The political economy of the conflict between the farmers and Fulani herdsmen in the contemporary era of climate change in Nigeria

The violent clashes between Fulani herdsmen and sedentary farmers in Nigeria do not constitute an alien phenomenon in Nigeria; it is a phenomenon that has been in existence for decades which have resulted in the extensive loss of lives and property. The constant clashes have threatened the security of the State, reduced its economic productivity, and deepened food crisis. While there have been several clashes between the Fulani herdsmen and the farming communities for more than two decades, the escalation reached another level in 2014 with the Fulani herdsmen killing 1,229 people in comparison with 63 deaths in 2013. With more than 500 death by July 2016, the conflicts have been commonly credited to Fulani herdsmen expanding from the traditional grazing routes into the agricultural land which in turn always results into conflict over access to pasture. The escalation of the crisis has made many Nigerians and international observers including the United States to consider Fulani herdsmen as the second most dangerous group in Nigeria after Boko-Haram group. Therefore, there is a need for the critical assessment of the underlying factors responsible for the escalation of conflicts between the Fulani herdsmen and farmers to untangle the various important but conflicting narratives that have been used in explaining the reason behind the recent escalation of the conflict. To achieve this, the areas that have witnessed the escalation in conflicts are narrowed down to Berom community in Riyom and Bassa Local Government Area in Plateau state in the middle belt region of the country where qualitative methodology of data collection (interviews and focus group discussions) was carried out to examine the perspectives of the Fulani herdsmen, Berom Farmers, minority Ethnic groups, NGOs and government institution representatives. With the help of the analytical framework embedded in theory of access, political economy, and political ecology. The findings of the study reveal that the escalation of the conflict is more of political economy, access and criminality of cattle rustling from on the one hand. On the other hand, climate change, urbanization and population surge plays a significant role in escalating the conflict. The implication of the findings of this study is that the Nigeria government should look beyond adopting a response strategy that focus much on the narratives of climate change as the escalating factor.