Evaluating Cause of Displacement and the Lack of Satisfaction among Displaced Persons in Nigeria: Recent Overview

Evaluating Cause of Displacement and the Lack of Satisfaction among Displaced Persons in Nigeria: Recent Overview

Arobani, Salman Tunde^{1, 2}, Muhammad Zaly Shah¹, Bayero Salih Farah²

^1,2Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

²Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2024.8090262

Received: 05 September 2024; Accepted: 24 September 2024; Published: 22 October 2024

ABSTRACT

This paper evaluates the current causes of internal displacement and the dissatisfaction of IDPs in camps. The study used procedures and techniques that scholars had previously used to examine this phenomena, however no real insight into IDPs’ lack of satisfaction. The research involved both qualitative and quantitative methods. Nonetheless, no research has been conducted to comprehensively assess the existing situation and provide solutions for the long-term satisfaction of displaced persons in IDP camps. The study showed that conflict among communities, Boko Haram, natural disasters, ethnic crisis, banditry/kidnapping, politics, and religious crisis are the primary causes of IDPs in Nigeria. Furthermore, according to the respondents’ interviews, inadequate government attention to delivering IDPs with essential surviving materials is the primary source of dissatisfaction among displaced individuals. Further stated that the host community’s attitude causes some discontent. To meet the needs of IDPs for dignity and an improved quality of life, the study developed a strategy for bridging the gap for IDPs’ long-term satisfaction and suggests increasing attention to IDPS’ critical needs in the areas of food and nutrition, water sanitation and hygiene, shelter, security, and health.

Keywords: IDPs, IDPs Satisfaction, Nigeria and causes of displacement.

INTRODUCTION

The number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Nigeria has risen dramatically in recent years, particularly in the country’s northeast, as a result of military conflicts and several violent attacks by the infamous sect Boko Haram, which has terrorized the region (Letswa & Isyaku, 2018). According to statistics, over six million people have been internally displaced, with many more killed and injured (Letswa & Isyaku, 2018).

The issue of Boko haram and herders became a significant concern for the current government and entire citizens (Olowojolu & Ettang, 2021). Additionally, religious, social, and political issues have contributed to Nigeria’s escalating incidences of internal displacement, resulting in numerous deaths and over two million homeless persons (Olowojolu & Ettang, 2021). Upon high number of government security headquarters in northern Nigeria, yet, the majority of the IDPs are centered in northeastern and middle belt Nigeria with Bornu, Adamawa, Benue, Plateau, Kaduna and Yobe suffering the most from the displacement (Ekezie, 2022) (Olowojolu & Ettang, 2021)(Ojewale, 2021). The degree to which internally displaced people (IDPs) are dissatisfied with the food security, non-food provisions, shelter, healthcare, and other socioeconomic services that humanitarian organizations supply them with is measured.

Consequently, it may be quite challenging to provide relief supplies for more than 2.7 million displaced persons (Okereke, 2023) (Ekezie, 2022). As a result, offer IDPs an affordable option and ensure their satisfaction before they return to their permanent residence. In the short-term, it is necessary to identify and meet the IDPs’ fundamental requirements to improve their quality of life which this work tends to proffer solution. Thus, the objective of this study is to identify the important variables causing internal displacement and the lack of IDPs dissatisfaction in Nigeria. The insights learnt will aid in resolving IDPs dissatisfaction in the camps. The study adopts the flow of previous literature to conduct a content analysis of studies on displaced persons in Nigeria. Subsequently, (OCHA, 2021) said that in 2020, there was an upsurge in crime, cattle rustling/banditry, land disputes, armed violence, and tensions between farmers and pastoralists in the country’s north-central and north-west regions. Therefore, there were 169,000 new displacements in 2020 because of violence and killings, and 279,000 new displacements as a result of disasters, mostly from floods. Hence, at the end of 2020, Nigeria had 2.9 million internally displaced individuals (IDPs) (IDMC, 2020). Figure 1 displays Nigeria’s IDP trends based on conflict and disaster conditions.

Figure 1: Displacement trends in Nigeria from 2014-2021 (OCHA, 2021)

In line with the above challenges affecting IDPs in Africa, in Northern Nigeria and several locations across the country are faced with enormous problems (Raji et al., 2021).  The author further affirmed that many stakeholders, including the federal and state governments, as well as local and international donor agencies, have worked together to address the plight of IDPs within the constraints of available resources, including the provision of relief materials such as food, non-food items, shelter, security, and resettlement packages and in spite their efforts, the IDP camp in North-eastern Nigeria and many other locations remains in shambles, thus making displaced people uncomfortable.

Proposed Conceptual Model of the Study

After reviewing some of the associated displacement models, the causes, effects of bad IDP management, and satisfaction actualization model addressed the majority of the variables in this study. As a result, the model was chosen and used in this study. The independent variables identified as the primary causes of discontent among IDPs included homelessness, social disintegration, and a lack of access to personal/community services, all of which must be addressed in order for IDPs to live a better life. Lack of work and food insecurity addressed the issue of land acquisition, while the projected satisfaction from improved IDP management serves as the dependent variable.

