Refugee Management Policy and Host Community Relations in Borno State: A Professional Policy Analysis

This study conducts a professional policy analysis of refugee and internally displaced persons management practices in Borno State, North East Nigeria, with a focus on host community relations and the sustainability of displacement response programmes. The protracted Boko Haram insurgency has created one of Africa's most complex forced displacement situations, with Borno State hosting the largest concentration of internally displaced persons in Nigeria. Drawing on forced migration policy theory and recent displacement management literature from 2020 to 2024, the study employs a practitioner-focused research design. Data are gathered from National Emergency Management Agency officials, international humanitarian agency managers, Borno State government displacement coordination officers, and host community leaders through structured professional interviews and policy document analysis. Qualitative content analysis and policy gap assessment are applied. The study expects to find persistent tensions between internally displaced persons and host communities arising from resource competition, cultural friction, and perceived preferential treatment by humanitarian actors. Camp management deficits, phased transition-to-return programming gaps, and donor funding volatility are also examined. Recommendations address developing community-sensitive camp management standards, introducing shock-responsive social protection instruments that cover both displaced and host populations, and strengthening local government capacity to coordinate displacement governance with federal and international actors. Keywords: refugee management, internal displacement, host community relations, Borno State, humanitarian governance