Expert calls for investment in management of victims of conflicts

ExA Town Planner and disaster management expert, Dr. Bassey Ita Etim–Ikang has called on governments at all levels to invest more in the management of victims of conflict in order to protect the weak and the vulnerable in society.

Dr. Etim-Ikang who is presently a director and head of human resources at the Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs; The Presidency, in an interview in Abuja with our reporter stated that “as a former Director of the National Commission for Refugees, I had the opportunity to observe at very close quarters, the interactions between victims of conflicts and those charged with their management.

The University of Calabar trained Geography and Regional Planner, who has interest in housing and environmental planning, resources analysis and management, quantitative Analysis, public policy and strategic planning, planning and development, disasters/conflicts prevention and management of mixed migratory flows as well as climate change and rural-urban migration also advocated for a robust national policy on conflict prevention and management in the country at this time unprecedented humanitarian crisis occasioned by insecurity in some parts of the country.

Recall that Dr. Bassey Ita Etim – Ikang in his book ‘A Planner’s Perspective on Disaster and Conflict Issues of Forced Displacement of Persons Management in Nigeria ’ raised far reaching issues and recommendations on conflict and disaster management which includes genesis of disaster/conflicts devastating impacts globally and some critically affected countries; durable solutions to disaster and conflict management of forced displacement of persons and issues of fragmented and incoherent approach to disaster and conflict management, causing undue suffering.

“I am versatile in this field. I served in the Federal Ministry of Power, Works, and Housing; Trade and Investment, including the National Commission for Refugees, Migration and Internally Displaced persons (NCFRMI); Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) Programme in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. I was Pioneer head and was instrumental to the creation and nurturing of IDP’s as well as the migration department in the NCFRMI. I urge governments at all levels, especially local governments to take the issues of conflict prevention and management very serious at all times.

Checks by our reporter shows that he attended and served in many international Executive Committee Meetings of the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), African Union (AU), and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) technical committees on Forced Displacement of Persons; Global Forum on Migration Development (GFMD) of International Organization on Migration (IOM), including various field operations within and outside the country.