Banditry and its implications on Food Security in Northwest, Nigeria: A Reflection on the Roles of the State

Abstract

The major threat to the realization of poverty eradication and food security through adequate domestic food production in Nigeria today is insecurity. Farmers/herdsmen conflict and operation of the bandits in the rural communities have negatively affected the livelihood of millions of rural dwellers whose activities is to cater for immediate family needs. It is on this note that the paper reflects on the efforts of Nigerian State to manage the insecurity problem for sustainable food production and reducing hunger and poverty. To achieve the paper objective the secondary source of data was employed to serve as means of analysis. By examining and analyzing the data, this paper contends that the Nigeria state is not well coordinated in their approaches to curtail security problems instigated by bandits and farmers-herders violence. The criminals took advantage of uncoordinated response of the government to establish themselves and constitute security threats to rural communities across the country. The rural dwellers that are used to the system of producing food for family survival year-in-year-out were either kidnapped or displaced or killed by non state actors. This invariably reduced food production and increase level of poverty and hunger. The paper thus, concludes that if the current security situation is not properly addressed, it will hinder the chance of achieving SDGs, most especially hunger and poverty in Nigeria. The paper recommends among others that the government should be consistent in their approach to security problems and recognized the right of the victims.