INTRODUCTION

1.0         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, north-east 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 Igbo ethnic 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

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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.

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1.1         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.

1.2         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?

1.3         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:

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

ii.           &nb