This article was originally published as: CLIMATE CHANGE AND FARMERS-HERDERS CONFLICT IN NORTHERN NIGERIA
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Abstract
Farmer-pastoralist conflicts have been reported in many parts of Northern Nigeria. Often presented as being driven by resource scarcity, Farmers and Pastoralists have for a long time, found themselves in deadly clashes, most of which resulted in loss of lives and destruction of properties. The main resources fanning the embers of conflicts are water, land, and pasture. This study, therefore, assesses the effect of climate change-induced farmer-pastoralist conflict in Northern Nigeria. The paper relied on secondary sources of data, such as textbooks, journals, magazines, newspapers, the internet, and other relevant materials. The desertification of far Northern Nigeria, accompanied by the reduction in the availability of pastoral land for grazing of cattle and crop farming activities and other attendant extreme environmental conditions such as rising sea levels, drought, and other infectious diseases as a result of global warming, have forced pastoralists to migrate from the affected areas to safer parts for the survival of their means of livelihood. The study adopts the human needs theory as a framework. This framework insists that violence is a tragic expression of unmet human needs, implying that all actions undertaken by human beings are attempts to satisfy their needs and means of livelihood. The study affirms that the effect of climate change has been rife on both pastoralists and farmers and has inherently conditioned the conflict between farmers and pastoralists in northern Nigeria. The paper recommends that government should provide climate-smart interventions in the Sahelian areas which are more prone to climate change impacts for adaptation and mitigation.
Authors
- OLUFUNKE .A. MOSES-OJO (Ahmadu Bello University Zaria)
- ARUYA KINGSLEY JOSEPH (Ahmadu Bello University Zaria)
- RILWAN ABDULLAHI ALIYU (Ahmadu Bello University Zaria)
Keywords
Conflict, Farmers, Pastoralists, Climate change, Northern Nigeria
References
References not available for this article.
