Strategically Addressing the Farmer-herder clashes in Nigeria
By Stephen Isayinka (MICMC, AUSIP)
The “giant of Africa” is beset by numerous complicated political issues, including but not limited to inequality, corruption, oil disputes, national disunity, and the Boko Haram insurgency. Herdsmen and farmers have been fighting more frequently in the countryside over alleged acts of trespass and sabotage. Low rainfall or drought frequently triggers the cycle of resource-based violence. Conflict between farmers and herders in Nigeria has been a major cause of death and displacement in the country since at least 1999, according to studies. The western Sahel has experienced a similar pattern of death and migration as a result of the exponential growth of farmers and arable land at the expense of pastures that were once used by the region’s nomads. The conflict has progressed from sporadic reactions to provocations to more deliberate attacks, especially in the states of Benue, Plateau, Adamawa, Kaduna, Nassarawa, and Taraba.
As a result, the Middle Belt states of Nigeria, including Benue, Taraba, and Plateau, have remained conflict zones. The North Central region is where the majority of the violence is occurring. Constant violence in Benue has spread to neighboring Nassarawa. It has been estimated that between 2015 and late 2018, over 3,641 people have been killed in clashes between herders (especially the Fulani and Hausa) and farmers due to disagreements over land and/or cattle (for example the Adara, Berom, Tiv and Tarok). There has been an uptick in violence in Nasarawa State as well, with both herders and farmer militias being involved. More than 260 people were killed in a variety of incidents in 2018; most of these deaths occurred in the southern zone, which includes the regions of Doma, Awe, Obi, and Keana. The anti-grazing law in Benue State is believed to have contributed to the influx of herders, who were the target of many of the murders. Herder-farmer violence is on the rise, and it is just as lethal as the Boko Haram uprising.
Nassarawa State hosted eleven camps housing over 18 thousand IDPs in January 2018, according to the News Agency of Nigeria. A rise in food prices is a direct result of the widespread displacement and insecurity in parts of the states of Adamawa, Benue, Nassarawa, Plateau, and Taraba. Most conflicts between farmers and herders have clearly involved Muslim herders attacking Christian farmers, further inflaming racial tensions in Nigeria. Military, police, and other security services are also being put under significant stress due to the violence, which takes their attention away from more pressing tasks like putting down the Boko Haram uprising.
The North-Central and Middle-Belt regions of Nigeria, as well as many others, are plagued by herders-farmers’ conflicts, which have prompted the implementation of a number of different mechanisms. What must be taken into account, however, is not merely the cessation of violent conflicts, but also the fact that peace programs are developed to eliminate the causes of and opportunities for armed conflict, thereby reinforcing conditions that promote tranquility, equity, and security. Also, the establishment of a just and long-lasting system. In this regard, peacebuilders stress the importance of solid foundations for their initiatives. Critical discourse that requires reflection includes strategic questions like “what needs to be stopped” and “what needs to be done/supported” in an effort to effectively curb the spate of constant violence.
According to a proverb, “the first step in effectively correcting wrongs is to pay attention to what is bad.” The land dispute between herders and farmers has escalated recently for three main reasons, according to the observations made by both sides. The first is the proliferation of armed gangs within specific ethnic groups; for example, the Bachama and Fulani in Adamawa State. The federal government’s inattention to warnings of impending attacks and its failure to prosecute previous offenders are two other major problems. Third, in November 2017, anti-grazing laws were introduced in the states of Benue and Taraba, which were strongly opposed by herders, leading to a mass exodus of herders and cattle, primarily into the neighboring state of Nassarawa, but also into the slightly smaller state of Adamawa. Conflicts broke out between nomads and farmers in the states where the nomads and their cattle settled. The current Buhari administration needs to show more decisive leadership in order to put an end to the bloodshed. This includes addressing the resource-based conflict by ending impunity for attackers and developing a livestock reform program that seeks to educate the nomadic herdsmen. To successfully establish peace in war-torn regions, the government must expedite the National Livestock Transformation Plan.
Furthermore, it is clear that peace building requires certain action plans that are strategically aimed at ending violent conflict. An analysis of what to support in a bid to efficiently restore peace and stability in conflicting regions of herdsmen attacks rightly includes an assessment of potential partnering organizations and their capacities for working. Ending the violence as well as building sustainable just structures to ensure peace requires series of efforts at individual, local, state and federal government levels in the society. In this light, the Nigerian government should firstly, reinforce security for farmers and herders. Military deployment in response to conflicts between farmers and herders has become the popular choice of action by the federal government in many locations. Though the military can play a key role in stabilization, the military is currently deployed in nearly every state and tends to respond to local conflict issues that are better served by the police of community-based mechanisms. The federal government should deploy more police in affected areas; ensure they are better equipped; improve local ties to gather better intelligence; and respond speedily to early warnings and distress calls. In addition, it should begin to disarm armed groups, including ethnic militias and vigilantes in the affected states, and closely watch land borders to curb the inflow of firearms.
Secondly, the federal government should review the current program on nomadic education and create enlightenment. They should partner with the state and local governments to undertake a comprehensive review of the nomadic education program. The process should include extensive participation of representatives from the pastoralist community to ensure it reflects the expectation of the herders in terms of timing and the realization of the key objectives of providing the nomadic children with quality education, as well as training on modern herding.
Thirdly, the federal government also should order the investigation of all recent major incidents of farmer-herder violence. It may need to accelerate the trials of individuals or organizations found to have participated, sponsored or been complicit in violence.
Fourthly, elaborating the new National Livestock Transformation Plan and commence implementation is essential. The federal government should publicize details of its National Livestock Transformation Plan, encourage buy-in by herders and state governments, and move quickly to put the plan into effect in consenting states.
Next, the freezing enforcement of and reform state anti-grazing legislation is recommended. The Benue State government should freeze enforcement of its law banning open grazing, as Taraba State has already done, and amend objectionable provisions therein. It should also help herders become ranchers, including by developing pilot or demonstration ranches, and conducting education programs for herders uneasy about making the transition.
To conclude, the federal government and individual states should support peace initiatives at the community level and work to increase communication between herders and farmers through existing mechanisms at the state and local levels. One more piece of advice is to promote communication between herders and farmers and to back up local peace initiatives. The federal government should work with state and local governments to develop de-escalation strategies like dialogue and mediation to use with the warring parties. Rules of engagement governing security personnel’s behavior, handling of internal security, and adherence to human rights and international humanitarian law are necessary. The government enforcement agencies and stakeholders should also avoid inflaming further tensions between local herders and farmers by engaging either through unprofessional or illegal conduct but instead concentrate on keeping the communities they were sent to protect safe.
