THE NATURE AND MANAGEMENT OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS (IDPs) IN NORTHERN NIGERIA, FROM 2012-2015

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

 Nigeria is a West African country with a population of over one hundred million people, a former British dependency. The country is bordered in the north by Niger, northeast by Chad, to the east by Cameroon, to the south by the Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic Ocean) and to the south west by Benin republic. The Niger and Benue rivers which join at Lokoja divided the country into three segments that approximated Nigeria’s political divisions up to 1963 i.e. Northern, Western and eastern regions. Though home to hundreds of other ethnic groups (Each having its own language, customs, religion and traditional political system) these regions were respectively dominated by the Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba and Igboethnic groups.

 To be sure, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, but for its abundant natural resources, petroleum, fertile soil etc, and the country’s population would have been a terrible liability, eroding standard of living and tasking deviously the limited infrastructure and social amenities. Oil discovered in the southern part of the country since 1956, has indeed become the most important factor in the economy, accounting for about 90 percent of the country’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) Fage and Alabi, (2003:1-2).

 Nigeria was amalgamated in 1914, only about a decade after the defeat of the Sokoto Caliphate in 1903 and other Islamic states by the British which were to constitute much of Northern Nigeria. The after math of the First World War saw Germany lose its colonies, one of which was Cameroon, to French, Belgian and British mandates. Cameroon was divided in

French and British parts, the latter of which was further subdivided into Southern and Northern parts. Following a plebiscite in 1961, the Southern Cameroon elected to region French Cameroon, while the Northern Cameroon opted to join Nigeria, a more which added to Nigeria’s already large northern population. The territory comprises much of what is now northeastern Nigeria, and a large part of the areas affected by the insurgency.

According to a Nigeria study on demographics and religion, Muslims make up 50.5 percent of the population. Muslims mainly live in the north of the country; the majority of the Nigerian Muslims are Sunnis. Christians are the second-largest religious group and make up 48.7 percent of the population. They predominate in the central and southern part of the country (Wikipedia, 2015). 

 Boko Haram conducted its operations more or less peaceful during the first seven years of its existence. That changed in 2009 when the Nigerian government launched an investigation into the group activities following reports that its members were arming themselves. Prior to that, the government reportedly repeatedly ignored warning about the increasingly militant character of the organization, including that of a military officer.

 When the government came into action, several members of the group were arrested in Bauchi, speaking deadly clashes with Nigerian security forces which led to the deaths of an estimated 700 people. During the fighting with the security forces Boko Haram fighters reportedly “use fuel-laden motorcycles” and “bows with poison arrows” to attack a police station. The group’s founder and then leader Mohammed Yusuf was also killed during this time while still in police custody. After Yusuf’s killing, Abubakar Shekau became the leader and still holds the position as of 2015 (Wikipedia, 2015). In light of the above, this study seeks to examine The Nature and Management of Internally Displaced Persons in northern Nigeria from 2012 to 2015.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS

 The ongoing insurgency in northern Nigeria, called “Boko Haram” and the governments often brutal attempts to suppress it, have produced tide of refugees and internally displaced persons in Northern Nigerian and in some neighboring countries like Cameroon, Chad, and Niger republic, (Council on Foreign Relation, 2014). It is on the basis and strength of the above that this study focus on examining and investigating the Nature and Management of Internally Displaced Persons in Northern Nigeria from 2012 to 2015 as it affects the economic, social and culture, educational and political development of Nigeria as a nation.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

In the light of the fore going, this research seeks to find answers to the following questions:

a.       What is the relationship between insurgency and internally displaced persons in

Northern Nigeria?

b.      What is the level of the federal, state government’s efforts toward the management of internally displaced persons in Northern Nigeria from 2012 to 2015?

c.       What are the challenges that hinder the effectiveness of the federal, state governments and other body’s policies and its implementation toward the management of internally displaced persons in Northern Nigeria?

