Issues and Perceptions of Farmers/Herders Conflicts in Central Nigeria

Abstract

Farmers/herders conflict is not new in Nigeria. The need to put more emphasis on Central Nigeria particularly Benue, Plateau and Nasarawa States was born out of the persistent conflicts arising from and complicated by farmer-herder vested interest.  Currently, the subject matter is under-exploited and under-researched.  Existing extant studies in that regard tend to have focused on farmer-herder conflicts without comprehensively emphasizing the philosophy and ideology operating by the two parties in fueling the conflicts.  The study adopts community case study approach. Three states were purposefully selected, namely Benue, Plateau and Nasarawa, these states were highly affected by the conflict in recent years. Two local governments were randomly selected from each state. individuals were selected for Key Informant Interview (KII), FGD and Study Chart from All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAiencN), Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Community Security Architecture Dialogue (CSAD). Participation was voluntary, therefore, those who were readily available were used. 30 KII, 17 FGDs and 10 SCs were carried out across the targeted communities. Findings show that issues and perceptions of farmers/herders’ conflict in Central Nigeria includes: divergent of perception in the process of survival; land grabbing and unending tension; water scarcity and insufficient pasturelands; underage and children herding and profiling/stereotyping. This calls for an urgent need for government at all levels including Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to create effective awareness, promote peace building and other measures to curtail the existing conflict.