Resurgent Violent Farmer-Herder Conflicts and ‘Nightmares’ in Northern Nigeria

Abstract

How have variables of terrorism, politics and ethnicity complicated the increasingly devastating conflicts between farmers and herders in Nigeria? What short and long term policy suggestions can aid the management of these conflicts in Nigeria? The descriptive survey method was adopted for the study; gathering primary data from law enforcement officers, village heads, experts, and groups of farmers and herders in select states in Northern Nigeria, and all primary and secondary data were content analyzed. The study found that politics, ethnicity, religion, economic livelihoods and cultural lifestyles are variables that complicate farmer-herder conflicts in Nigeria. The study concluded that government, civil societies, non-governmental organisations, and even more importantly the two groups – farmers and herders, must be committed to ending the conflicts through productive dialogue. One recommendation relating to the implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Plan is ensuring that cattle owners and herders buy-in to the plan, as this will largely determine the success of the transformation plan.