Nigeria: Ending Farmers-Herdsmen Conflicts

Dec 14, 2017 | Punch
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The Federal Government has commenced nationwide consultations with community, traditional, religious and opinion leaders (led by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo) towards ending the incessant farmers-herdsmen conflicts in Nigeria. Violent conflicts between nomadic herders from northern Nigeria and sedentary farming communities in the central and southern zones have escalated in recent years and are spreading southward, threatening the country’s security and stability. With an estimated death toll of 2,500 people in 2016, these clashes are becoming as potentially dangerous as the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East. As these conflicts increase in frequency, intensity and geographical scope, so do their humanitarian and economic tolls exacerbate.