Nigeria's Failed Refugee Return Program Exposes Government Policy Shortcomings

A decade after fleeing Boko Haram militants, thousands of Nigerian refugees who returned home under government resettlement programs are now considering fleeing again, highlighting the failure of state-led repatriation efforts that prioritize political optics over genuine security and economic recovery.

Abdulhamid Mohammed, a 40-year-old fisherman, exemplifies this policy disaster. After fleeing his lakeside village of Doron Baga in 2015, he returned to Nigeria in February under a UNHCR-brokered deal that saw nearly 8,000 refugees voluntarily repatriated from Chad. Yet months later, he found his hometown still partially controlled by rebels and economically devastated.

"You can't go there," Mohammed said from Maiduguri, Borno state's capital. "I have the intention to go back to Chad, because in Chad I can continue catching fish."

The government's rush to close displacement camps and declare victory over insurgency has created a humanitarian crisis masked as success. While Borno Governor Babagana Zulum boasts of resettling over one million people, the reality on the ground tells a different story.

Economic Reality Contradicts Political Rhetoric

In May, an attack just 10 kilometers from Doron Baga killed 17 farmers and fishermen, underscoring the premature nature of these returns. Mohammed Abubakar, 46, another returnee from the same village, described finding "nothing left" in his hometown.

The border town of Malam Fatori, once a thriving commercial hub near Niger, illustrates the broader economic collapse. Despite organized returns since 2022, years of conflict have obliterated the local economy. Farmers lack startup capital, creating food shortages, while traders must pay militants at makeshift checkpoints to conduct business.

"We were happy to come back to our ancestral home," said Falmata Mohammed, 35, a mother of four. "But we have no money to buy food, sometimes we sleep hungry."

Government Priorities Misaligned

The closure of internally displaced persons camps, described by officials as "crowded, costly and unsustainable," reflects a government more concerned with reducing expenditure than ensuring genuine recovery. This penny-wise, pound-foolish approach has forced citizens into impossible choices between safety and survival.

Mala Abdallah, 55, returned to Nigeria only to flee again months later, not from violence but from poverty. "The money finished quickly. There was no work. No lake. No way to survive," he explained from Chad, where he can at least earn money selling firewood.

Even Governor Zulum admitted earlier this year that security forces were "losing ground" to militants, contradicting his administration's resettlement push. Government spokesman Dauda Iliya's claim that "Borno state remains largely peaceful" rings hollow against the September rebel attack on Darul Jamal that left scores dead.

International Funding Withdrawal Compounds Crisis

The withering of international humanitarian funding has accelerated the government's camp closure program, but without addressing underlying security and economic challenges. This approach transforms a refugee crisis into a recurring cycle of displacement, as people shuttle between countries seeking basic survival opportunities.

The improvised explosive devices and unexploded ordnance that killed or injured 418 civilians in northeast Nigeria in 2024, more than double the previous year, demonstrate that declaring victory prematurely serves political rather than humanitarian purposes.

Nigeria's refugee return program represents a textbook case of government overreach producing counterproductive outcomes. Rather than creating conditions for genuine reintegration through security improvements and economic investment, authorities have prioritized cost-cutting and political messaging over citizen welfare.

The result is a policy that forces vulnerable populations into repeated displacement, undermining both regional stability and individual dignity. True recovery requires acknowledging that sustainable return depends on genuine security and economic opportunity, not government declarations of success.