Farmer-Herder Conflict : Exploring the Causes and Management Approaches in the Lake Chad Region Nigeria

The 21st Century heralded an upsurge of violent conflict between farmers and herders in the two pastoral corridors of Northeast and Northwestern Nigeria. The Lake Chad region has been one of the battlefields for these conflicts in recent years. The basin’s economic potentials for both farming and herding attracted herders from other ecological zones, in Chad, Niger and Cameroun Republics to settle in the hinterlands of the Nigerian lake basin. Indeed, violence became common and widespread between newly arrived herders and their host farmers leading to several killings and destructions. The study utilized In-depth Interview, Focus Group Discussion, Non-participant observation in eliciting data from targeted respondents [farmers; herders; traditional leaders and government officials]. The study found out that, factors such as inadequate grazing reserve and stock routes; changes in land tenure system; insufficient legislation pastoralism; expansion in agricultural policies; economic factors and climate change are the long-term causes of the conflict. While crop damage; cattle raids; ethnicity and socio-cultural believes; the role of the state; political factor and herders’ aggressive behaviors have been responsible for the immediate causes of farmer-herder conflicts in the Lake Chad region. The study also found out that, there exist traditional and modern approaches through which farmer-herder conflicts are manage in the study area. The traditional approaches include social, economic, political and traditional leadership. While administrative, legislative and judicial constitute the modern approaches. In conclusion, both farmers and herders believe that the evolution of modern state has altered their community-based traditional conflict management systems that developed on the sanctity of traditional norms and values. Finally, the study articulated an alternative proposal for managing of farmer-herder conflict in a plural society like Nigeria, which emphasizes prevention strategies through good governance.