Nowhere is Home?

Beyond losses to lives and physical bodily harm, the Boko Haram conflict has triggered displacement and losses to the livelihood of millions of people in the northeast and broader Lake Chad Basin. In crisis-impacted communities, many local actors, including women and children, are uniquely affected. In Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states (BAY states), an estimated 2.1 million people have been internally displaced. In the broader scope, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says about 2.7 million people are displaced in the Lake Chad Basin.

Continued displacement resulting from the conflict has pushed many residents of the BAY states into extreme margins of vulnerability, especially in displacement camps where they seek refuge and succour. According to the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Humanitarian Needs Overview 2021 for Nigeria shows that about 8.7 million people require urgent humanitarian assistance. The millions of these displaced Nigerians dwell in overburdened camps for internally displaced persons with mounting welfare needs and where essential structures are luxuries.

Due to the nature of the conflict in terms of targeted attacks on livelihoods, healthcare facilities, schools and other basic public structures, many BAY states dwellers find themselves without homes, livelihoods, access to healthcare, portable water and sanitation, education and shelter. Many children also lack social protection as the quest for survival is prioritised over everything else. This condition has created a new war against hunger, child endangerment, malnutrition, disconnection from ancestral linkages and an uncertain future.

The unending war has prolonged chances of a return to normalcy. Real-time data from the Nextier SPD Violent Conflict Database show that about 357 casualties in 45 incidents have been recorded in the first seven months of 2021, indicating the violent climate in the BAY states. Despite military combats, attacks by insurgents still pose grave risks to many communities in the BAY states. Worse off, it may likely thwart efforts for the safe, voluntary return of the displaced to their communities and to rebuild their lives.

The Nigerian government and its development partners must increase efforts to support the displaced populations in camps where they seek refuge and end the war to trigger a safe and voluntary return. The government needs to increase regulatory frameworks that will focus on monitoring activities in camps and ensure that designated materials get to the right people. Additionally, the government must seek accounting experts’ services to set up a digital framework for distributing relief materials to IDPs. The framework will form the basis for a routine audit of relief materials distribution in the camps.

Military efforts must improve in Nigeria’s hotspot zones. New strategies must be employed to defeat both Boko Haram insurgents and bandits in the northwest. Nigeria’s approach to solving the displacement problem must take a two-pronged drive; first, to manage the already displaced population through improved welfare services in recognised and spontaneous camps where they seek refuge. Second, to prevent new displacements. The military should also increase the tempo of counterterrorism in the country. Nowhere seems to be home for many of Nigeria’s displaced population, but strategic military interventions and humanitarian aid will help manage the double jeopardy.