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European Journal of Applied Sciences – Vol. 12, No. 2

Publication Date: April 25, 2024

DOI:10.14738/aivp.122.16793

Adekola, P. O., Akintuyi, O. B., & Adeyemi, G. (2024). Dimensions of Forceful Displacements in Nigeria: Is Administration of

Humanitarian Assistance Skewed towards those Displaced by Violent Conflicts? European Journal of Applied Sciences, Vol - 12(2).

279-288.

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

Dimensions of Forceful Displacements in Nigeria: Is

Administration of Humanitarian Assistance Skewed

towards those Displaced by Violent Conflicts?

Paul O. Adekola

ORCID: 0000-0002-2104-6548

Department of Population, Family & Reproductive Health, School of Public

Health, University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo City, Nigeria, Department

of Political Science & International Relations, School of Social Sciences, University

of Geneva, 1211, Geneva 4, Switzerland and Research Centre for Anthropology

and Health, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-370

Coimbra, Portugal

Olatubosun B. Akintuyi

Department of Cartography & GIS, Federal School of Surveying,

Oyo, Oyo State, Nigeria

Gideon Adeyemi

Department of Civil Engineering, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Forceful displacement in Nigeria is mainly caused by violent conflict, urban

renewal, climate change, and oil exploration, among others. However,

humanitarian assistance in its various dimensions from the government, non- governmental organizations (NGOs) and other donor agencies have been skewed

mostly towards those displaced by violent conflict. This position paper examines

the implications of this imbalance in access to humanitarian assistance particularly

among those displaced through urban renewal and oil exploration. Rather than

testing hypotheses, this article relies on a robust review of the literature to answer

research questions related to the differences and implications of humanitarian

assistance individuals displaced by gentrification and oil exploration receive as

compared to what individuals displaced by violence receive. Findings from

reviewed empirical articles show most assistance goes to those displaced by violent

conflict and that poverty, destruction of the means of livelihood, depression, child

marriage, unemployment and poor inter-spousal communication are some of the

direct and/or indirect implications of forced displacement through urban renewal

and oil exploration in Nigeria. We maintain a position that this partial and lopsided

response is counterproductive and recommend that government extend similar

gestures to those displaced through urban renewal and oil exploration to alleviate

deep poverty and other socio-economic effects found in the reviewed articles.

Keywords: Forced displacement, urban renewal, oil exploration, conflict, Nigeria

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European Journal of Applied Sciences (EJAS) Vol. 12, Issue 2, April-2024

INTRODUCTION

Countries with huge population explosion in their main cities and those which experience

violent conflicts regularly are known for massive forceful population displacements. Various

studies on causes and effects of forced displacement have been undertaken in Asia as well as in

Africa especially in countries like China, Congo DR, Ghana, Hong Kong, Nigeria, Thailand, the

Philippines and South Africa (Adekola, Azuh, Amoo, Brownell & Cirella, 2022; Adekola, Azuh,

Adeloye & Amoo, 2018; Adekola, Allen & Tinuola, 2017; Adoga, 2016; Oyefara & Alabi, 2016;

Lee, 2008). Forceful displacement (FD) can occur through some forms as depicted in Figure 1.

Displacement may be induced by natural disaster defined in the national policy on internally

displaced persons (IDPs) by the Federal Republic of Nigeria as displacements caused by natural

hazards (floods, volcanoes, landslides, earthquakes), environmental change (deforestation,

desertification, land degradation, global warming) and human-induced disasters (industrial

accidents, radioactivity) (Federal Republic of Nigeria [FGN], 2012). FD is mostly caused by

violent conflicts in fragile environments like what is currently happening on Russian invasion

of Ukraine (BBC News, 2022) and terrorism perpetuated by groups like Boko Haram in North- East Nigeria as depicted in Figure 1. Forced displacement has also occurred in southern Nigeria

through oil exploration in the oil-rich region.

Figure 1: Nigeria Map Showing Causes & Geographical Dimension of Displacements in Nigeria

Source: Authors, 2024

As economically productive as oil exploration has been to the region, it has also caused massive

forceful displacements in oil rich states like Delta, Edo, Rivers, Ebonyi and Bayelsa (Opukri &

Ibaba, 2008). There have also been forceful displacements across many states in Nigeria due to

urban renewal (Adekola, et al., 2018; Adekola, et al., 2017; Adoga, 2016). This kind is most