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

 The primary aim of this research work is to examine the nature and management of internally displaced persons in Northern Nigeria. To achieve this aim, the following objectives are set:

i.                    To find out the nature of internal displacement of persons in Northern Nigeria.

ii.                  To find out the relationship between insurgency and internally displaced persons in northern Nigeria. 

iii.                To assess the level of effectiveness of federal, states governments and other bodies in the management of internally displaced persons in Northern Nigeria from 2012 to 2015.

iv.                To investigate the challenges that hinders the effectiveness of the federal, states governments and other bodies policies and its implementation toward the management of internally displaced persons in Northern Nigeria.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

 The significance of this study will be of three fold i.e to the researcher himself, to the body of knowledge and to the society at large. 

i.                    To the researcher: The study will further expose him to the concepts insurgency and internal displacement of persons and how it can be properly managed to facilitate proper security in order to facilitate rapid human development in Nigeria.

ii.                  To the body of knowledge: Through reviewing of related literature, the study will identify gaps left uncovered or fill by previous researchers and fill these gaps. By doing this, the study must have immensely added to the existing knowledge. iii. To the society at large: Similar to that of researcher, it will make the members of the society get acquainted to insurgency and  internally displaced persons (IDPs), its problems in the society, and how its affects human condition in his environment which make the economic, cultural, political, social and educational sectors to fall below standard and how it can be properly managed to improve security situation in order to facilitate concrete, rapid development in Northern Nigeria and Nigeria at large.

 Additionally, it will be of immense important and serves as source of secondary data or material for future researchers who may want to carry out similar study on the topic under investigation. 

 LITERATURE REVIEW

 Boko Haram as an Arabicized-Hausa terminology which simply translates into

"western education is sinful" is propagated by "Jama'atul ahlul Sunnah Lidda'awati wal Jihad" sect who believes that they are committed to the Hadith of prophet Muhammad teachings on Islamic jihad. Some analyst even regarded Boko Haram as an out growth of the maitatsine riots of the 1980's and the religion/ ethnic tension that follow in the late 1990's.

 According to Adetoro, (2012), sees Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria as a symptom of poverty and political alienation. The Boko Haram fundamentalist Islamic group is the first insurgent organization in Nigeria to be classified as a terrorist organization by the United States of America and its allies (Felix A., Okonette, E., & Angela, O. A., 2014).

 According to Council on Foreign Relations, (2014),the insurgency in Northern Nigeria have caused a lot of refugee and internally displaced persons in Northern Nigeria and that the ongoing insurgency in northern Nigeria called Boko Haram , and the government often brutal attempts to suppress it, have produced a tide of refugees and internally displaced persons in one of the countrys regions. 

 According to Okoli, and Iortyer, (2014), sees Boko Haram insurgency as a terrorism and humanitarian crisis in Nigeria. They further argued that terrorism is the biggest threat to global peace and stability in the contemporary times. Since the dawn of this millennium, the incidence of the terrorism has been on a steady rise world wide. Hitherto, terrorism was more or less a national or regional affair, they also see Boko Haram insurgency as a threat to Nigeria's national security.

 The phenomenon of terrorism has been widely interrogated in the literature. According to Schmid (1998), terrorism is an anxiety inspiring method of repeated violent action, employed by semi clandestine individuals, groups state actor for idiosyncratic criminal or political reasons (Okoli et al, 2014). Boko Haram insurgency has been referred "as the violent assertion of a fringe sectarian identity based on the dogma of a subgroup of a larger national confessional group" (Okoli et al, 2014) citing (Nchi, 2013:200).

 Ogege,(2013). In his work, Insecurity and Sustainable Development: The Boko

Haram Debacle in Nigeria, discussed insurgency in relations to insecurity as a challenge for sustainable development in Nigeria as it is caused by the Boko of Haram insurgents. The poor development status of Nigeria no doubt breeds atmosphere of frustrated expectations and foster widespread indignation on the part of those that are trapped in the vortex circle of abject poverty. In the midst of all these, Nigeria is confronted with daunting security challenges which include armed robbery, ethnic crisis, assassination, militancy, kidnapping and terrorism. The current and most disturbing insecurity problem in Nigeria is the terror unleashed by Jama'atul Ahlul Sunnah Lidda'wati Wal Jihad, a dreaded militant sect popularly known as Boko Haram (Ogege, 2013).

