Arms Conflicts, Community Safety, Security and Reintegration Challenges in Madagali Local Government Areas of Adamawa State, Nigeria

The decision among human beings to change their places of residence has remained an age-long strategy of survival practiced for a very long time. However, the migratory activities associated with internal population displacement are often propelled by forced migration occasioned by natural or anthropogenic forces or a combination of both. The upsurge of internal population displacement in the Nigerian state is incontrovertible given the maniacal campaign of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-east region. The dilemma of internally displaced persons and the imperative management have proven a formidable challenge to the Nigerian state. The aim of this paper therefore is to ethically investigate whether the ineffective control of the Boko Haram insurgency by the state is implicated in the rising incidence of internally displaced persons and evident vulnerabilities. The study adopted qualitative research which relied heavily on the documentary method of data collection and, guided by the ‘Marxist theory of the post-colonial state’ as a theoretical underpinning. The findings of this paper showed that the ineffective control of Boko Haram insurgency by the state was implicated in the rising incidence of internal population displacement in the North-east. The paper critically observed that the state and its agencies like the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs), National Commission for Refugees, Migration and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE), Presidential Committee on the North-East Initiative (PCNI), among others have become the main instruments for the advancement of the interests of the dominant class. The study however recommends amongst other things that the state should ethically rethink its narrow strategy against Boko Haram insurgency through the adoption of a broader approach according to the dictates of Nigeria’s Countering Violent Extremism framework.

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are men, women, and children who are uprooted from their ancestral homes as victims of natural disaster or manmade occurrences for reasons often beyond their control and comprehension. The Boko-Haram insurgency in the North-East of Nigeria has caused over two million Nigerians to be internally displaced. The crisis has created management problems for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) due to paucity of funds. Secondary data and human needs theory were used for the analysis. The incessant use of improvised electronic devices has created a security lacuna in the IDPs camps, which have become targets for terrorists. The concomitant is confidence deficit between the IDPs and NEMA resulting in accusations of neglect and corruption. The chapter concludes that the failure to manage IDPs is tantamount to human rights abuse and security lapse.

Purpose –This paper aims to investigate the emergency preparedness and response to Ibadan 2011 Flood Disaster in Oyo State, Nigeria. This is with a view to derive recommendations for improving preparedness for emergency situations to reduce impact of disaster and providing prompt response to victims. Design/Methodology/Approach – Both qualitative and quantitative methods were utilised to collect the data analysed in this research. Key informant interviews were conducted using open ended questions with participants from National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Oyo State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and other stakeholders. The survey made use of questionnaires to collect primary data for the quantitative aspect. Triangulation of the data collected was done to enhance credibility. Findings- The respondents agreed that the flood disaster was caused by acts of man and nature. Also the affected community in Ibadan were not effectively informed to enable them prepare. for the flood disaster by the state emergency agencies due to financial constraints and ineffective communication system. Although the various emergency agencies within the state and the country fairly responded when the flood occurred, the disaster could not be managed due to lack of adequately trained personnel for response and rescue operation and inadequate equipment for rescue operation. Flood disaster can often cause short-term or long-term disruptions within the family which could change the lives of family members dramatically and negatively impact the family members’ wellbeing. Recommendations were suggested to the public and to the appropriate authorities. Originality value – This study established the gap in preparedness and poor response to disaster and provides recommendations. Flood affects and displaces more people than any other disaster either naturally induced or man-made in Nigeria. It also causes more damage to properties and disrupts businesses. Flood disaster has negative implications on the wellbeing of affected people in the community, society and on the nation as a whole. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n8p500

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are men, women, and children who are uprooted from their ancestral homes as victims of natural disaster or manmade occurrences for reasons often beyond their control and comprehension. The Boko-Haram insurgency in the North-East of Nigeria has caused over two million Nigerians to be internally displaced. The crisis has created management problems for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) due to paucity of funds. Secondary data and human needs theory were used for the analysis. The incessant use of improvised electronic devices has created a security lacuna in the IDPs camps, which have become targets for terrorists. The concomitant is confidence deficit between the IDPs and NEMA resulting in accusations of neglect and corruption. The chapter concludes that the failure to manage IDPs is tantamount to human rights abuse and security lapse.

