By
EKANEM JOAN

When discussions about Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) arise, attention often turns to numbers and relief packages. Yet behind every statistic is a family that has lost a home, a child whose education has been disrupted, and a community torn apart by conflict. While compensation may replace damaged structures, it cannot restore the memories, dignity, and sense of belonging that displacement takes away.

Recompensation does not make it fine; How do you compensate a child staring at the fire and iron as it takes their lands, while uniforms hang up in a room? How do you price the memory of a mother who once called these lands home. She cuddled her children and the savoury flavour of meals each smiles on her family’s faces, or, the men who spent decades building a life, a family, a shelter, only to watch unconventional disasters take it away. The youths! With their lives sketched on a rough map, all gone – indefinitely. IDPs are just victims of a conflict or a humanitarian crisis waiting to be part of a scheme but humans with lives.

Nigeria is transitioning into durable solutions and we must remind the policy makers that a house is not merely a structure to be replaced but a sanctuary that has been entirely erased, some are memories. These compensations do not weigh the emotional fabric of what has been torn away. At first, it was a crisis to put an end to but then the plan changed, by the end of year 2023, statistics recorded by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to about 1.1 million IDPs (approximately 1,134,828 persons) with 50.3% below 18 years old and 49.7% above 18 years old. The same year saw 81.2% Boko Haram insurgency, 1.6% banditry and 16.2% herder clashes. This crisis was most prominent in the North-West region. The issue was worsening, leading to a humanitarian disaster and as the years grew the IDP numbers rose to 3.5 million persons.

This rise in persons is alarming. An increase of 2.4 million estimated is not fine. Compensation is not enough! as the number of internally displaced persons increased the government shifted its focus from protection and curbing the disaster to putting infrastructure in place. These infrastructures included the 2025 financial injection and the African Union Convention for Protection and Assistance of IDPs into law to provide food and shelter (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). The policy makers have decided to place these infrastructures but numbers alone cannot capture the true weight of internal displacement. Statistics do not feel hunger, do not grieve the sudden loss of an ancestral home, and do not carry the psychological weight of an uncertain tomorrow.

The last IDP count done in 2026 by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees shows total displaced persons as over 3.7 million. The causes still remain armed insurgency, farmer-herder conflicts, banditry and climate change across the affected regions including the North-East, Middle Belt and North-West (Borno, Zamfara, Sokoto and Benue).
87% of the IDPs live below the international poverty line and 60% face high levels of food insecurity, close to decades of displacement leads to limited access to healthcare and schooling. How do we fight a problem without digging out its roots. Across Nigeria millions of Nigerians have lost their land, homes and monuments of memories because of armed conflicts, terrorism, communal clashes, flooding and other disasters.
This does not end in loss of structures but lives too. Imagine a mother who carried a child for 9 months – nurtured and bred, that child wasted! or a father who struggled to give a child all that is needed to watch his own flesh and blood lay on the floor, lifeless.

Displacement hits the most vulnerable demographics hardest. Children are exposed to interrupted education and emotional distress or what about gender-based violence? The uncertainty and emotional weight of being displaced in your own country, your own land.

The Government must address the security gap. There must be increased, professionalized, and transparent security presence in vulnerable regions to prevent the “unconventional disasters” that turn citizens into refugees in their own country. Banditry and herder-farmer clashes are often hyper-local. Success requires empowering local traditional leaders, civil society, and grassroots peace committees to mediate disputes before they escalate into armed conflict.

As the policy makes provision for emergency food, clean water and canvas tents. Yet we know that the deepest wounds of displacement are ones that don’t bleed. Displacement is not just a change of address; it is a sudden, violent fracturing of life, identity and dignity. It is the theft of a person’s yesterday and the total blinding of their tomorrow. The approach is shifting from short term “crisis management” to long term poverty reduction and healing but our main focus should be the roots – reduce or eradicate banditry, set infrastructure to settle communal crisis and provide resources for all citizens, it is not just about moving the CSR to invest in vocational rehabilitation but removing the cause for a better Nigeria.
Fight for IDP and fight for a better Nigeria! It could be you and it could be I. Together we fix this humanitarian crisis.

EKANEM JOAN
200LVL STUDENT OF DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION, UNIVERSITY OF ABUJA.
1ST JULY, 2026.

By Tijjani Sarki

The recently concluded Arewa Media Summit in Kano was presented as a platform to redefine the role of the media in Northern Nigeria. From my observation, however, it fell short of the expectations of a summit and looked more like a political jomboree than a strategic forum for regional renewal.

A summit that claims to speak for Arewa should reflect the diversity of the region’s media ecosystem by bringing together journalists, editors, broadcasters, communication strategists, digital influencers, academics, policymakers and development partners. My observation is that many of these critical voices were either missing or insufficiently represented, giving the event the appearance of a gathering of familiar faces rather than the North’s broad media constituency.

Another observation is that no communiqué or clear resolutions emerged in the public domain after the event. If a summit ends without publicly outlining its decisions, implementation framework or policy direction, it becomes difficult to measure its value beyond the speeches and photographs.

I also observed concerns that the Honourable Commissioners of Information and Internal Affairs from the Northern states, particularly Kano State’s Comrade Ibrahim Abdullahi Waiya the host state, were not visibly integrated into the programme. If that perception is accurate, it represents a missed opportunity to build a truly inclusive regional media agenda.

