537.2
An X -Ray of Violent Conflicts between Farmers and Herdsmen in Nigeria
The persistence of farmer-herdsmen conflicts portends grave socioeconomic consequences. Some of the factors fueling the conflicts include environmental degradation, population growth, regional instability that has altered migration patterns, limited access to arable land, unreliable water sources that have increased natural resource pressures, blocked grazing routes and destruction of farmland by Fulani cattle. Increasing availability of modern weapons has increased the intensity and violence of these disputes. These have accounted for violent clashes that have claimed thousands of lives. The response of government to the issue of herder-farmer conflicts is discouraging. This paper will examine the genesis of the problem, document the chronology of violent conflicts between farmers and herdsmen, frustration aggression theory will be adopted to explain farmers- herders’ conflicts. The paper will also examine the government response to the conflicts and suggest ways to curtail these conflicts.