When climate change and conflict collide: the need for localisation amid Nigeria’s protracted crises

Internal displacement in Nigeria is increasing due to a multitude of complex and often overlapping causes, including insurgency, intercommunal conflict over scarce resources, and devastating climate disasters.

This article is authored by a representative of Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW), in conjunction with its Nigerian partners, who are humanitarian practitioners and first-level responders serving their communities. The Intercommunity Development Social Organisation (IDS) and the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) have been engaged in IRW’s Strengthening Response Capacity and Institutional Development for Excellence (STRIDE) programme, where IRW has been supporting the capacity enhancement of both organisations’ financial systems and human resource management, among other self-identified areas.

This collaborative piece brings forth local actors’ perspectives to paint the complex and challenging picture of the realities on the ground, and to make the case for greater localisation as a key part of the solution.

Floods in the south

It has been more than a year since the devastating floods in Nigeria that affected around 2.8 million people across the country, according to the NRCS. A record 1.4 million people were displaced as floods engulfed large areas of farmland across the country, and ‘70,566 hectares of farmland’ were ‘completely destroyed’, while 89,348 homes were partially or fully destroyed.

A year on, we travelled to the Niger State with the NRCS and spoke to members from two flood-affected communities, the Jijiwa and Gussoro, who were some of the rights holders of the IRW-sponsored Cash Voucher Assistance programme with NRCS.

We held a focus group discussion with four men (aged 35 to 47) and four women (aged 19 to 42) to listen to their experiences. The affected communities were farmers and fisherfolk, who relied on their farm lands for food and income. They told us how they went from being self-sufficient to completely deprived and dependent as a result of the flooding.

Resettled in a primary school in Paiko, living in tents, the men and women that we spoke to were unanimous in their decision to not return to their homes, even if the homes were completely restored. When asked why they felt so strongly about not going back, one of the women narrated how over the years she has observed changes in the environment that scare her: ‘We saw that the water kept rising and erasing farm boundaries over time.’ She raised her hands and pushed the index fingers together as she explained, ‘Every year we saw people’s farms joining together.’

She also said that ‘with frequent flooding, the temperatures also kept getting lower every year’ and that the 2022 floods were so much bigger than what they had experienced before, and these changes scared them. Another woman asked, ‘What if the situation repeats itself?’

Conflict in the north

While people in the southern parts of the country are abandoning their homes due to extreme climate-induced events, those in the north of Nigeria face displacement due to human-induced conflicts.

Nigeria has sadly been marked by a complex interplay of conflicts, creating significant challenges for its people. Internal conflicts, exacerbated by factors such as religious tensions, ethnic divisions and economic disparities, have led to widespread displacement of communities, tearing apart the social fabric of the nation.

The conflicts in the northeastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa have triggered a severe humanitarian crisis, displacing millions of people from their homes. Families have been torn apart, livelihoods shattered and communities uprooted, leaving a trail of human suffering in their wake. These expelled populations often have inadequate access to food, clean water, healthcare and education, amplifying the urgency of addressing this crisis comprehensively.

We interviewed a chief imam in Kaga, a local government area in Borno State, where IDS implements food assistance for vulnerable communities. He talked about his community’s reliance on farming and the population’s restricted access to farmland due to the prolonged ongoing conflict. He also spoke about the influence of the military, where ‘trenches dug up to serve as a deterrent, or barricades meant to mark areas of safety for all community members, at the same time limit the function of available land for farming’. The military has also placed restrictions on the type of crops communities can cultivate, limiting people’s access to a wider variety of staple foods. He added that the flash flooding in 2022 damaged farmlands, leading to a more devastating food crisis in the region.

Conflict meets climate

We wanted to hear from community leaders and government officials on how they believed climate change affected communities in conflict.

