Effect of Insecurity on the Livelihood of Communities in Maiduguri Metropolis

The study explores the insecurity effect on the livelihood of communities in Maiduguri Metropolis from the standpoint of Boko Haram insurgency. The study posits that insecurity has resulted in dire humanitarian situation as evident in human casualties, human right abuse, the continued bombings, killings and destruction of lives and properties, population displacement and refugee debacle, livelihood crisis and public insecurity. The activities of Boko haram have negative impact on the livelihood of the people thereby, becoming of great concern to the Nigerian government and the international community at large. It is against this background that this study examines Effect of Insecurity on the Livelihood of Communities in Maiduguri Metropolis, Borno State. A survey design was used for the study. A simple random sampling technique was used to select three wards from each cluster. Three hundred and ninety nine (399) questionnaires were distributed to the respondents and 360 questionnaires were returned valid. Data collected was organized and analysed into tables and percentages. The analysis was done through statistical package of social sciences (SPSS version 18.0). Spearman Rank-ordered Correlation Coefficient (Rho) was used to test the hypothesis formulated: decision of significant differences among variables were based on 5% (0.05) level of significance. The study revealed that insecurity has negatively affected the livelihood of communities in Maiduguri Metropolis due to heightened insecurity situation in the state. Health institutions have been affected by the insecurity challenges in Maiduguri Metropolis due to destruction of Health facilities and killing of health workers in different health institutions in the state. Educational institutions have been affected; killings of teachers and pupils have been rampant in Maiduguri due to heightened insecurity in the state. The study recommends a proactive decision by government in providing employment to the teeming youths and also embark on a strategic paradigm shift from anti-terrorism to counter-terrorism as a strategy for containing the crisis.

Keywords: Insecurity, Livelihood, Effect, Communities and Boko Haram.