IDPs as a reflection of enduring failure

According to the 2016 Africa Report on Internal Displacement, published by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), released last month, there are estimated over 2 million Internally Displaced Persons  (IDPs) in Nigeria. This estimates account for more than 30% displaced persons in Africa. Of course, it is no news that the dramatic increases in the number of IDPs in Nigeria followed the escalation of Boko Haram activities in the North Eastern region of Nigeria, especially since 2013.

In relation to the success of the responses from government and Non governmental organisations, the report says that “poor understanding of the endemic underlying factors has resulted in a fragmented response and has the potential to undermine current and future efforts to support IDPs in achieving durable solutions”. The report went further to discuss extensively some of the structural factors that contributed to the displacement of persons. The factors include lack of investment in transportation, agricultural and energy infrastructure.

My focus in this piece is to present some other underlying factors, though existed before the crisis, are contributing to the fragmented response identified in the report, and making long-term solutions difficult. These factors are contributing to the growing difficulties of IDPs, which already reflect very deep personal and community tragedies, confusion, frustration and dilemma. Indeed, many of these IDPs would reflect, perhaps on a daily basis, not only of the scars of the conflict and violence that drove them from their homes and communities, but also because the country they call theirs is simply unprepared to look after its most vulnerable.

Let me progress this way. There are three underline issues that existed before the escalation of this crisis that are also delaying the development of an enduring solution to the crisis. The three underlying and related trends exist everywhere in Nigeria but have exposed the fragility of the Nigerian state.

First is labour mobility. For a long time now, labour mobility in Nigeria have been rather immobile and static. The reasons are that Nigerians are migrating across regions like they used to due to religion and ethnic considerations, and polarised and poor education. The consequences are many large enclaves of religious and ethic isolation across the country, and slow and sometimes non-movement of labour from one area to another within the country. This is now playing out, as IDPs are unprepared for any form of integration, both socially and economically in their new homes. The era that we use to see tremendous level of migration across different sections of the country has gone, and the reasons are the ones I have mentioned here. If you dig deeper, religion and ethic isolation are driven by fear. We have become afraid of each other even as our division or the perception of it grows.

The second reason is related and draws from the first. The priority of the government, stated or not, is to see many of the IDPs return home. This is great. But has anyone ever wondered why Nigerians are not making everywhere they found themselves home if they so choose? The answer, of course, is that they are not welcome. According to the Nigerian constitution, you can become a citizen either through birth, naturalization or registration. However, the Boko Haram and the IDPs crisis that followed it has shown that a set of people can actually be virtually refugees in their own country simply because the country is not only prepared militarily, but also economically and socially. These people are not being treated as citizens within their own country. The paths to “citizenship” in these areas are not clear, underlined by the fear expressed above.

The third underlying factor, and also related is the general poor education and skills we see in Nigeria today. How is that related to IDPs? Generally, basic literacy and numeracy and good education allows mobility of labour. For every IDP, if Nigeria had provided generally good education at very early level, these IDPs will not only have opportunities to socially adjust to their new environments but also have economic opportunities to do so. And if the citizenship status were sound, they could decide whether to return home or not. Indeed, the report mentioned this difficulty when it suggests, “the source of long standing instability in North Eastern Nigeria has been traced in large part to frustration among young people about a lack of education and livelihood opportunities”.

Therefore, as it stands, there is no indication that to return home is a choice for many of the IDPs. They are already refugees in their own country and they are dependent on the food, clothing and shelter that comes from the resources that have not been pocketed, stolen or used for cutting grasses.

In conclusion, therefore, as crisis always do, the Boko Haram and the IDP crisis that have followed have not only exposed our military and security unpreparedness, but also that over the years, each region, and some will even argue communities have grown isolated, with fewer mobility between regions compared to periods immediately after independence due to few labour and education mobility even as we grow in ethnic isolation.  I thank you.

Ogho Okiti