A government that cannot keep rural communities in Sokoto State, northwest Nigeria, safe is leaving families to choose between hunger at home and the dangerous road out.
Development Diaries reports that residents of nine communities in the Sabon Birni area of the state have been forced to abandon their homes after renewed bandit threats, with many reportedly walking between 30 and 50 kilometres to reach safety as flooding cut the main road to Sokoto.
The latest displacement came after months of attacks across the state, with more than 77 people reportedly killed between late June and early August.
During an attack on Tsamaye, a boat carrying fleeing residents capsized and roughly two dozen people, mostly women and children, were swept away, while Unguwar Lalle, which had become a refuge for people fleeing smaller communities because it had security personnel and vigilante groups, was reportedly emptied too.
For one displaced resident, the crisis has reached the point where even hunger seems preferable to insecurity. Speaking into a phone camera while walking away from Unguwar Lalle, he said he would accept plain maize and thank God for it if only he could live safely.
‘The government has betrayed us’, he said, adding that ‘we will never forgive them’ before asking God to punish the government on his behalf.
His account reflects what has happened across the area. Families from Tsamaye, Lajinge, Alkalawa, Lalle and other communities have fled repeated bandit threats, with many travelling through the night on foot because vehicles were unavailable and flooding had blocked the road.
The man’s appeal shows how far citizens can lose faith in government when they no longer believe it can hear or protect them, leaving them to ask God to deliver the justice they no longer expect from the state. That is a dangerous signal because prolonged abandonment can turn frustration into alienation and may eventually fuel rebellion.
Section 14(2)(b) of the Nigerian constitution states that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government, but the experience of these communities points to a security response that has struggled to provide sustained protection beyond reactive deployments.
Responsibility for that response rests with the Office of the National Security Advisor (NSA), Defence Headquarters and the government of Sokoto State, while the Sabon Birni local authority and National Assembly members representing the affected communities should be demanding answers and monitoring what is delivered.
It is udnerstood that the displaced residents have praised the courage of soldiers on the ground but called for more personnel, equipment and logistics. Their complaint is against a system that has failed to provide sustained protection, leaving soldiers to confront a crisis without enough resources.
The failure extends to how the government communicates with the people it is supposed to protect. Citizens need channels through which their concerns can reach officials and credible responses explaining what is being done, when it will happen and who is responsible.
In Sabon Birni, a viral video has become one of the clearest ways for an abandoned community to make itself heard because formal channels have produced little reassurance or action.
Section 33 of the constitution protects the right to life, while Section 34 protects human dignity. With families forced to flee their homes, walk for tens of kilometres and sleep without adequate shelter, they are experiencing the consequences of those rights being left unprotected.
Nigeria is also bound by the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons, which requires the government to protect and assist people displaced within its territory.
Citizens and CSOs should continue to document the experiences of displaced families, support the demands outlined in ImpactHouse’s open letter and press for the immediate registration and humanitarian assistance of those displaced from Sabon Birni.
Communities should also demand that their state assembly representatives publicly account for the protection requested for their constituencies and what government eventually delivered.
As for the NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, and the Defence Headquarters, they should provide the sustained personnel, equipment and logistics that residents have requested, while the government of Sokoto State should establish a functioning displacement response covering shelter, food, healthcare and the reopening of the flooded road.
Both levels of government should also communicate directly and honestly with the communities they have failed, because a citizen who no longer believes government can hear him will eventually stop asking government for answers.
