Social Networks and Economic Survival Among Refugees in Makurdi, Benue State

Refugee populations in Nigeria's North Central zone, primarily comprising individuals displaced by herdsmen attacks and community violence, rely heavily on informal social networks for economic survival in the absence of adequate formal humanitarian support systems. This study examines the role of social networks in enabling economic survival among refugees settled in Makurdi, Benue State. A qualitative design was adopted, employing twenty in-depth interviews with refugee respondents and eight focus group discussions with refugee community groups at the NEMA-registered Daudu IDP camp and an informal settlement in Makurdi. Social Capital Theory was applied as the analytical framework. Findings reveal that bonding social capital within ethnic and community groups constituted the primary economic survival mechanism, manifesting as shared meals, collective childcare, pooled petty trading resources, and interest-free micro-loans between co-ethnic camp members. Bridging social capital connecting refugees to host community economic networks was limited but economically transformative where achieved, with refugees who successfully built host community ties demonstrating significantly higher income levels. Church and mosque networks provided important bridging linkages for religiously affiliated refugees. Women's social networks were more economically active than men's, despite women's individually lower capital endowments, reflecting the cooperative dynamics of female livelihood strategies. Social exclusion from host community markets due to perceived competition was documented in two of four study sites. Recommendations include programs explicitly designed to build bridging social capital between refugee and host communities in Makurdi, and integration of refugee social network structures into camp economic programming. Keywords: social networks, refugees, economic survival, Makurdi, social capital.