THE STATE AND THE MANAGEMENT OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS IN NIGERIA
Authors:
Onuegbu, Ferguson Amaobi & Lebari, Gospel Nukoaka
Abstract:
The role of the state has been variously conceived by scholars. However, the bourgeois argument that the state exists mainly for the protection of the lives and properties of its citizenry has not been the case in Nigeria. Howbeit, the Marxist assertion that the state is an instrument of the ruling class appears to be the reality of the Nigerian state. Owing to the insurgency in the North East of Nigeria, several Nigerians (referred to as internally displaced persons) have had to flee their communities (homes) for camps (provided mainly by the state). The study objectives are to examine the role of the state in the management of internally displaced persons in Nigeria; explore the plights of the internally displaced persons in various camps in Nigeria; and, examine the challenges of the state in the Management of internally displaced persons in Nigeria. The study was guided by the Marxian Political Economy Approach, which among other things explains that the state is an instrument of class domination in the hands of the ruling class. Data for this study were generated from secondary sources and analyzed qualitatively, employing content analysis. The study found that the state in Nigerian is an instrument of the ruling class for the exploitation of the poor; and that the state is nonchalant to the issues pertaining to the poor, yet, gives support and opportunities to the ruling class to exploit and primitively accumulate wealth at the expense of the people (the poor). The study among other things recommended that the state should investigate and prosecute those alleged of corruption in IDP related issues according to the laws of the land, so as to serve as a deterrent to those occupying various offices or involved in one IDP issue or the other either with the state or the private sector.