ABSTRACT
Over 2.1 million persons have been displaced while 7 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Northeast Nigeria. This unprecedented scale of internal displacement has led to the creation of international frameworks for the protection of IDPs, and for the regulation of responses to IDPs crises. Therefore, this chapter examines resilience and livelihood strategies among IDPs in Northeast Nigeria. This chapter argues that internal displacement in Northeast Nigeria and conflict have a causal link. The chapter reveals that the Boko Haram conflict has impacted negatively on livelihood, food security, and human security in the Northeast; and that the IDPs remain arguably the leading agents of their own change, as demonstrated by their resilience and struggles to re-establish sustainable livelihoods. The chapter suggests that the federal government should develop the capacities of urban systems, by building their absorptive capacities to cope with large number of persons; address the underlying factors that fester discontent amongst the youth, which drive them towards violence; and that the government and international aid agencies should strengthen the incorporation of resilience strategies in intervention programs and projects.