Figure 2 depicts the structural link between the independent variables and the (dependent variables) improvement of internally displaced persons, as well as the effect of the mediating variable. Sets of causative factors (independent variables) influence an outcome (dependent variable) satisfaction of internally displaced people. According to Burns (1994), mediating variables can occasionally serve as an impetus for IDP fulfilment, resulting in three-stage connections. Thus, it is recognized that the spatial distribution, rate of satisfaction, and adapted strategy of IDPs are determined by independent variables and attitude from the host community, neglect by government and humanitarian agencies inefficiency.

Figure 2: Improvement Model for IDPs satisfaction

METHODOLOGY

Research Design

The study used a cross-sectional survey design via quantitative and view qualitative interview. The quantitative data was acquired using a questionnaire to measure the variables.  This study used an existing literature flow to conduct a content analysis of studies on internally displaced people in Nigeria. The causes, circumstances, and living situations of internally displaced people in Africa with a focus on Nigeria were broadly searched across several internet databases. The study would proffer a solution on yielding a satisfactory situation for IDPs.  During this search, numerous journal articles, conference proceedings, and other kinds of work were located and examined to identify the papers that met the criteria for inclusion in this paper’s review based on empirical evidence, thus adopted previous study approach (Munn et al., 2018). The overview study was loosely categorized into many areas where the data were embedded; hence, pertinent concepts were gathered and arranged chronologically according to the goals, procedures, findings, discussions and conclusions.  

Population and Sample

The study’s target populations were drawn from pronounced IDPs in seven (7) local governments area (LGAs) in each of the most crisis-affected states, where a considerable number of internally displaced people had moved into for safety. The states are Kaduna, Taraba, Borno, Katsina, Plateau, Zamfara, and Kebbi state. These camps for internally displaced persons were purposefully chosen for this study because of their ‘safety’ in comparison to the surrounding ‘conflict’ areas. These villages were also purposefully chosen as a result of the relative remoteness of some of the settlements where the IDPs live in the state.

Sampling Technique and Questionnaire

The table below displays the study’s population distribution and sample size distribution. The study used a purposive sampling method, selecting three (3) IDP camps in each of the seven LGAs. In each state, 200 samples (respondents) of 1400(3) making 4200 respondents in 7 states, were chosen with various number per LGA as seen in the Table. The questionnaire was distributed in the form of a five-point Likert scale questionnaire; a five-point module was chosen to ensure symmetry in the responses and an equidistant measure between them throughout the LGAs, as shown in Table 1. The responses were categorized as follows: highly agreed = 5, agreed = 4, neutral = 3, disagreed = 2, and severely disagreed = 1. Thus, the coding was done in a regressive form from 5-1, with the response more away from 5 closing on 1 indicating the more negative the reaction, and the response closer to 5 indicating the more positive the response.

Table 1: Summary of population and sample Size

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

IDP Satisfaction in Nigerian

Using the questionnaire, the findings explained the many causes of reasons and dissatisfaction of internal displacement in Nigeria. According to results as in Table 2, IDPs in various states are the result of ethno-religious and communal disputes, insurgency, political violence, and current cattle rustling/banditry, and farmer-herder clashes. Even before the colonial era, it had a history of community, ethnic, and ethno-religious disputes but currently, the effect is alarming owing to some internal source (political). As a result, IDPs in Nigeria is faced with a myriad of challenges. According to the data generated, it was observed that the impact of the listed causes of IDPs were highly significant.

Table 2: Respondents reports on key source of Internal Displacement

This section is supported by reviews of past literatures on internally displaced persons. Although each factor contributed to the internal displacement, it also has an impact on their level of satisfaction. Meanwhile, according to the recent findings, the variables that have the highest effects on IDP satisfaction are food security and nutrition, shelter and settlement, followed by health, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (as shown in Table 1). Furthermore, the interviewed respondents pronounced their view regarding their conditions.

According to Respondents:

Most agreed during interviews that livestock rustlers/banditry; communal unrest, ethnic conflict, and kidnapping were the primary causes of their displacement. These respondents claimed that they were selectively targeted and killed by Boko Haram and other crisis agents. Afterwards, they came for the entire hamlet, ravaged it, killed and destroyed property, and threatened that if the surviving residents did not leave the town for them, they would be slaughtered when they returned. We still exist, but the militants returned to fulfil their threat against us by destroying more houses and causing actual damage and murders. So, we opted to flee for our life. That’s how we got here (Respondent).

