. There’s no better story of resilience and forward looking Nigeria than the story of Ngrarannam and we are very happy to be able to tell it.

“The architectural designs include 864 new homes, schools, hospitals, police outpost to keep the village secure, and a marketplace to provide ways for the returning families to make a living.

“This is the first time a project of this scale will be tried in the African region.”

Yahya expressed gratitude to the Borno state government and other partners for their “unwavering support to the entire Ngarannam community”, adding that they were cooperative throughout the filming process of the “life-changing project”. 

He said the documentary is dedicated to the millions of people everywhere “forcibly displaced” as a result of conflicts.  

Also speaking, Babagana Zulum,  governor of Borno, expressed excitement at the restoration of the livelihoods of people who were affected by the insurgency. 

Zulum, who was represented virtually by Mairo Mandara, special adviser and coordinator, sustainable development partnership and humanitarian support, said over one million people have been displaced due to the insurgency.

“One of the most painful things that we have to live with as a government is to see our brothers and sisters living in internally displaced camps (IDPs), not just for one month, two months, six months one year, but for 10 years.

“So, what the regional stabilisation facility has helped us to do is not just allowing people the opportunity to live a life but to live with dignity,” the governor said. 

“It allowed houses to be built better. It allowed people to be given a cause to have a livelihood. It allowed for the first time children that were born 10 years ago, see their parents wake up and create an income.”

The governor said Borno has faced internal and external turmoil over the last decade and to prevent the next generation “from joining the extremists,” people must be returned to their homes and empowered to earn a living.