Abstract
The devastating and destructive tendency of armed banditry in northwestern Nigeria is alarming. Drawing on failed state theory as a framework of analysis, this chapter argues that large-scale farming and animal husbandry, which are the region’s main economic activities, have been affected due to banditry. The attacks on farmers and farmlands have undermined food cultivation and harvest, leading to regional food shortages. Thousands of farmlands are destroyed or inaccessible, while thousands of cattle and sheep are rustled. Due to scarcity emanating from the decline in food production, basic food prices have skyrocketed. The crisis equally displaced millions of people who could not produce or avoid the price of basic food. Accordingly, this chapter examines the activities of armed bandits and their effects on agro economics and food security—with particular attention to food production, distribution, accessibility, affordability and consumption—in northwest Nigeria and beyond.
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Oyewole, S., Utibe, T. (2024). Armed Banditry and Food Security in Northwest Nigeria. In: Ojo, J.S., Aina, F., Oyewole, S. (eds) Armed Banditry in Nigeria . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45445-5_7
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