Farmers - Herders Conflict in Nigeria: A Review of Relevant Literature

Abstract

This paper attempts a detailed review of the extant literature on the farmer-herders conflict in Nigeria. Through findings from empirical studies, the current literature highlights the destruction of farmers crops by herders’ cattle as the major cause of conflict between farmers and herders. Other causes identified in the literature are cattle rustling, ethnic and religious differences, poverty, sexual harassment of women by herders and disregard of constituted authority by herders. Literature detailing the history of the conflict fall within two camps, those that trace the history of the Fulani people (the ethnic group of most Nigerian herders) and those that trace the history of Fulani migration. Although rudimentary, the role of state and non-state actors is also accounted for in the literature. So far, the state has focused on military and para-military measures to resolve the conflict while non-state actors have adopted a mediatory approach. The gaps in the literature are however enormous. Consequently, I conclude that there is a need for more research on the history of the conflict, timelines, fluctuations in intensity and precursors to such fluctuations, in order to more comprehensively understand the success or failures of past efforts and devise effective solutions to mitigate the conflict.

Keywords: Farmers, Herders, Conflict, Fulani, Hausa

JEL Classification: Q15, R14, R23, R52