Patterns of Climate-Induced Migration in Border Communities of Nigeria

Climate change has become a major driver of human mobility in developing regions where livelihoods depend on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, fishing, and pastoralism. In Nigeria, intensifying droughts, floods, desertification, and coastal erosion have accelerated both internal and cross-border movement, with particular consequences for communities along the borders with Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and the Benin Republic. Drawing on a structured narrative review of scholarly and policy literature published mainly between 2020 and 2026, this paper synthesises the drivers, patterns, and implications of climate-induced migration for these border regions and proposes a typology of the mobility patterns observed. The synthesis shows that mobility is rarely driven by environmental stress alone; it emerges from the interaction of environmental degradation, livelihood insecurity, poverty, demographic pressure, weak governance, and violent conflict. Five recurrent patterns are identified: seasonal pastoral transhumance, flood-induced displacement, drought- and desertification-related out migration, coastal displacement, and conflict-compounded mixed movement, alongside involuntary immobility among the poorest households. While migration can function as an adaptation strategy that diversifies livelihoods and supports regional integration, poorly governed movement intensifies pressure on host communities, services, and shared resources. This paper concludes that climate-induced migration is simultaneously an environmental and a governance challenge, and recommends a national climate-mobility policy that integrates adaptation, migration governance, disaster risk reduction, and border management, supported by strengthened regional cooperation.