Community Leaders and Management of Pastoralist-Farmer Conflicts in Benue and Nasarawa States, Nigeria
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.sidebar##
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.main##
Abstract
Pastoralist-farmer conflict has become a recurrent decimal aggravating the security challenges in Benue an Nasarawa states. Government and civil society groups have intervened in the conflict, yet, it remains intractable, causing numerous deaths and massive internal displacement of people. The paper assessed the conflict management mechanisms adopted by the community leaders in managing the conflict between pastoralists and farmers in Benue and Nasarawa states. Conflict transformation theory was used to anchor the paper. A validated questionnaire was used to collect data from Non-Governmental Organisations and victims of the conflict. The quantitative data were analysed using simple percentages. Both primary and secondary sources of data were utilized in eliciting information. Ten in-depth interviews were conducted with farmers, pastoralists, community leaders, Non-Governmental Organisations officials and law enforcement agents in the two states. The qualitative data from the interviews were content analysed in line with the research objectives. It was found that pastoralist-farmer conflict was managed by the community leaders making use of negotiation, mediation and alternative dispute resolution. However, the management of the conflict was characterised by extortion, erosion of the traditional authorities and lack of skills by the community leaders. The paper concluded that the management of pastoralist-farmer conflict by the community leaders has not been effective as a result of lack of the traditional integrity and conflict management skills. It is recommended that there is need for training and re-training of the community leaders in conflict management skills. The traditional value systems need to be resuscitated right from the community level in order reduce the level of corruption by the leaders.
Keywords: Conflict Management, Community Leaders, Conflict Transformation Theory, Farmer, Pastoralist-Farmer Conflict, Pastoralist
References
Adebajo, A. A. (2020). Religious and External Dimension of Pastoralist-farmer Conflict in the North Central Nigeria. FUDMA Journal of Politics and International Affairs (FUJOPIA), 3(1), 92-105.
Adebajo, A. A., & Iseoluwa, R. O. (2020). Climate Change, Resource Scarcity and Pastoralist-farmer Conflict in North Central Nigeria. Jalingo Journal of Social and Management Sciences, 2(3), 23-38.
Adogi, M. (2013). Fulani-farmers Conflicts in Nasarawa State: The Ecology, Population and Politics. Abuja: Murry Greens Consult.
Audu, Y. A., & Yakubu, U. A. (2022). Interrogating the Challenges of Managing Resource Conflict between Herders and Farmers in Nigeria. Zamfara Journal of Politics and Development, 3(1), 1-15. Retrieved from https://zjpd.com.ng/index.php/zjpd/article/view/77
Bwala, M. A., & Ogirima, A. (2020). Conflict in Nigeria’s Agricultural Community; The Herders’ Perspective in North Central Nigeria. Journal of Agribusiness and Rural Development, 56(2), 163-172. http://doi.org/10.17306/J.JARD.2020.01272
Chikaire, J. U., Ajaero, J. O., Ibe, M. N., & Onogu, B. (2018). Status in Institutional Arrangements for Managing Resource Use Conflicts among Crop Farmers and Pastoralists in Imo State, Nigeria. Agricultural Research & Technology, 19(1), 556077. http://doi.org/10.19080/ARTOAJ.2018.19.556077
Curle, A. (1971). Making Peace. London: Tavistock Publications.
Ercoşkun, B. (2021). On Galtung’s Approach to Peace Studies. Lectio Socialis, 5(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.47478/lectio.792847
Galtung, J. (1996). Peace by Peaceful Means: Peace and Conflict, Development and Civilization. London: Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446221631
Hamad, A. A. (2005). The Reconceptualisation of Conflict Management. Peace, Conflict and Development: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 7, 22-37. Retrieved from http://www.ahmadazem.com/alazem/books/144/reconceptualisation/
Ikezue, C. E., & Ezeah, P. (2017). Recurrent Conflicts among Migrant Fulani Herdsmen and Indigenous Communities of Southern Nigeria: A Review of Literature. International Journal of Health and Social Inquiry, 3(1), 152-169. Retrieved from https://journals.aphriapub.com/index.php/IJHSI/article/view/331
Kehinde, E. A. (2014). Conflict Management Strategies to Reduce Consequences on Livelihoods of Fulani Cattle Herders and Farmers in Kabba - Bunu, Kogi State, Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Rural Sociology, 14(2), 15-21. Retrieved from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ags/ngnjrs/287170.html
Krippendorff, E. (1973). Peace Research and the Industrial Revolution. Journal of Peace Research, 10(3), 185-201. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/422771
Kwaja, C. M. A., & Smith, K. (2020). Transnational Dimensions of Conflict between Farmers and Herders in the Western Sahel and Lake Chad Basin. Washington DC: Search for Common Ground. Retrieved from https://www.sfcg.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/SFCG_Policy_Brief_Transnational_Dimension_to_FH_Conflicts.pdf
Lederach, J. P. (2000). Journey from Resolution to Transformative Peacebuilding. In C. Sampson, & J. P. Lederach (Eds.), From the Ground Up: Mennonite Contributions to International Peacebuilding (pp. 45-55). New York: Oxford University Press.
Maliki, R., Sinsin, B., Tokpa, C., & Parrot, L. (2019). Farmers-herders’ Conflict Management for Sustainable Agro-pastoral Land Use in the Guinea-Sudan Zone. European Journal of Scientific Research, 155(1), 94-114. Retrieved from https://www.europeanjournalofscientificresearch.com/issues/PDF/EJSR_155_1_08.pdf
Mbih, R. A. (2020). The Politics of Farmer-herder Conflicts and Alternative Conflict Management in Northwest Cameroon. African Geographical Review, 32(4), 324-344. https://doi.org/10.1080/19376812.2020.1720755
Miall, H. (2004). Conflict Transformation: A Multi-Dimensional Task. In A. Austin, M. Fischer, & N. Ropers (Eds.), Transforming Ethnopolitical Conflict: The Berghof Handbook (pp. 67-89). Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-663-05642-3_4
Mohammed, M. M., Umar, B. F., & Hamisu, S. (2017). Farmer-herder Conflict Management: The Role of Traditional Institutions in Borno State, Nigeria. Republic of Moldova: Lap Lambert Academic Publishing.
Nextier SPD. (2021). Resolving Farmer-herder Conflicts. Retrieved from https://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/resolving-farmer-herder-conflicts
Okoro, J. P. (2018). Herdsmen/Farmers Conflict and Its Effects on Socio-economic Development in Nigeria. Journal of Peace, Security, and Development, 4(1), 143-158
Pia, E., & Diez, T. (2007). Conflict and Human Rights: A Theoretical Framework. In SHUR: Human Rights in Conflicts: The Role of Civil Society, a STREP Project Funded by the EU60th Framework Programme (SHUR WP 1/07). Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/28224991/SHUR_Working_Paper_Series_Conflict_and_Human_Rights_A_Theoretical_Framework
Tari, V. A. (2021). Dissecting Management Strategies of Farmer-herder Conflict in Selected Vulnerable States in North-central Nigeria. Gusau International Journal of Management and Social Sciences, 4(2), 276-300. Retrieved from https://gijmss.com.ng/index.php/gijmss/article/view/66
Ugwu, A. C., & Enna, D. M. (2015). Conflict Transformation in Nasarawa State: The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Option. Global Journal of Political Science and Administration, 3(3), 58-73. Retrieved from https://www.eajournals.org/journals/global-journal-of-political-science-and-administration-gjpsa/vol-3issue-3-june-2015/conflict-transformation-in-nasarawa-state-the-alternative-dispute-resolution-adr-option/