The Fulani herdsmen migration from the northern region of the Nigeria to other regions like, the south-east had created a mix feeling among the people of the region because of the security implication of this migration, this practice sometimes lead to the grazing of their cattle on people’s farm lands and this in effect leads to the destruction of the farmers crops as well as attacking the farmers and the host community. This paper interrogated Herdsmen migration to South-East, its security implications and possible solution. Conflict Theory was adopted for the paper as its theoretical framework of analysis, while the method for data collection was anchored on secondary sources like; books, newspapers, journal articles, and internet source materials, among others. The reach findings on the reasons for the herdsmen migration to south-East implicated huge Economic loses and attacks from the Boko Haram insurgency on the herders, to avoid high tax payment on the cattle, to set their cattle free from being attacked by harmful insects, to be free from frequent droughts, desertification, rural banditry and cattle rustling, among others. These has given birth to series of attacks, killing, destruction of farmers crops, by the herdsmen against the rural farmers and the host communities in the south-east. Based on that, the paper suggests ranching as a solution, as it is a global best world practice. Moreover, cattle rearing are a private business. Thus, Government should institute adequate security outfit and Support Community based Conflict Resolution body in the region, among others.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to evaluate whether the media's disaster coverage reflects the messages disseminated by state emergency management agencies (SEMAs).Design/methodology/approachSEMAs were selected as the unit of analysis because the 2008 National Response Framework designates SEMAs with primary responsibility for managing disaster planning and coordinating the inter‐governmental response to disasters. Specifically, this study identifies ten disaster frames SEMAs use through a qualitative content analysis of all the media releases distributed by three SEMAs (n=303) during a two‐year time frame. It then evaluates whether the coverage reflects SEMA's frames through a quantitative content analysis of 1,088 newspaper articles.FindingsTaken as a whole, the research indicates that framing allows the media to efficiently tell disaster stories, but the media's disaster frames often are not ideal from the perspective of emergency managers. These frames also are affected by individuals and groups outside of the media as well as cultural and societal values.Originality/valueThe paper can help emergency managers identify which disaster frames are best suited for information subsidies (e.g. media releases) and which frames may be better suited for direct‐to‐the public dissemination (e.g. community meetings and public service announcements).

The plights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), including hunger, rape, insecurity, and death, have assumed a frightening dimension in North-eastern Nigeria with the sustained intervention of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to ameliorate their sufferings. This paper aimed to assess the response capacity of NEMA to the plights of the IDPs in North-eastern Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to examine the nature and dimensions of the plights of the IDPs in the Northeast, identify their coping strategies, and assess the impact of NEMA's response strategies on the burgeoning situation. The study used a qualitative survey research design, in which 166 key Informant Interviews (KII) were conducted. The primary designs were complemented by secondary data, which was derived from books, journal articles, and News tabloids. Data generated were descriptively analyzed. Major findings from the paper were that the Boko Haram insurgency was primarily responsible for the mass displacement of persons in North-eastern Nigeria. The IDPs are facing lots of challenges in the camps with weak coping strategies while the intervention of NEMA through the provision of relief materials, rehabilitation and resettlement programs, and linking of the displaced with family members have reduced the plights of the IDPs. However, the Agency currently has the minimal operational capacity to ameliorate the plights of the IDPs due to the protracted nature of the insurgency, legal restriction on the operational mandates of NEMA, corruption, and limited funding of the agency. The Study recommended improved funding of the Agency and enactment of IDP-specific constitutional roles for maximum impact of NEMA on the amelioration of the plights of the IDPs in North-Eastern Nigeria.

The study assessed the community’s resilience to flooding in the flood-prone areas of the Core Niger Delta, Nigeria. The study adopted the descriptive survey design. 790 respondents were selected using a multistage stratified sampling technique in Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers States. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in the analysis of data. Findings showed that the level of community’s resilience to floods in the core Niger Delta included distribution of relief materials by community flood control committee (61.9%); helping flood control committee to effectively use the equipment to detect early flood warning (56.5%), the response committee effectively measured and assessed the extent and risk after every flood incident (52.1%), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) or the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) engaging members of the community flood control committee on capacity building on ways of mitigating flood menace (51.7%); and community constructing flood barks, drainage, dam, etc. in order to control or manage flood incidents (51.1%). The study revealed that the frequency (F=2.661, p<.05) and magnitude (F=1.355, p<.05) of flood determined its intensity in communities in the study area. The study recommended among others that communities should set up an efficient and effective flood control committee in order to effectively tackle the impacts of flood menace, including the Ministry of Agriculture enhancing the knowledge of local farmers in using new and improved inputs and techniques (i.e. smart agriculture) for planting crops that can be harvested before the flooding.

