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Africa in Dilemma: Refugee Problem and the Developmental Challenge
Kassim Sikiru Taiwo, Department of Sociology, Lagos State University, Nigeria
taiwokassim@yahoo.co.uk
Africa is one of the continents that
is worse hit by the spate of war and conflict ravaging the world .
These conflicts have resulted in the incidence of displaced people
both within national borders, that is Internally Displaced Persons
(IDPs) and displacement across national border, that is, refugees.
These displacements have been of serious concern to Africa leaders
whose aim was to build a sustainable developed continent.
The continent has been described as the second largest producer of
refugees after Asia, with over 3.6million, at the same time, hosting
over 3.3 million of the refugees, (UNHCR 2002). Although, these statistics
fall short of the actual number of displaced persons across national
borders, because of the continued clashes in most African countries.
It does not include people who are also displaced internally and who
share similar plight with refugees. These displaced people are a source
of concern for African leaders. This has become prevalent since the
end of the cold war and the recent attack on Iraq, which culminated
in the neglect of the continent by the international community. With
this neglect, African refugees slipped a little bit deeper into misery
and despair. The continued conflict and refugee outflow poses a great
challenge to the developmental effort of most African countries, who
are affected by it, either as producer or host countries.
This paper therefore examines the magnitude of the refugee problem
in Africa, and the consequent on the developmental effort of the affected
countries. Also, it examines the role of the host government towards
integrating the refugees into their society. It further x-rays the
adequacy or otherwise of the effort of the international community
towards improving refugee situation in Africa. Finally, it will examine
the role of African leaders in finding lasting solution to refugee
problem in Africa.
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