COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CONFLICT ACTIVITIES BETWEENNIGER AND NIGERIA IN THE FOOD SECURITY-DEPRIVED SAHELREGION OF WEST AFRICA
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Abstract
Niger Republic and Nigeria are two neighboring countries in the Sahel region of West Africawhich have experienced similar forms of conflicts in the last 20 years (2005 to 2025). Though theyboth share the Sahelian landscape, tribes, religion, and culture, they are separated by artificialborders created by both the French and the British empires. While famine and security in WestAfrica have been widely studied, there remains a noticeable gap in comparative analyses that linkconflict patterns in these two countries to their respective Integrated Food Security PhaseClassification (IPC) levels of food insecurity. This study addresses that gap by examining whethera significant difference exists between the conflicts of both countries across their IPC phases.The study employs a qualitative descriptive approach, integrating data from ACLED, scholarlyarticles, and grey literature such as policy reports and media publications. The findings revealthat the difference in conflicts frequency between Niger and Nigeria during food-insecurity phasesis not statistically significant. Furthermore, the analysis shows less than a 1 percent likelihoodthat the clustering patterns in both countries occurred randomly, indicating a deliberate orsystematic spatial distribution of conflict incidents. The study also identifies substantial cross-border interactions of conflict within the shared Sahelian region.
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