<p>This research examines the responsibilities of and the interactions between the various research institutes, national agencies, regional groups, and local councils involved in monitoring, disseminating, and responding to official tsunami warnings in New Zealand. Specifically, the underlying issues within the separated structure of tsunami early warning and response in New Zealand is examined as to whether this enhances or restricts risk assessment.</p><p>In many countries, the same agency is responsible for both monitoring tsunami hazards and issuing tsunami warnings. However, in New Zealand, this process is split. GNS Science is the research institute responsible for monitoring tsunami hazards in New Zealand, if tsunami generation is confirmed GNS Science provides risk information to the nation’s official tsunami warning agency. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is the national agency responsible for issuing tsunami warnings in New Zealand. NEMA communicates national tsunami warnings to regional response groups as well as the public and media. The Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Groups are then responsible for coordinating regional tsunami evacuations, with New Zealand being split into 16 regional CDEM Groups. Within these regional groups, district and city councils can also tailor the evacuation information to communities at a local level.</p><p>Online social research methods were used to explore tsunami risk assessments in New Zealand. 106 documents and archives were collected and 57 semi-structured interviews conducted with tsunami researchers, warning specialists, and emergency managers. The majority of the interviewees were from New Zealand, with some participants also being recruited from Australia, the Pacific Islands, the UK, and the USA. This allowed for national, regional, and local responses in New Zealand to be compared to those in different countries to explore how warning systems operate in practice.</p><p>Key findings indicate that New Zealand having separate monitoring and warning agencies leads to the potential for error when passing information between organisations and delays can also be caused in disseminating official warnings. The warnings are communicated on a national scale, whilst the responses carried out vary between regions, having separate warning and evacuation agencies means there is a need for consistent messages and coordinated responses. GNS Science is capable of operating 24 hours per day, whereas NEMA and the CDEM Groups do not currently have this capacity. Again, this can cause delays in issuing and responding to official warnings. Variations in funding on a regional level also effect the number of staff and amount of resources in particular CDEM Groups.</p><p>These issues are underpinned by the ways in which knowledge is exchanged within the warning system and the lack of integration between national, regional, and local agencies. Tsunami researchers and warning specialists on a national level, and emergency managers on regional and local levels, must work together to effectively disseminate and respond to official tsunami warnings. This research concludes that the separated structure of tsunami early warning and response in New Zealand involves underlying issues which must be addressed in order to improve risk assessment.</p>

Nigeria is affected by several types of natural disasters, such as floods, landslides, drought, pest invasion, gully erosion, coastal erosion, soil erosion, and storms, among others. The National Emergency Relief Agency was established in 1976 by the federal government purely as a relief organization focusing only on post disaster management to coordinate its disaster response activities. It later became the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), delegated with the primary responsibility for coordinating federal emergency preparedness, planning, management, and disaster assistance functions in the country. NEMA also has been delegated with the responsibility for establishing a disaster assistance policy. In this stewardship role, NEMA has the lead in developing and maintaining the National Disaster Response Plan. There have been significant strides made in the effort to clearly define policies and institutions and promote collaboration with critical national agencies and stakeholders and related international organizations. As such, an institutional perspective of the natural hazard governance structure in Nigeria became critical. The evolution of natural hazard governance in Nigeria also highlights the coordination and types of disasters as policy triggers. There is a legal framework of disaster management that empowered NEMA as the coordinating agency for disaster management in Nigeria, especially in collaborating with offices such as the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, the Surveyor General of the Federation, the National Space Research and Development Agency, and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency in areas of flood vulnerability mapping as well as international organizations such as the World Bank, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and nongovernmental organizations. A review of the challenges in the implementation and management of policy and of the implementation of the natural hazard governance in Nigeria are critically important.

