By: Yusuf Hassan

Nigeria is currently grappling with one of its most severe humanitarian emergencies in recent decades, a crisis fueled by the intersection of conflict, climate change, and mass displacement. Beyond the threats posed by insurgency and general insecurity, environmental stresses—including devastating floods, persistent drought, and accelerating land degradation—are intensifying existing vulnerabilities, straining already scarce resources, and dramatically escalating humanitarian needs across the nation. Recent global agency warnings and studies consistently highlight how the compounding effects of environmental degradation and violence are trapping millions of people in cycles of instability.

Environmental decline has become a major factor in driving both violent conflict and population movement across Nigeria’s most vulnerable regions. A 2025 report from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) revealed that in 2024 alone, over 121,000 displacements were directly attributable to climate disasters, primarily floods, while 295,000 were driven by violent conflict. This data clearly illustrates that climate shocks now stand alongside insecurity as a core catalyst for displacement in the country. Experts like Lukmon Akintola, an associate at the United Nations Global Centre for Climate Mobility, have cautioned that climate shocks are degrading natural resources and significantly intensifying the competition for survival between farmers and herders, particularly across central and northern states. The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mohamed Malick Fall, further emphasized this point to the United Nations Office at Geneva, noting that climate-related shocks are triggering displacement and fueling conflict over dwindling resources, particularly between farming and pastoralist communities.

The humanitarian crisis is deeply rooted in protracted insecurity, particularly in the Northeast, where militant insurgencies have displaced millions and decimated livelihoods. According to the latest humanitarian analysis from ACAPS, armed violence—including attacks by insurgents and farmer-herder clashes—has displaced over 2.1 million people since 2019. This ongoing instability complicates access to essential services, disrupts vital food production, and worsens protection risks for civilians. Climate change is compounding these pressures, contributing to an alarming rise in food insecurity. A joint assessment by the Government of Nigeria and its humanitarian partners projected that roughly 33.1 million people would face acute food insecurity during the 2025 lean season, a situation driven by economic hardship, climate change impacts, and persistent violence in the northeastern states, according to the World Food Programme. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has repeatedly sounded the alarm over this growing hunger crisis, noting that nearly 31 million Nigerians are already facing acute food insecurity. Reductions in humanitarian funding threaten to force the suspension of life-saving aid, risking malnutrition and starvation for millions in conflict-affected areas (AP News). Looking ahead, a WFP forecast for 2026 projected an unprecedented hunger crisis in northern Nigeria, anticipating that up to 35 million people could experience severe food insecurity, a situation that will be further worsened by militant attacks disrupting agriculture and supply chains (AP News).

Climate disasters alone have forced mass population movements. Flooding events between 2012 and 2022 displaced more than 5 million people, according to Nigeria’s Office for Strategic Preparedness and Resilience, often forcing them to seek refuge in strained host communities that lack adequate services (The Guardian Nigeria). Displaced populations are left to cope with overcrowded camps, inadequate sanitation, limited healthcare, and heightened vulnerability to disease outbreaks. Food insecurity is acute due to disrupted planting seasons, the loss of farmland, and soaring food prices, all driving dependence on humanitarian aid. Furthermore, the combination of conflict and climate has severely disrupted agricultural cycles across Nigeria’s rural economy, which relies heavily on farming and pastoralism—both highly vulnerable to violence and weather extremes. Research in has found that recurring clashes and climate variability work to reduce crop yields, limit agricultural participation, and restrict access to land, thereby intensifying the overall fragility of the food system.

Despite existing government frameworks for disaster risk management and climate adaptation, response efforts remain fragmented and severely underfunded. Humanitarian access is frequently constrained in regions affected by conflict, and climate adaptation measures are struggling to keep pace with the rapidly changing environmental conditions. Experts, including those from Nigeria’s Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, argue that traditional humanitarian responses are insufficient without a strategic integration of climate adaptation, conflict prevention, and socio-economic resilience strategies. They emphasize the critical need for conflict-sensitive planning, robust community empowerment, and anticipatory action to proactively reduce future risks.

In conclusion, Nigeria’s humanitarian crisis can no longer be viewed as solely a conflict issue. Environmental stress and climate change are now deeply woven into the fabric of displacement and insecurity, posing a monumental threat to food security, livelihoods, and human dignity. With millions facing displacement and hunger, urgent and coordinated action is essential—not only to respond to current emergencies but also to build long-term resilience through sustainable development, climate-sensitive governance, and inclusive peacebuilding. Without these critical efforts, the humanitarian burden on Africa’s most populous nation is expected to deepen further, carrying devastating consequences for its citizens and the stability of the wider region.