Insecurity as an antithesis of security refers to a condition that exist due to lack of effective measures put in place to protect individuals, information and property against hostile persons, influence and actions (Ogege, 2013). Insecurity is simple a situation in which individuals in a given society cannot go about their daily activity as a result of threat to harmful destruction of their lives and property.

 In the light of the above literature review one can understand that researchers have wrote extensively on the topic under investigation in different perspective some sees insurgency as a threats to the nation security and sustainable development, others, viewed it from cultural perspective as a threats to social lives while other researchers only restricted it to terrorism and humanitarian crisis in Nigeria. Furthermore, Adetoro (2012), sees insurgency in Nigeria as a symptom of poverty and political alienation.

Insurgency as a social science concept has been given many conceptions. Essentially, however, insurgency is one element of the spectrum of political violence (Murtala, 2014). However, Murtala, (2014) further argued that Boko Haram insurgency is the manifestation of the failure of the successive government since independence in 1960 to integrate the various people in the state through good governance. The insurgency, is therefore a reflection of the crisis of nation building in Nigeria ( Murtala, 2014:14).

 Murtala, (2014), further posit that in the absence of good governance, a country may experience instability and eventual collapse, and that the present security challenges faced by Nigeria is a bi-product of poor governance, evident in widespread corruption, subversion of rule of law and institutions of probity and accountability, ala-ming level of poverty. The experience in the country is that of successive governments which systematically impose hardship on the people by filing to provide basic necessities of life and ensure justice and fairness in the polity. It is within this context that the increased spate of insecurity in the country, as exemplified by the ethno-religious conflicts, herdsmen and farmers clashes, settlers and indigene feuds, kidnapping for ritual and ransom and Boko Haram insurgency can be better understood. Furthermore, Murtala relates the Boko Haram insurgency with the northern conspiracy against the President Jonathan’s administration; he further argued that the proponents of this school of thought (mostly from south-east) are of the opinion that Boko

Harm is sponsored by the northern politicians to make the country ungovernable for President Goodluck Jonathan (a Christian from the minority Ijaw ethnic group). It is therefore argued that there exist a strong correlation between the increase in the spate of insecurity in Nigeria and the crisis of governance as evident in the failure of the governing class to formulate and implement policies that will make violent options not attractive to the aggrieved members of the state.

The Boko Haram has become ubiquitous group after the death of Mohammed Yusuf, their founder. Not even Abubakar Shekau, the newly acclaimed leader can claim effective control of the group. According to John (2013) cited by Felix et-al, (2014:153), the group does not have a clear structure or evident chain of command and has been called “Diffuse”. Similarly, Felix et-al (2014:153), citing Walker (2013) described the group as a “cell –like structure” facilitating factions and split.

Felix. A., et-al (2014),  discussed the Boko Haram insurgency in relations to the counter-terrorism policy adopted by the Federal government of Nigeria in dealing with the menace of Boko Haram insurgency and they finally conclude that the counter-terrorist policy adopted by the Federal Government is defective and that the government to treat the insurgents like terrorist rather than freedom fighters.

According to Wikipedia, (2015), an internally displaced person (IDP) is some who is forced to flee his or her home but who remains within his or her country’s borders. There are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the current legal definition of refugee.

There is no legal definition as there is for a refugee. However, a United Nations

Report, Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement uses the definition:

“Internally displaced people (also known as DPRE in many civil and military organizations which assist) are people or groups of people who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violation of human rights or natural or human –made disasters and who have not crossed an

internationally recognized State border” (Wikipedia, 2015).

However, IDPs legally remain under the protection of their own government, even though that government might be the cause of their flights. As citizens, they retain all of their rights and protection under both human rights and international humanitarian law.

