CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS PHENOMENON (A CASE STUDY OF NORTH EAST NIGERIA)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Since 2009, North-eastern Nigeria, comprising Borno, Adamawa, Yobe and neighbouring states, has been ravaged by the Boko Haram insurgency, a protracted armed conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives and, more directly relevant to this study, uprooted millions of people from their homes and communities. The scale of the resulting humanitarian crisis has made Nigeria host to one of the largest populations of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Africa, with survivors of the insurgency forced to flee to camps and host communities across the region and beyond, often losing not only their homes but also their livelihoods, social networks and sense of security in the process (Raji et al., 2021). Conflict management, understood broadly as the range of strategies, institutions and interventions deployed to contain, de-escalate or resolve violent conflict and to mitigate its humanitarian consequences, has therefore become central to how the Nigerian state and its humanitarian partners respond to the North East crisis. In practice, this has included military operations against insurgent groups, the establishment of IDP camps, and coordinated relief efforts led by agencies such as the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), working alongside international humanitarian organizations (Raji et al., 2021).

Peace and conflict scholars have long argued that the management of violent conflict cannot be separated from attention to its human consequences, particularly the wellbeing of those displaced by it. Galtung's (1969) foundational distinction between negative peace, the mere absence of direct violence, and positive peace, the presence of social justice and structural conditions that support human wellbeing, remains highly relevant to understanding the situation of IDPs in North East Nigeria, many of whom continue to experience deep insecurity, deprivation and psychological distress even where active fighting has subsided in their areas of origin. Lederach (1997) similarly emphasized that sustainable peace requires long-term investment in the social, psychological and relational dimensions of communities affected by conflict, not merely the cessation of hostilities. It is within this understanding of conflict management, one that extends beyond the battlefield to encompass the ongoing welfare of displaced populations, that the present study is situated.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which reached Nigeria in early 2020, added a further and largely unanticipated layer of hardship to the already precarious existence of IDPs in the North East. Public health measures such as lockdowns, restrictions on movement and the suspension of many in-person humanitarian and social support activities disrupted the informal networks of family and community support on which displaced persons had come to depend, while widespread anxiety about the virus itself compounded the psychological burden already carried by many camp residents (Ekoh et al., 2021). Comparative evidence from IDP populations elsewhere, such as Mumin et al.'s (2022) study of Somali IDP camps, similarly found that pandemic-related disruptions to livelihoods and movement had measurable negative effects on food security and mental health among displaced persons. It is against this background, the convergence of a protracted insurgency-driven displacement crisis with the additional shock of a global pandemic, that this study examines conflict management and the internally displaced persons phenomenon in North East Nigeria, with particular attention to the impact of COVID-19 on the social and family support available to IDPs and on their mental health-related lifestyle changes.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

While a considerable body of research has documented the scale of displacement caused by the Boko Haram insurgency and the general humanitarian challenges confronting IDPs in North East Nigeria, comparatively less attention has been paid to how an exogenous shock such as the COVID-19 pandemic specifically altered the social and family support structures on which displaced persons rely, or how it affected their mental health and daily lifestyles. IDPs, already stripped of much of their pre-displacement social capital, faced a further erosion of family and community support during the pandemic as movement restrictions curtailed visits, remittances and in-person community assistance, while camp overcrowding simultaneously heightened the risk of viral transmission and associated anxiety (Ekoh et al., 2021). Without a clear, evidence-based understanding of these dual and interacting shocks, insurgency-induced displacement compounded by pandemic-related disruption, conflict management actors, humanitarian agencies and policymakers are left with an incomplete picture on which to design appropriate psychosocial and family support interventions for the North East's displaced population. It is this gap that the present study seeks to address.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The main objective of the study is to examine conflict management and the internally displaced persons phenomenon, with reference to North East Nigeria. The following are the specific objectives of the study:

• Examine the impact of COVID-19 on the social and family support of IDPs.

• Examine the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health-related lifestyle changes of IDPs.

1.4 Research Questions

This study is guided by the following research questions:

• What is the nature of conflict management strategies employed in response to the internally displaced persons phenomenon in North East Nigeria?

• What impact did the COVID-19 pandemic have on the social and family support available to internally displaced persons in North East Nigeria?

• What impact did the COVID-19 pandemic have on the mental health-related lifestyle changes of internally displaced persons in North East Nigeria?

