Development Effects of Humanitarian Crisis and Rural Banditry: A Focus on Southern Kaduna

Humphrey Nchom

doi:10.7176/jesd/11-20-06

Abstract

The complexity of sectarian conflicts in the North West geopolitical zone of Nigeria has sparked renewed interest on its economic, social and political implications. In view of the unending controversies surrounding the complex history of violent conflicts, this paper examines the development effects of humanitarian uprising and rural banditry in Southern Kaduna. The paper adopted a survey research design and utilized a well-structured questionnaire to elicit data from 125 respondents in five local government areas in Southern Kaduna. Combinations of descriptive and inferential statistics in addition to logit regression estimation formed basis for the data analysis. The findings reveal that that high incidence of cattle rustling and village raids increase the odd of poverty in Southern Kaduna. Similarly, it was observed that with high incidence of kidnapping in the study area, the likelihood of poverty increases. Additionally, the findings reveal that high incidence of cattle rustling increases the likelihood of unemployment. The result further reveals that high incidence of village raids increases the odd of unemployment in the study area. The implication of these findings is that the incidence and escalation of cattle rustling and village raids increase socio-economic deprivation with rising levels of poverty and unemployment. It is therefore, reasonable to conclude that the myriad of sectarian conflicts poses a threat to the development of Southern Kaduna and government has failed to adopt appropriate and workable civilian protection strategy in addressing the increasing wave of humanitarian uprising and rural banditry in the affected areas. Owing to the findings, it is recommended amongst others that relevant stakeholders such as government, religious leaders, traditional rulers, community leaders and development partners should build and sustain inter-religious engagement and dialogue as a pathway to sustainable peaceful co-existence and economic prosperity in Southern Kaduna. Keywords: Sectarian conflicts, humanitarian crisis, rural banditry, cattle rustling, village raids, poverty and unemployment DOI: 10.7176/JESD/11-20-06 Publication date: October 31 st 2020

Highlights

In recent time, the North West geopolitical zone in Nigeria has remained the epicenter of sectarian conflicts
The humanitarian crisis and rural banditry have further added to the increased wave of civil unrest in Southern Kaduna
The sectarian conflicts which define humanitarian crisis and rural banditry as identified by this paper are in the forms of cattle rustling, village raids, highway robbery and kidnapping

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The North West geopolitical zone in Nigeria has remained the epicenter of sectarian conflicts. Like other states in the North West region, Kaduna State has continued to witness an unending civil unrest in the forms of rural banditry, humanitarian crisis and other forms of ethno-religious conflicts. In addition to the vulnerability of the rural economy to incidences of conflicts, inadequacy and ineffectiveness of government security apparatus in most rural communities in Southern Kaduna and other parts of North West zone define the absence of a capable guardian which increases the escalation of crime in the region. Conflicts have remained a routine activity in Southern Kaduna following the growing motivation to commit, the increasing availability of target objects and poor guardianship on the parts of government and security agencies. The sample size for this study is 125 respondents

Model Specification

Demographic Information of the Respondents

Nature and Causes of Humanitarian Crisis and Rural Banditry

Conclusion and Recommendations