It is on the strength of the above, this study tends to critically examine the nature and management of internally displaced persons in Northern Nigeria as it is caused by the Boko Haram insurgency in other fill the gaps left uncovered by other researchers as they put more efforts or concentrate on insurgency as a terrorism or insecurity which hinders socioeconomic and political development of northern Nigeria not as its relates to internal displacement of persons or as a major factor which brought about internal displacement of person in northern Nigeria.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 

 In social science as in other discipline theories are develop in order to produce a sound basis for argument, explaining ideas and proposition, they are ideas or believes about a phenomenon to arrived at the assumptions, facts or principles . 

 A theory must have the ability to explain the behavior and characteristics under

investigation and it is capable of predicting a social reality based on facts.

 In the case of this research, two theories are adopted in order to explain the variables under investigation which are the Islamic fundamentalist theory that support the activities of Boko Haram as they claimed and the carrot and stick approach which the federal government used in the management of insurgency in the northern Nigeria.

 The Islamic fundamentalist theory with the  believe of total islamization of Nigeria under the Shariah law has always being the motive behind various religious riots in northern

Nigeria. This motive even dated back to the era of jihad of Usman Danfodiyo indeed, Adetoro (1982), had alluded to the fact that islamization of Nigeria had been the motive behind the jihad of Usman Danfodiyo in 1804. This was evidential from the submission of Hodgkin (1975) who claimed that the jihad of Usman Danfodiyo was “makes upon the heathen king who make no profession of Islam, is obligatory by assent” (p. 247). Adetoro (1982), further reported that it was only the Ibadan warriors (a south western Nigerian warriors) that stopped the rampaging Danfodiyo’s jihad conquest under Nigeria town recently, Farouk (2012) reported that Boko Haram insurgency only believed in the Quran which states that “anyone who is not governed by what Allah has revealed is among the transgressors (Quran 6 49), even though, it is the same Quran that says “to you be your religion and to me my religion” (Quran 1096) 

 The Carrot and stick approach is an idiom that refers to a policy of offering a combination of rewards and punishment to in due behavior. The idiom is used in the field of international relations to describe the realist concept of hard power. 

 The carrot can stand for tax cut or other benefits, the sticks can stand for the use of (psychological) violence and threats by the government (Wikipedia, 2015).

 The Federal Governments of Nigeria adopted the carrot and sticks approach to approach or address the problem of insurgency in northern Nigerian as it did to approach the problem of the Niger Delta militants. The reasons for this seeming failure of government’s counter offensive measures as the finding of this study show, first, the federal government is using the same methods (force, administrative panel and negotiation) as it used in addressing the Niger Delta militancy to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency. This is a wrong approach because both insurgent groups follow different trajectories. 

 There is a common consensus in the Nigerian public sphere that government response to Boko Haram insurgents has been reactionary rather than proactive, those who share this sentiment argue that the government usually waits for the insurgents to launch attacks on Mosques, schools, police stations and other public institutions, before it reacts. In the light of the above, it is arguably that Boko Haram is not the kind of group government should use administrative measures (carrot approach) to tackle, it is not the kind of the group that should be granted amnesty like some people have suggested. Empirical evidence abound in other climes such as Afghanistan, Srilanka and Pakistan of terrorist group that uses similar tactics like the Boko Haram and how they are treated by their respective governments(Wikipedia, 2015).

ASSUMPTIONS OF THE STUDY

Due to the continuous attacks and bombing which leads to further internal displacement of person’s in northern Nigeria, the following assumptions are made:

-                      Boko Haram insurgency may likely be a threat to economic, social, cultural,

educational and political development of northern Nigeria and Nigeria at large.

-                      Insurgency and internally displaced persons may likely be caused by poor security provision or efforts.

-                      Poverty and illiteracy are fertilizer for insurgency in the world and Nigeria in

particular.

-                      The majority of IDPs in northern Nigeria are caused by Boko Haram insurgency.

-                      Internally displayed persons are efficiently managed by the Federal, States

Government and other bodies.

