Impact of militancy on human security in Niger delta: Evidence from food and environmental security

Abstract

The inability to maximise the potential of nature in the Niger Delta; air pollution, unsafe drinking water, low yield of crops due to endless oil spillage and a threatened aquatic system mostly occasioned by the menace of Niger Delta militancy constitute threats to threats, fear and lack to individual wellbeing in the Delta region and this negates the narrative of human security. It is against this background, that this study leverages on relative deprivation theory to investigate the impact of food and environmental security on human security Niger Delta, Nigeria. The study measured human security with food security and environmental security. The study adopted descriptive survey research design and primary data were collected with the aid of questionnaire designed in a four Likert scale manner to extract information from purposively selected flashpoints of militancy in the Niger Delta region, Nigeria. The population of the study is 5,378,500. This study engages Krejcie and Morgan’s (1970) scientific sampling technique determination which recommends a sample size of 384 for a population above a million. Ordinary least square regression analysis was employed to analyse the data. The study revealed that food and environmental security have negative significant impact on human security in the Niger Delta region, Nigeria. Based on these findings, the study concludes that a threatened food and environmental security predict human insecurity in Niger Delta, Nigeria. If food security and environmental security is assured and improved, then human security will be on a strong footing in the volatile region of Niger Delta. The study recommends that Federal and State Government should spend more on these critical platforms that explains human security by focusing on good governance as against militarization of the Niger Delta region.