Typology of internally displaced people: Insights from Northern Nigeria

The number of internally displaced people (IDPs) is increasing globally, particularly in areas affected by conflict. Almost half of the world’s IDPs are found in Africa, yet there is limited research to understand who IDPs are according to their basic characteristics, the capital assets they have prior to displacement, those they require postmovement, and how these factors affect the nature of their movement. Developing this understanding is important because IDPs have largely been studied as homogeneous groups, irrespective of the differences in how, where and why they move. The aim of this paper is to develop a nuanced typology of IDPs in Nigeria based on the factors that underpin their movement, with a view of understanding the roles of different capital assets used in informing their decisions to move and stay at host communities. Advancing this understanding will enable identification of opportunities for more targeted support, for both IDPs and their host communities. The paper uses the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF) to guide the collection of qualitative and quantitative data for characterising IDPs who moved to Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. A mixed method approach is used with data collected from hosted and non-hosted IDPs and key informants in seven IDP zones in Abuja. Descriptive statistics using SPSS are applied to understand patterns, categories and relationships among variables. Overall, three major types of movement are identified: proactive, reactive and tactical. Proactive IDPs mostly used their human capital to move but required more physical capital (e.g., affordable housing) after moving. Reactive IDPs used their social capital to move and required physical capital (e.g., basic services) after moving. Tactical IDPs, who used social and financial capital assets to move, required human capital (e.g., education and employment) after moving. These insights allow policymakers and other providers of assistance to IDPs to deliver more targeted support, for both IDPs and the communities in their destination, given the improved understanding of the nuances in their characteristics.