Politically, this was also a missed opportunity to provide an inclusive platform for constructive engagement on national issues, including the policies of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. Genuine dialogue requires broad participation, not selective representation.

Arewa deserves a media summit defined by vision, inclusiveness, measurable outcomes and institutional credibility, not by optics alone. Until those elements become evident, many will continue to question whether the gathering advanced the North’s aspirations or merely added another event to the calendar.

Tijjani Sarki
Good Governance Advocate and Public Policy Analyst
Can be reach via responsivecitizensinitiative@gmail.com

Despite a dramatic increase in federal allocations to states and local governments in recent years, millions of Nigerians continue to grapple with worsening poverty, inflation and a declining standard of living.

Across markets, offices, motor parks and homes, many citizens say the rising government revenues have done little to improve their daily realities. While states now receive significantly higher allocations through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), families are struggling to afford food, transportation, housing and healthcare.

The growing concern has raised questions about how public funds are being managed and whether the benefits of economic reforms are reaching ordinary Nigerians.

The Rise In FAAC Allocations

Over the years, allocations from the Federation Account have steadily increased. In May 2022, FAAC shared N680.78 billion among the three tiers of government, representing a 6.94 per cent increase over the previous month. By July 2022, the amount had risen to N954.1 billion, while N990.19 billion was shared in December 2022.

The trend continued after the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira in May 2023. According to available data, the 36 states collectively received N3.35 trillion in 2022. By 2025, that figure had increased to N8.19 trillion, nearly tripling within three years.

Several states recorded substantial increases:

– Kano State: N99.31 billion in 2022 to N279.69 billion in 2025-

– Lagos State: N161.29 billion to N531.51 billion

– Taraba State: N51.74 billion to N157.56 billion

– Zamfara State: N56.62 billion to N167.20 billion

– Kogi State: N60.78 billion to N176.24 billion

– Akwa Ibom State: N314.18 billion to N497.98 billion

In March 2026 alone, FAAC distributed N2.04 trillion among the federal, state and local governments, reflecting a further increase in government revenue.

Analysts attribute the growth to tax reforms, improved revenue collection by agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), higher crude oil earnings and policy changes directing more revenue into the Federation Account.

A Different Reality for Nigerians

While government revenues continue to rise, many Nigerians say their living conditions are moving in the opposite direction.

In Kano, civil servant Musa Abdullahi says his monthly salary can no longer sustain his family.

“Food prices have doubled. We hear that allocations are increasing, but we are not seeing the impact in our daily lives,” he said.

For traders, the story is much the same. Zainab Sani, a petty trader, said customers now buy less because household incomes have been stretched beyond their limits.

In Lagos, many families have been forced to make difficult adjustments. Dayo Oluwa, a resident, explained that items such as meat and fish have become luxury goods in many homes.

“Before, N2,000 could cook a decent pot of stew. Today, even N5,000 may not be enough,” she said.

Workers say transportation costs have also become unbearable. Some civil servants now limit their movement or seek additional jobs just to meet their basic needs.

In Kogi State, several workers have reportedly taken up commercial transportation, farming and small-scale businesses to supplement their incomes. Similar stories have emerged from Taraba, Zamfara and Akwa Ibom states, where residents describe an economy that continues to squeeze the average citizen.

Poverty Amid Rising Revenue

The contradiction between increasing government revenue and growing hardship has become one of Nigeria’s most pressing economic concerns.

According to the World Bank, about 140 million Nigerians were living in poverty by 2025, representing approximately 63 per cent of the population. Earlier reports by the National Bureau of Statistics also showed that millions of Nigerians lacked adequate access to food, healthcare and decent housing.

Economic experts argue that while subsidy removal boosted government earnings, inflation and currency depreciation have significantly weakened the purchasing power of citizens.

As prices continue to rise, salary increases and government interventions have struggled to keep pace with the cost of living.

The Accountability Question

The increase in allocations has also renewed calls for transparency and accountability.

Experts insist that the issue is no longer about whether governments have enough money, but whether those resources are being effectively utilised.

Development economists have repeatedly argued that increased revenue should result in better roads, improved healthcare services, stronger educational systems, job creation and targeted support for vulnerable populations.

Civil society groups have also urged citizens to take a greater interest in how public funds are spent. They argue that taxpayers have a right to know how government revenues are allocated and utilised.

The editorial position expressed by several policy analysts is clear: rising allocations should not merely exist as figures on paper; they should translate into measurable improvements in people’s lives.

Beyond the Numbers

The growing FAAC allocations represent a positive development for Nigeria’s public finances. They demonstrate that revenue generation has improved and that the country is gradually diversifying beyond its traditional dependence on oil earnings.

However, for millions of Nigerians struggling to afford daily necessities, the true measure of success is not how much money enters government accounts, but how effectively those funds improve the quality of life of citizens.

As governments continue to receive larger allocations, expectations will continue to rise. Nigerians increasingly want evidence that public resources are being invested in meaningful development, economic opportunities and social welfare.

Until the benefits of rising revenues are reflected in households, communities and businesses across the country, many citizens will continue to ask the same question: if government allocations are increasing, why is life becoming more difficult?

Written By: Mfe Mesuur Perpetual (Abuja),
200 level student of Development and strategic communication, University of Abuja.