We spoke with Local Government Council Chairman Hon. Mustapha Bukar Daima, who said that climate change has been a leading cause of loss of livelihoods, food insecurity and health issues in Nigeria. He added that shortages of food, resources and unemployment were a leading cause of increased political insecurity and thuggery. He emphasised how climate change is deeply connected to conflict, saying, ‘Climate change is one of the reasons we have the Boko Haram crisis, as it is deeply rooted in ideologies over resources.’

He talked about increased and repeated displacements of people due to climate change, giving an example from the Bama local government area, where people who were already living in displacement camps had to relocate from their temporary shelters in 2023 due to heavy downpours. Daima said, ‘These conditions have further created challenges to the population as they are prone to several diseases like cholera, typhoid fever, malaria fever, and increased instances of gender-based violence as well.’

We also interviewed Yagana Ali Abadam, Director Admin. of the State Emergency Management Agency, who spoke about the country’s increased displacement and forced migration. He said climate change has been a significant cause of migration within Nigeria, where people have moved in search of better opportunities. He spoke of Lake Chad, saying, ‘The lake has been shrinking and causing communities to move away as they depended on it for their livelihoods. Prolonged drought has also driven farmers from their lands, contributing to displacement problems.’

The protracted and complex nature of conflict

Nigeria is not only one of the most vulnerable countries to be impacted by climate change, it also has a very low level of adaptation and readiness. As reiterated by local actors, climate change and conflict continue to impact the country’s development significantly. With Lake Chad having lost 90% of its surface water area, the fishing, farming, and herding sectors experienced adverse effects due to the lake’s receding. Decreasing agricultural land productivity has been one of Nigeria’s significant causes of changing conflict dynamics, as real incomes decreased and resource competition intensified, prompting households to likely migrate to other regions.

We spoke to Hajiya Zainab Suleman Saidu, Head of Operation in Kwara and Niger, and Hassan Adamu Suleiman, Chief Disaster Management Officer at the National Emergency Management Agency, on the changing dynamics of conflict. They highlighted the growing conflict between farmers and herders in the country:

‘Farmer–herder clashes have been increasing exponentially as productive land continues to diminish. The current scenarios in Nigeria are leading to farmer–herder conflict which in turn has led to migration of people who have lost their homes as a result.’

The scarcity of rainfall in the north compels farmers to migrate southward, where rainfall is comparatively higher. Excessive rain in the south leads to floods, displacing members of numerous communities. These circumstances result in a shortage of land for both farmers and herders, escalating conflicts and causing the migration of people who have lost their homes due to the strife.

The human cost of farmer–herder violence has been immense, surpassing even the toll of the Boko Haram insurgency. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives or have been forced to flee their homes. Additionally, Nigeria has witnessed a rise in ethnic, regional and religious divisions due to these conflicts. Compounding these issues, the northern regions are expected to experience even more frequent droughts and desertification, while the rest of the country will face rising flooding. These changes will severely affect agricultural output, which is already insufficient to meet the country’s food demands. This crisis has eroded national stability and unity.

The need for localisation

The need for localisation efforts in the country is crucial; it is vital in aiding Nigerians’ response to disasters, and is a powerful strategy to address climate breakdown and develop a resilient local economy. Local actors in Nigeria often require significant support from national and international agencies to garner and enhance their capacity and capabilities to respond effectively to large-scale conflicts and promote sustainable development practices.

We asked government representatives about the importance of local actors and community engagement in the decision-making process for humanitarian and development initiatives, and the responses supported the need for a deeper understanding of community strengths and leveraging community knowledge. One respondent said that:

‘Local engagement is equally as important as planning and securing the funding for interventions. Communities help us understand the needs of the population for which the assistance is meant.’

Successful interventions necessitate more than just planning and funding – they rely on active local engagement. Communities play a pivotal role in clarifying the needs of the population receiving assistance, promoting accountability and transparency. This involvement assists stakeholders and decision-makers in making well-informed decisions, improves the visibility and understanding of issues, and empowers communities to shape decisions affecting them. As we heard in the discussion, ‘this results in social transformation and advocacy, serving as a voice rooted in tradition’.