According to respondents, stated that difficulties faced by nursing mothers and poor humanitarians are some of dissatisfaction from IDPs, also with discriminations from host community. These difficulties include inadequate aid, delayed aid distribution, delays in providing a shelter or tent, inadequate support for those who were actually affected rather than those who were not, a lack of donations of items that were needed at the time of the aid, and the distribution of aid (particularly infant formula and powdered milk) without adequate information about its use and contraindications, among other problems. Also stated that pregnancy is the most prevalent health effect of sexual violence for women caught up in conflict zones, with a high incidence rate.

Respondents acknowledged that illnesses like diarrhea, cholera, tuberculosis, malaria, pneumonia, and other infections, as well as general health services, are additional risks that children in Northern Nigerian IDP camps and throughout the nation face, including interrupted educational services. Also stated that during times of crisis, internally displaced people (IDPs) need non-food items (NFIs) like tents, blankets, plastic sheeting and sleeping mats, in addition to necessities for cooking (pots, stoves, kerosene and firewood), housing, health and sanitation (buckets, soap, jerry cans, sanitary cloths, mosquito nets and first aid supplies), all of which are in short supply.

Table 1: Summary of IDPs lack of satisfactions in the IDPs camps

The paper argues that poor governance, underdevelopment of ethnic minority-populated peripheral areas, mishandling of identity conflicts, chronic abuse of power leading to egregious violations of human rights, and gross inequities in the shaping and sharing of power, national wealth, are the root causes of violence, which can be ethno-religious, inter-ethnic, political, or inter-communal, thus supported by previous study (Adeleye, 2023). The study suggests that effective handling of diverse conflicts, fair distribution of resources, implementation of true federalism, encouragement of good governance, and national security are all necessary.

However, according to Sphere Association, (2018); (Victor Onifade and Rasheed Osinowo, 2019) IDPs are to be provided with adequate basic amenities for their sustenance and dignity based on Sphere standards of humanity, neutrality, and independence.  Hence, from the literature review, IDPs in Nigeria are not provided with adequate amenities in line with global best practices and the guiding principles law of IDPs (Nnamdi Akani, 2019). Therefore, the identified basic needs from this review should be taken into consideration for the satisfaction of IDPs in Nigeria in order to improve their well-being and improve their human dignity.

Bridging the Gap for sustainable satisfaction for IDPs in camps

There is a more pressing knowledge gap regarding internal displacement, even while global numbers show the scope of the issue and the strain on already overstretched humanitarian resources and unstable country economies. This discrepancy relates to the scope, kinds, and effects of internal displacement on the person, the household, the displaced communities of origin, and the prospects for the host community (World Bank Group, 2019). Authorities are unable to accurately assess needs and provide appropriate responses because many internally displaced people (IDPs) remain unrecorded by their governments and because of gaps in knowledge regarding IDPs’ age, sex, number and duration of displacement, access to basic services, security, decent housing, and livelihoods. The impact and prospective strategies to support IDP beyond humanitarian assistance are beginning to be pieced together by this study, thus presented approach for good IDPs satisfaction in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Modelled strategies for IDPs satisfaction

However, studies also shows that delays, complexities in coordination, multiple agencies, insecurity, lack of funds, inexperience/lack of technical expertise, lack of needs assessment, and terrain contributed as significant factors that affects distribution of relief materials to IDPs (Badau et al., 2016)(Cantor et al., 2021)(Victor Onifade and Rasheed Osinowo, 2019)(World Bank Group, 2019). Hence, there are now renewed efforts in international responses to conflict-induced humanitarian crises to go beyond providing immediate relief materials (such as food, clothing, shelter, and life-saving medications) to restoring destroyed livelihoods, rehabilitating individuals, and communities, building resilience and reducing risks, and preventing further conflict spread.

CONCLUSION

IDPs are essentially supposed to be given certain basic amenities to ensure that they can improve their life and feel satisfied. The results of this study, however, showed that the living conditions of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Nigeria are still surrounded by a number of issues, including inadequate food and nutrition, poor hygiene and a lack of toiletries, shelter, settlement, insecurity, economic and social problems, subpar health care, and gender-based violence.

IDPs have emerged as a major socioeconomic issue that presents numerous humanitarian challenges to mankind as a whole. Researchers must create research problems based on the viewpoints and experiences of those displaced, with the goal of producing findings that are nevertheless applicable to policy. Stated differently, they need to pinpoint not just the appropriate answers but also the appropriate enquiries that would terminate internal displacement in Nigeria and the global community.

Based on the study, the following recommendations and suggestions are put forth: The government should prioritize managing and governing the IDPs in a sustainable manner by putting more emphasis on food sufficiency, improving water quality, sanitation and hygiene, providing shelter and settlement, protection, and improving social-economic activities and a sustainable health care system. To consolidate educational programs, productivity, value for money, and resilience for IDPS, a network for education, teaching, training, and research is advised.  The government needs to set priorities for sustainable IDPs management and governance and rely more on mitigation and preparedness.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The author would like to thank all that were involved in this research study.

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