Good day, Mr. Mark Zuckerberg. Glad to know that you were in Lagos, Nigeria.
Although as I write you this letter, you must have left Abuja and be busy attending to your other schedules. But despite your hectic engagements, I hope you will find time to go through this letter of appeal.
Sir, as you might be aware, Borno State is the epicentre of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. Since the crisis began six years ago, over 20,000 people have lost their lives and a total of 2.5 million people, mostly women and children, displaced from their homes and presently settling in various IDP camps across the state.
You may also be aware of the humanitarian food crisis facing IDPs in the North-East, especially Borno State, which had prompted the United Nations and its agencies like the World Food Programme, United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), International Organisation of Migration (IOM) etc. in intervening to offer various forms of food and material assistance to the IDPs to complement the efforts of both the Borno State and Federal Government of Nigeria.
Even recently, precisely on Sunday August 28, 2016, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the richest man in Africa, in company of Paul David Hewson (Bono), an Irish singer-songwriter, musician, businessman, and philanthropist came to Maiduguri to visit the IDPs. They were received by the Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima. Dangote and Bono not only came to give the Borno IDPs hope, but also to see how best they could mobilise international goodwill to assist the IDPs in the immediate and long term.
Sir, there’s no doubt that as the Facebook founder and seventh richest man on earth, whatever assistance you may also render to the Borno IDPs will be highly appreciated by Nigerians and the Nigerian government.
Believe me, when I heard that you would be in Nigeria this past week, I thought you would also be visiting the IDPs in Borno State on humanitarian ground, more so that your visit was coming just three days after Bono visited Nigeria.
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