When donors and civil society fail to include local communities in decision-making and planning processes, they impede the establishment of meaningful connections, hinder community empowerment, and limit the effectiveness and sustainability of development and humanitarian projects. This was a shared view from all community leaders and members we interviewed.

While donors and international organisations increasingly realise the importance of local engagement and work to overcome barriers for more inclusive and participatory approaches, lack of awareness regarding the depth of local knowledge, power imbalances, communication barriers, time and resource constraints, assumptions of external expertise, and bureaucratic processes are some of the challenges that limit community engagement.

Building a sustainable future

A substantial portion of the anticipated global economic growth is expected to occur in Global South countries. Nigeria has the potential to participate in this growth, provided that climate change impacts and human-induced conflicts do not erode potential gains. Adhering to a ‘business as usual’ approach within the current globally distressed economy, which divorces environmental considerations from economic decisions, poses the risk of devolving into a social and economic crisis.

Localisation holds immense significance for Nigeria within the context of climate breakdown. Several factors have hindered local-actor engagement in responding effectively to climate-induced and human-induced conflicts in Nigeria. These challenges include limitations due to a lack of:

• adequate financial resources
• infrastructure to address mass-scale and complex conflicts effectively
• specialised training and expertise to manage the protracted crisis, exacerbated due to climate change.

Other challenges include the security risk to local actors in conflict zones, which prevents them from operating and assisting affected communities. Political instability also hinders the autonomy and effectiveness of local actors in responding to conflicts.

Addressing these multilayered challenges requires coordinated and multifaceted strategies with increased support, training, resources, and collaboration between local actors, government bodies and international organisations. Empowering local actors with the necessary tools and resources is crucial to enhancing their capacity to respond to these complex challenges and conflicts.

Involving communities in decision-making processes not only empowers them but also fosters a sense of ownership over initiatives, contributing to increased project sustainability and effectiveness. Furthermore, localisation allows for identifying and implementing culturally and contextually appropriate climate adaptation strategies, harmonising traditional knowledge with standard approaches.

In Nigeria, as elsewhere, faith actors could be engaged to mobilise communities for action. This could mirror the example of faith leaders using their influence and religious messaging to help curb the Ebola epidemic in some parts of West Africa in 2014–2015. Faith actors are often left out by international organisations and national governments in the planning of development and emergency programmes, but recognising their role in communities and their engagement can be a means of sensitising and mobilising communities in Nigeria for climate action and promoting social cohesion.

As the primary witnesses to climate-related changes, communities play a pivotal role in establishing early-warning systems, and enhancing preparedness for extreme weather events. Through its STRIDE programme, IRW has first-hand experience of the impact of localisation. The capacity enhancement of local partners through grants for system strengthening and leadership trainings, and direct funding for disaster response (following localised approaches) enhanced efficiency and ownership. A great example is the timely and effective humanitarian response to the Nigerian floods in 2022, where IRW quickly disbursed funds to local partners to implement a community-identified plan of providing unconditional Cash Voucher Assistance to displaced flood-affected communities.

Through efficient resource allocation and addressing pressing needs, localisation maximises the impact of humanitarian and development efforts. This approach also aids in conflict prevention by tackling underlying issues related to resource scarcity. Moreover, a localised system ensures cultural sensitivity in project design and implementation, respecting local customs and traditions. In essence, localisation is a comprehensive and community-driven strategy for effectively addressing the multifaceted challenges of the protracted crisis in Nigeria.

Zahra Khan Durrani is Humanitarian Learning and Research Coordinator at Islamic Relief Worldwide.

Meshach Dauda Bwala is Associate Program Manager at the Intercommunity Development Social Organisation.

Sani Muhammed Ibrahim is Programme Monitoring Evaluation and Reporting Coordinator at the Nigerian Red Cross Society.