Nigeria has confronted a multitude of security challenges in recent years, including the Boko Haram insurgency, farmer-herder conflicts, and the rise of banditry, which have significantly impacted the country's population. These security threats have compelled large-scale internal displacement and migration, leading to complex social, economic, and political consequences. This study explores insecurity and migration patterns in Nigeria from 2019 to 2023. The study adopted the Integrated Theory of Forced Migration and data were sourced from secondary sources such as the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Displacement Tracking Matrix, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), and National Population Commission (NPC), International organizations' reports and databases, such as the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), International Organization for Migration (IOM), and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Academic research publications, policy briefs, and civil society organizations. The data collected were analyzed with content analysis and the findings revealed that, the far-reaching consequences of insecurity on migration patterns include increased Displacement. the disruption of livelihoods and economic activities, the strain on public services and infrastructure in host communities, and exposure to human trafficking and exploitation. Thus, the study concluded that addressing the underlying causes of insecurity, such as poverty, inequality, and ethnic/religious tensions, will be key to alleviating the humanitarian crisis and promoting long-lasting solutions for displaced populations.

Sexual and gender-based violence in camps for internally displaced people and host communities in northeast Nigeria: a mixed methods study

BackgroundDeaf and hard-of-hearing (Deaf/HH) individuals have been underserved before and during emergencies. This paper will assess Deaf/HH related emergency preparedness training needs for state emergency management agencies and deaf-serving community-based organizations (CBOs).MethodsFour approaches were used: 1) a literature review; 2) results from 50 key informant (KI) interviews from state and territorial-level emergency management and public health agencies; 3) results from 14 KI interviews with deaf-serving CBOs in the San Francisco Bay Area; and 4) a pilot program evaluation of an emergency responder training serving the Deaf/HH in one urban community.ResultsResults from literature review and state and territorial level KIs indicate that there is a substantive gap in emergency preparedness training on serving Deaf/HH provided by state agencies. In addition, local KI interviews with 14 deaf-serving CBOs found gaps in training within deaf-serving CBOs. These gaps have implications for preparing for and responding to all-hazards emergencies including weather-related or earthquake-related natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and nuclear-chemical disasters.ConclusionEmergency preparedness trainings specific to responding to or promoting preparedness of the Deaf/HH is rare, even for state agency personnel, and frequently lack standardization, evaluation, or institutionalization in emergency management infrastructure. This has significant policy and research implications. Similarly, CBOs are not adequately trained to serve the needs of their constituents.

The environment for communicating about emergencies and disasters has changed as a result of the development of mobile technologies and social media applications. The public expects emergency management agencies to monitor, respond to, and report disasters via mobile applications due to this shift. This study, using the retrospective approach, analyzes the posts by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on social media in Nigeria. Activities reported via the agency's verified social media handles (Facebook®) between 2015 and 2021 serve as the data source. Findings revealed that social media is a useful tool in disaster management, as disaster-related activities and events across the management cycle were posted by NEMA's national and zonal offices. Most posts (45.0 percent) focused on response activities, while the recovery phase (2.0 percent) had the least posts. There was a significant variation in the reporting across the disaster management cycle (F(4,30) = 9.746). Attention should be placed on shifting NEMA from post-disaster activities to a predisaster-focused agency. Therefore, the agency should develop a social media policy and train its information officers to use the medium to engage actively with the public, especially regarding information on predisaster management activities.

Climate change produces adverse effects on a nation's advancement by undermining biodiversity. Nations must work towards the Sustainable Development Goals. This empirical study addresses issues relating to the attainment of SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 15 (Life on Land). The research evaluates the effectiveness of current control strategies in addressing climaterelated threats, with emphasis on flood control initiatives and land use planning for flood mitigation and land degradation control. Survey methodology was utilised: 158 residents were randomly selected from Lokoja, Kogi State, Nigeria. Data was collected using a closed-ended questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale ranging from agree to disagree. The study employed SPSS for data analysis, encompassing descriptive and regression analysis. The cumulative Cronbach's alpha result was 0.717, signifying that the research instrument was appropriate for the study. Upon analysis, the study revealed that flood control initiatives do not have a statistically significant effect on flood mitigation because a significant value of 0.103 was obtained, which is lower than the 0.05 threshold. Similarly, the results indicated that the current land use planning practices do not significantly affect land degradation control, as the p-value of 0.193 is below the stated threshold of 0.05. The study's lack of statistical significance emphasises the need to monitor and evaluate the ineffectiveness of the existing flood control and land use strategies. It calls on the attention of key environmental agencies at the federal, state, and local levels, like the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Kogi State Emergency Management Agency (KOSEMA), the Kogi State Ministry of Environment (MOE), the Ministry of Lands and Urban Development and the Kogi State Geographic Information System Agency (KOGISA) amongst others.