Collapse of Self-Sufficiency, Rampant Poverty and the Era of Terrorism in Rural Niger

Abstract

From 2005 through 2014, a rapid rise in natural resource and food prices led to a sustained high level of economic growth in sub-Sahara Africa. Governments throughout Africa adopted policies to aggressively seek foreign investment, and the countries of sub- Sahara Africa became promising destinations for investment—a trend that was called "Africa Rising." But in recent years, natural resource and food prices experienced a series of dramatic fluctuations, leading to substantial changes in the sub-Sahara African economy that have been referred to as "Diverging Africa." Niger, located in the Sahel region, has been impacted by an expanding population and land scarcity, desertification, and climate change, which have led to the collapse of the rural self-sufficient economy and the spread of starvation and poverty. In a farming village of Hausa people, one of Niger's ethnic groups, there is a saying, "Hunger is the cause of all problems." Hunger gives rise to people's anger and dissatisfaction with society, bitter fights emerge among siblings over the inheritance of their fathers' lands, and armed conflicts frequently break out between the farmers and herders over land and crop damage. As the economic disparity within villages and regions grows, the problems of hunger and poverty intensify, and a steady stream of people from among the younger generation is becoming involved in the terrorist group known as Boko Haram. This paper examined the underlying causes of the outbreak of violent terrorism, which has become such a critical issue in the Sahel region, West Africa and connected it to the spread of poverty and economic disparity. The G5 Sahel nations (Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad) are carrying out a military clean-up operation with the support of the United States, France, Germany, and Italy, but military operation alone is not enough to root out the terrorism. That will require a comprehensive strategy to eradicate hunger and poverty as well as eliminate economic disparity.