“We have a humanitarian crisis which is disregarded by International communities and in which nobody takes an interest, if it wasn’t for the role of Boko Haram.”
The humanitarian crisis in Nigeria is one that does not have a clear start date. Prior to the rise of Boko Haram, a militant Islamist group, UN agencies in Nigeria were focused on long term developmental programs affecting health, agriculture, and infrastructure. For years, the international community has attempted to rally among providing aid. However, it is clear now that the response to the crisis was slow and out of touch of the needs of the people (McIlreavy & Schopp).
Violence in northern Nigeria has flared up here and there for the past 30 years. Much of this violence can be attributed to Boko Haram, which is translated to “Western education is sin” and aims to establish a fully Islamic state in Nigeria, (Burt). This group has adopted target assassinations, suicide bombings, and hostage takings as their methods of violence and terror on the nation (Burt). The Nigerian government is not strong and equipped enough to take down this group and it is unable to protect civilians from organized killings. Over the past few years, Boko Haram has extended its influence beyond the country’s borders, leading to a severe refugee crisis. Prior to and after the election of their new President in 2015, the Nigerian government seemed adamant about not recognizing the severity of the refugee crisis on their hands, (McIlreavy & Schopp). Their objective was to eradicate Boko Haram from the north-east, and was promised in the campaign of the new president, but the capacity and services of the government were overwhelmed which was largely due to a lack of funding and reluctance to partner with humanitarian organizations. They believed that help was not needed and were suspicious of international NGOs, (McIlreavy & Schopp).
The NGO sector and the UN were slow at building a humanitarian aid capacity in the country. Like the government, the severity of the situation was severely understated. Well into 2014, the UN did not react to the inaction of the Nigerian government or other key players, which only extended the problem. As a society, we do have the responsibility to protect and are charged with protecting populations from genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity (SOC376: 2/18). What the UN should have been doing was signaling this crisis to donors, embassies, and national and international partners, (McIlreavy & Schopp). Its inaction is one of the many factors contributing to this crisis.
“Thousands of displaced people are received in refugee camps, of which most lack basic necessities: no water, no sanitary services” (Notari).
The humanitarian crisis in Nigeria has taken many forms. As stated in the quote above, civilians have endured the brunt of this crisis. An estimated 1.7 million people remain internally displaced, especially in areas in which humanitarian aid cannot reach them due to the attacks from Boko Haram, (Naili). Many people have fled to neighboring countries including Cameroon, Niger, and Chad. The ongoing internal crises including minimal access to food, water, and health care has only made the possibility of return more difficult, (Naili). There have been projects implemented to facilitate returns, but this is still one of the most severe crises in the world. The media has largely over looked this crisis. The #BringBackOurGirls campaign back in 2014 received did receive spotlight, but the “girls who remain in captivity is a minuscule representation of the millions of Nigerians who now face starvation across the north-east as a result of Boko Haram violence, (Kingsley).
There have been many key INGOs who have responded to the crisis including CARE, IRC, and ECHO. NGOs like ACTED are assisting the vulnerable people of Nigeria by distributing food and water and by providing health and protection services with the support of UNHCR. ACTED teams are at the heart of the crisis and witness the crises and struggling people on a daily basis, (“The Nigerian Refugee Crisis).
I can’t help but read about this and think back to the Kony 2012 video that went viral. For some time, people rallied around the cause and demanded justice. However, like most news stories do, this story came and went and people moved on. The #BringBackOurGirls campaign back in 2014 is no different. People saw it, reacted, demanded justice, and then moved onto the next news topic. Like the above quote stated, it is a minuscule reflection of the greater problem taking place that doesn’t get media attention as it should. As Teju Cole explained, what Africa needs more than Kony’s indictment is “more equitable civil society, more robust democracy, and a fairer system of justice,” (Cole).
This video discusses the thousands of people who are trying to return to Nigeria after attempting to flee to Europe.
“The Nigerian Refugee Crisis.” Relief Web, 1 June 2015, reliefweb.int/report/niger/nigerian-refugee-crisis.
Burt, Brianna. “The Crisis in Nigeria.” Responsibility to Protect, www.responsibilitytoprotect.org/index.php/crises/crisis-in-nigeria.
Cole, Teju. “The White-Savior Industrial Complex.” The Atlantic, 21 Mar. 2012.
Kingsley, Patrick. “The Small African Region with More Refugees than All of Europe.” The Guardian, 26 Nov. 2016, www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/26/boko-haram-nigeria-famine-hunger-displacement-refugees-climate-change-lake-chad.
McIlreavy, Patricia, and Julien Schopp. “A Collective Shame: the Response to the Humanitarian Crisis in North-Eastern Nigeria.” Humanitarian Practice Network, Oct. 2017, odihpn.org/magazine/a-collective-shame-the-response-to-the-humanitarian-crisis-in-north-eastern-nigeria/.
Naili, Hajer. “What You Should Know about the Humanitarian Crisis in North-East Nigeria.” Norwegian Refugee Council, 21 June 2018, www.nrc.no/news/2018/june/what-you-should-know-about-the-humanitarian-crisis-in-north-east-nigeria/.
Notari, Ambra. “The Humanitarian Crisis in Nigeria.” Cooperazione Internazionale, 25 July 2016, www.coopi.org/en/the-humanitarian-crisis-in-nigeria-2682.html.
5 Comments
This situation is particuarly interesting to me, mostly because of how it has developed. As we heard about in Honduras, such intense violence and lack of structure can quickly send a society into turmoil. But differently here, than in Honduras, there has been government involvement and response of humanitarian groups. So I wonder what difference it is making, if any, for them to be “helping”. Would the Nigerian community be so much worse off without aid, or is it not actually helping at all and perhaps should be replaced with something else?
I had no idea that the crisis and violence in Nigeria has been going on for so long. It was interesting reading about Boko Haram as I did not know much about this group. It is crazy how much influence and damage that they have managed to have. I also cannot believe that 1.7 million people are displaced still from these attacks. I think it is a good point that the media have overlooked this crisis, as I barely knew anything about it and it sounds like it has been very severe for a long time.
The situation in Nigeria is one that me and my friends have been watching for a long time. We were always outraged that even the #stopKony hashtag was made into a group. We often place value on people’s lives and often times African lives as a whole are left on the back burner. It shouldn’t take a social media campaign for people to pay attention to the atrocities happening in Nigeria right now but if that’s what it takes for aid workers to finally go and help in a productive manner that perhaps that is what we need.
It is upsetting that the violence due to Boko Haram was occurring for a while, and the government was unable to protect its civilians, but furthermore that the UN did not take a stance on the issue. Although it was an underrated situation, we should have still put in an effort to find the stem of the problem, and build alliances to help better the living situations of the civilians. This shows that one person cannot change the world, and people (countries and organizations) must work together to progress. It is crucial that organizations continue to put effort into this long lasting instability, and reach as many affect people as they can, while planning and taking action with resolving order in the country.
Wow, I never knew how long this crisis has been going on and how little the international community has done before 2014 to remedy it. I remember the #BringBackOurGirls movement from several years ago and heard the Boko Haram mentioned then, but I didn’t realize what a small percentage of the crisis this represented nor did I know anything about the mission/meaning of the name of the Boko Haram. In addition, the movement was so short lived in the US media when it has been and is still going on for so much longer. After watching the video, I am heartbroken for families who just want to give their kids a better life but are unable to do so because of the incredibly high unemployment rate and the difficulties with migration to Europe. It is clear that the Nigerian government, and the whole world, have failed the people of Nigeria during this time.