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

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.