IMPACT OF BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY ON FOOD SECURITY IN NORTHEAST NIGERIA

Nicholas Rogers Ibe , Andrew E. zamani, PhD and Evelyn Nicholas
Volume 5 Issue 2

Abstract

This paper critically examines the impact of Boko Haram insurgency on food security in Northeast Nigeria, with a focus on Borno and Yobe States between 2013 and 2022. The study investigates the drivers of radicalization, the trajectory of food scarcity, and the insurgency’s disruption of the four dimensions of food security – availability, accessibility, utilization, and stability. Drawing on Human Security Theory and Rational Choice Theory, the research integrates a mixed-methods approach comprising inferential statistical analysis of secondary datasets (FAO, WFP, NBS) and primary quantitative data from survey questionnaires as well as qualitative data from structured interviews and FGDs. Findings reveal that socio-economic inequality and educational deprivation are significant predictors of radicalization, while displacement and infrastructural destruction are key drivers of food scarcity. The insurgency has profoundly undermined food availability, with cascading effects on access, nutrition, and long-term system stability. Notably, Yobe State exhibited more severe vulnerabilities than Borno, challenging uniform policy assumptions. On the premise of its findings, the study concludes that insurgency-driven food insecurity is both a consequence and perpetuator of structural fragility. The study thus proposed several policy recommendations such as implement conflict-sensitive socio-economic programs targeting youth empowerment and educational reform; establishment of secure, climate-resilient agricultural zones supported by local governance structures; and the expansion of community-based food distribution systems with infrastructural rehabilitation to restore access. These interventions are essential to breaking the cyclical nexus between conflict, radicalization, and food insecurity in conflict-affected regions. Keywords: Boko Haram insurgency, food security, radicalization, Human Security Theory, Northeast Nigeria, socio-economic inequality.

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