HERDSMEN AND FARMERS CLASHES IN NIGERIA: CASE FOR CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a raging battle between Fulani herdsmen and farmers of Nigeria’s middle states of Benue, Jos and Taraba. This conflict has mutated drastically so that tourists are discouraged from visiting the different amazing destinations situated in this region. The persistence of farmer-herdsmen conflicts portends grave socioeconomic consequences. Although there is no clear consensus on which group experiences greater hardships, the plight of arable crop farmers, who constitute the bulk of Nigeria’s agricultural production population, continues to attract research attention. The paper recommends regular review of stock routes and educational campaigns to increase their awareness and compliance rates among conflict actors. Farmer-herdsmen conflict resolution initiatives should also incorporate a careful consideration of all conflict factors from, the perspectives of the actors. The necessity to provide food for crops and animals, as well as raw materials for industries and for export use to meet demand has led to extreme need and use of land by farmers and herdsmen. This leads to a high competition which often times turn into concealed hostilities between these two agricultural land users. The conflict has transcended into insecurity of lives and property and food crisis particularly in rural communities where most of the conflicts are localised and gradually encroaching on urban areas. This has reverberating repercussions on the country.