-                      The democratic government (civilian government) could not efficiently manage

internal displacement of persons in northern Nigeria.

-                      The democratic government (civilian regime) could efficiently manage internal displacement of persons in northern Nigeria.

METHODOLOGY

The appropriate methodology to be employed in caring out this study will be content analysis. The Nature and Management of Internally Displaced Persons in Northern Nigeria from 2012 to 2015 will be content-analyzed. Secondary sources of data gathered through textbooks, journals, articles, magazines, and newspapers and previously published and unpublished materials e.t.c are adopted.

 SCOPES AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The scope in the context of research refers to areas in which the researcher intends to cover while limitation on the other hand implies areas in which the research intends not to cover. As a result of this, the study which is on the nature and management of internally displaced persons in northern Nigeria will cover the period of 2012 to 2015. It will be limited to Good luck Ebele Jonathan’s administration and not to other administrations in Nigeria.

DEFINITION AND OPERATIONALIZATION OF CONCEPTS.

Management:- It is very difficult to give a precise definition of the term management. Different scholars from different disciplines viewed and interpreted management from their own angels. The Economist considered management as a resource like land, labor, capital and organization. The bureaucrat looks upon it as a system of authority to achieve business goals. The sociologists consider managers as a part of the class elite in the society.

According to Harold Koontz (1909-1984), Management is the act of getting things done through others and with formally organized groups.

According to George R Terry (1877-1955), Management is a distinct process consisting of planning, organizing, actuating and controlling utilizing in each both science and arts, and followed in order to accomplish pre-determinate objective.

According to Peter Ducker,(1909-2005), Management is a multipurpose organ that manage a business and manages managers and manage workers and work.

According to Peterson and plowman, Management may be defined as the process by means of which the purpose and objectives of a particular human group are determined, clarified and effectuated.

According to Mary parker Follett,(1868-1933), Management she says is the “art of getting things done through people “ (Wikipedia free encyclopedia) 

Insurgency:- Insurgency is a rebellion against a constituted authority (for example, an authority recognized as such by the United Nations) when these taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as bell gents.

An insurgency can be fought via counter – insurgency- welfare, and may also be opposed by measures to protect the population, and by political and economic actions of various kinds aimed at undermining the insurgent’s claims against the incumbent regime (Wikipedia, 2015).

According to American Heritage Dictionary of the English language, fifth edition,(2011). Insurgency is the state or condition of being insurgent, rebellion against an existing government by a group not recognized movement aimed at the overthrow of a constituted government through use of force or violence as a belligerent. 

Internally Displayed Persons (IDPs):- According to Wikipedia, (2015), an internally displayed person (IDP) is someone who is forced to flee his or her home but who remains within his or her country’s borders. They are often referred to as refuges although they do not fall within the current legal definition of refugees.

Internally displayed people (also known as DPRE in many civil and military organizations) are people or groups of people who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflicts, situations of generalized violence, violation of human rights, natural or human made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized state border (Wikipedia, 2015).

 CHAPTERIZATION

Chapter one is title the introduction to the study, this chapter will includes background to the study, the statement of the research problems, research questions which the study intends to provide answers to, the aim and objectives of the study, the significant of the study, review of related literatures, this will be done to see the agreement and disagreement of previous scholars, writers, authors and researchers on the topic under investigation. Through this, the researcher will identify gaps left unfilled or covered by these previous researchers and as a result add to the existing knowledge, then theoretical framework , the assumption of the study, the methodology to be used in carrying out the study, the scope as well as the limitation of the study, the definition and operationalization of concepts, and chapterization.

Chapter two will focus on discussing the historical background of insurgency in northern Nigeria and causes of insurgency and consequences of Boko Haram insurgency and the table of selected incidents of Boko Haram attacks. Chapter three will examine the nature and management of internally displaced persons in northern Nigeria from 2012 to 2015. Finally, chapter four will comprises of summary, conclusion, suggest recommendations for future studies and bibliography.