• What coping strategies did internally displaced persons adopt in response to the combined effects of displacement and the COVID-19 pandemic?

1.5 Significance of the Study

This study is significant to humanitarian agencies and government bodies such as NEMA, whose intervention strategies stand to benefit from a clearer, evidence-based understanding of how pandemic-type shocks interact with pre-existing displacement to affect the social, family and mental-health needs of IDPs. To policymakers, the study offers insight that can inform the design of more resilient, crisis-responsive support systems for displaced populations, ones capable of adapting to compounding emergencies rather than addressing displacement and public health crises as separate, unrelated concerns.

The study is also significant to the academic community, extending the existing literature on conflict, displacement and humanitarian response in North East Nigeria (Raji et al., 2021) into the relatively underexplored territory of pandemic-era impacts on IDP social support and mental health, drawing on and contributing to a growing comparative literature that includes work such as Ekoh et al. (2021) and Mumin et al. (2022). Finally, the study will serve as a useful reference for future researchers, students and humanitarian practitioners interested in the intersection of conflict management, forced displacement and public health emergencies.

1.6 Scope of the Study

This study is focused on internally displaced persons in North East Nigeria, the region most severely affected by the Boko Haram insurgency and the resultant displacement crisis. The scope of the study covers an examination of conflict management approaches employed in response to the IDP phenomenon in the region, with particular emphasis on the period of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on two specific dimensions of IDP wellbeing: social and family support, and mental health-related lifestyle changes. The study draws on the experiences of IDPs residing in camps and host communities within the region during the period under review.

1.7 Limitations of the Study

This study is subject to a number of constraints common to research conducted in conflict-affected and humanitarian settings. Access to IDP camps in North East Nigeria can be restricted by ongoing security concerns, official protocols and logistical difficulties, which may limit the breadth of data collection achievable within the time and resources available for this study. Additionally, because the study relies substantially on the self-reported experiences of IDPs regarding sensitive matters such as mental health and family circumstances, the data gathered may be subject to recall bias or reluctance to fully disclose distressing experiences. The retrospective examination of COVID-19-era impacts also means that some responses may be affected by the passage of time since the height of the pandemic. Notwithstanding these limitations, the study was designed to gather as reliable and representative a picture as possible within the given constraints.

1.8 Definition of Terms

Conflict Management: The range of strategies, institutions and interventions employed to contain, de-escalate, resolve or mitigate the consequences of violent conflict.

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs): Persons or groups of persons who have been forced to flee their homes as a result of armed conflict, violence, or disaster, but who remain within the borders of their own country.

Insurgency: An organized rebellion or uprising against a constituted government or authority, typically involving irregular armed forces.

Pandemic: An outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area, such as multiple countries or continents, and affects an exceptionally high proportion of the population.

Social Support: The perceived or actual assistance, comfort and resources provided to an individual by their social network, including family, friends and community members.

Mental Health-Related Lifestyle Changes: Alterations in an individual's daily habits, routines and behaviours that are associated with, or result from, psychological or emotional distress.

Humanitarian Response: The organized efforts of governmental and non-governmental actors to provide relief, protection and assistance to populations affected by conflict, disaster or other emergencies.

REFERENCES

Ekoh, P. C., Agbawodikeizu, P. U., George, E. O., Ezulike, C. D., & Okoye, U. O. (2021). More invisible and vulnerable: The impact of COVID-19 on older persons in displacement in Durumi IDP camp Abuja, Nigeria. Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 22(3-4), 135–146. https://doi.org/10.1108/QAOA-10-2020-0049

Galtung, J. (1969). Violence, peace, and peace research. Journal of Peace Research, 6(3), 167–191.

Lederach, J. P. (1997). Building peace: Sustainable reconciliation in divided societies. United States Institute of Peace Press.

Mumin, F. I., Wesonga, F. D., Handuleh, J. I. M., White, R. G., & Mor, S. M. (2022). COVID-19 and its prevention in internally displaced person (IDP) camps in Somalia: Impact on livelihood, food security and mental health. BMC Public Health, 22, 2379. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14878-z

Raji, S., Adekayaoja, F. A., Agaku, E. A., Akujobi, J., & Hamzat, A. A. (2021). North-eastern Nigeria: Assessing the response capacity of National Emergency Management Agency to the plights of internally displaced persons. Heliyon, 7(6), e07274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07274