Assessing the Cause - Effects of Bandits and Terrorists Attack on Food Security and Possible Clues to Collaborative Learning Actions in Adamawa State, Northeast, Nigeria

Abstract

Livelihoods of rural community members in Adamawa State remain disrupted. Farming and other income earning opportunities are restricted and many households could not afford safe and nutritious food at all times due to incessant bandit’s attacks. There is fear at home, road, in the farms 
and even in the rivers. Bandits have covered major parts of the Northeast, Northwest and Northcentral zones of Nigeria. Could the bandits’ attacks be linked to unhealthy politics or to posterity that is limited to the wealthy, which is feeding on injustice and oppression of the poor? Or 
could religious observance in the country that is insincere and security more apparent than real is the cause? If not, how come the country that sits solitary and quiet, with peace loving people suddenly becomes a war-torn country where killing, destruction of property and lives, displacement of people, 
raping, and kidnapping for ransom, raiding grain silos and out-of-school children become order of the day? As security challenge increases, food insecurity makes life unbearable; no physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets the dietary needs of the people. With little evidence-based data for informed decision-making, the researchers conducted a survey to examine the cause-effects of bandit’s attack on food security and possible clues to collaborative learning actions to address the impasse in the Northeast zone. A cross-sectional household population survey was conducted between October - November 2021 in Hong and Gombi Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Adamawa State. Multi-stage cluster sampling was used to select the state, LGAs and 660 households for the study. Personal interviews were used, which yielded a response rate of 98.5%. Findings revealed potential causes of banditry to include: unemployment 
(56.5%), low literacy (53.1%), poverty (63.7%), and political bigotry (49.4%), proliferation of arms (37.7%), porous borders (47.7%), and open grazing (51.1%). The effects range from internally displaced persons (67.8%), insufficient food supplies (66.6%), high prices of food stuff (57.1%), 
consumption of imbalanced diet (65.5%), out-of-school children (16.8%), difficulty in farming (64.5%), seizing farmlands (63.7%), raiding grain silos (63.7%), blocking distribution channels (67%), and kidnapping (66.2%). Collaboration between Government and stakeholders is needed to 
ensure out-of-school children are identified, enrolled, retained and to complete their studies. Recruit more foot soldiers, and deploy to strategic routes and forests that serve as hideouts for the bandits for clearance; establish vocational training centers to train people especially the women and young 
adolescent girls who may not want to go to farm again to learn and acquire skills in other business areas of their choice that will enhance their livelihood. The community leaders should sensitize their members on inherent dangers of serving as informants to the bandits. Above all, government should 
allow justice to run down as waters, and showing a strict regard for what is morally right as a mighty stream in the governance of the country.