The state of the humanitarian crisis
in Nigeria has become alarming.
In the last 10 years, has been in the throes of
insurgency in the North, especially in Borno,
Adamawa, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Yobe, Kano and
the Kaduna States. This insurgency has created a lot
of social dislocation and millions of Internally
Displaced Persons (IDPs). According to an August
2019 report from Médecins Sans Frontières, (Doctors
without Borders, “It is estimated that about 35,000
people have been killed since 2009, 1.8 million
people are internally displaced, and 7.1 million
people require humanitarian assistance across the
north-eastern states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.
Around 230,000 people have fled to the neighbouring
countries of Niger, Chad and Cameroon”.
According to the UN, the crisis in
Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states alone has created
severe humanitarian needs. The ongoing conflict
between non-state armed groups and government forces
has created high levels of displacement and food
insecurity and has exacerbated protection risks for
civilians. Risks are compounded by climate-related
shocks and disease outbreaks. Violence against women
and girls is widespread, particularly denial of
resources and access to services, forced and child
marriage, and physical and psychological violence.
Faced with a lack of livelihood opportunities, some
women are forced to resort to survival sex to meet
their basic needs. A considerable number of women
and girls have been abducted by armed actors and are
subjected to sexual violence and forced marriage.
UNFPA is providing sexual and reproductive health (SRH)
and gender-based violence services (GBV) and
information to affected people, including through
its mobile outreach teams, and continues its strong
presence in the GBV sub-cluster and the SRH/Minimum
Initial Service Package (MISP) working group.
As reported by the United Statess
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(UNOCHA), the number of people in need of urgent
assistance in north-east Nigeria rose from 7.9
million at the beginning of 2020 to 10.6 million
since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Towards rebuilding the North East,
President Muhammadu Buhari encouraged the World Bank
in partnership with the European Union and the
Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster
Management and Social Development, philanthropists
and other foreign organizations to help and provide
solutions to the plight of millions of Internally
Displaced Persons (IDPs) as well as coordinate
humanitarian affairs and social development in the
country; rebuild the North East to be more committed
to erecting structures and physical presence in
those areas to aid the smooth and effective
returning of displaced persons to their settlements.
Rather than giving out cash and other monetary
gifts, which over time has been reported that the
displaced persons and supposed beneficiaries of
humanitarian crisis and disaster issues often find
it difficult to receive these aids and donations
from individuals and organizations because of some
atrocities and corruption committed by those
responsible for the management of those resources
such as food, water and clothing.
According to UNICEF, this conflict in
north-eastern Nigeria has continued to devastate the
lives of civilians, resulting in a humanitarian
crisis affecting 7.7 million women, men and children
who are all in acute need of help and protection. It
reports that since the start of the conflict in
2009, more than 20,000 people have been killed, more
than 4,000 people abducted and 1.7 million remain
displaced, mostly in Borno State. According to UNHCR,
there are over 2.7 million internally displaced
persons in North-Eastern Nigeria, over 684,000 IDPs
in Cameroon, Chad and Niger, and 294000 refugees in
the four countries. Civilians are the major victims
of the conflict, as many have been displaced.
Thousands of women and girls have been abducted, and
have been made to face different forms of violence.
There has also been a rise in the number of underage
terrorists, as many have been recruited by these
armed groups to carry person-borne improvised
explosive devices (PBIEDs.
According to UNOCHA, currently, 1.9
million people are still internally displaced, some
living in dire conditions. Over 80 percent of them
are in Borno State – the epicentre of the crisis, as
four out of five internally displaced people, are
women and children, and one in four are under the
age of five. Also, it reports that an estimated
number of up to 1.2 million people remain
inaccessible to humanitarian actors, 81 percent of
whom are in Borno State. As mentioned earlier,
banditry violence has also been on the increase in
Nigeria, as it has affected people living in such
states as Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger, Sokoto, Kebbi, and
the Katsina States in the North-West. According to
the Assessment Capacities Project (ACAPS), about 21
million of those living in these states have been
exposed to insecurity from the activities of these
bandits. These activities which include cattle
rustling, kidnapping, and sexual violence, have
affected about 35 of the 92 local government areas
in the four states. As of March 2020, ACAPS reported
that about 210,000 persons have been internally
displaced, and over 35000 have sought refuge in
neighbouring countries such as Niger.
The government has continued to rally
round for support from International agencies in the
fight against terrorism, as it tries to manage the
Boko Haram Terrorists in the North East, the rising
Banditry violence in the North East, as well as the
Herdsmen-Farmer Clashes in the North Central, South
West, and South East. It has also tried to curb
Youth restiveness/Niger Delta Militants attacks in
the South-South, as well as the rising secessionist
movements in the South East. Not only this, with the
fight against corruption by public officials, the
government has been blamed for non-accountability of
recovered funds and showing bias in the
appropriation of funds, fight against corruption,
and appointment of public officials. Things are
sometimes easy to destroy than to rebuild, this is
the current situation of the North East in Nigeria.
Rebuilding the North East remains a huge project to
be completed but it is possible with the efforts of
the government, the people and international
organizations committed to making this happen. The
creation of a ministry to take care of humanitarian
affairs, disaster management and social development
have thus made the pathway for the rebuilding of the
North-East much more visible as there would be more
accountability and responsibility for actors and
non-actors towards humanitarian issues in Nigeria.
“According to UN High Commission for
Refugee (UNHCR), over 3.4 million people have been
displaced, including over 2.7 million internally
displaced persons (IDPs) in North-eastern Nigeria,
over 684,000 IDPs in Cameroon, Chad and Niger and
294,000 refugees in the four countries. “According
to Amnesty International, at least 1,126 people in
the North of the country have been killed between
January and August 2020. The organization
interviewed civilians in Kaduna, Katsina, Niger,
Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba and Zamfara states, who said
they live in fear of attacks and abductions as
insecurity escalates in rural areas. “The insecurity
in the Northern part of Nigeria is also one of the
leading causes of food insecurity, affecting food
and agriculture in Nigeria and Africa. It has also
affected the movement, commerce, education and other
social lives of Nigerians leading to an increase in
poverty. “This administration promised to tackle
insecurity in Nigeria among other things”. The
government should protect its population. The rising
death toll in Northern Nigeria shows just how badly
the authorities are failing in this responsibility.
“The President should visit villages, communities
and major IDP camps affected by insecurity to
condole with the victims and provide transparent
humanitarian relief to IDPs across the North. The
administration should swiftly bring an end to the
Boko Haram insurgency. “The administration should
take massive action to tackle bandits and kidnappers
across the country using modern technology, provide
stationed securities along Abuja-Kaduna highway,”
said an activist Garba Idris. The government should
also immediately reform the Nigeria Police Force.
“We also want the government to immediately bring an
end to the ASUU strike and change the academic
curriculum to reflect modern-day realities, he
added.
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