December 2023 saw a surge of violence in central Nigeria as attacks against farming communities in Plateau State left up to 200 dead and another 300 wounded. Already, blame has been pinned on Muslim Fulani herders from the North, who have steadily been pushing southward in what has become one of the most serious security challenges facing the country. But with the new president, Bola Tinubu, vowing to tackle the threats to Nigeria’s stability, can this growing problem really be solved?
Nigeria is Africa’s most populous state, with a population expected to exceed a third of a billion by 2050. This has put enormous strains on the country, which is made up of more than 250 different ethnic groups and divided between a largely Sunni Muslim North and a predominantly Christian South. In recent years, there has been growing separatism in the Igbo-dominated south and the oil-rich Delta region. Cult gangs have destabilised the Yoruba-dominated southwest. And in the north, Islamist groups, including Boko Haram and bandits, have been terrorising the population. However, the Herder-Farmer issue has emerged as another key threat to the country. Forced out of their traditional pastures by population growth and climate growth, Northern Muslim Fulani herders have fought with Southern Christian farmers. This has seen thousands killed and as many as two million displaced. But unless new policies can be urgently implemented to tackle the problem, the issue looks to worsen - exacerbating many of the other security challenges Nigeria faces.
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VIDEO CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction and Titles
00:47 Resource Conflicts and the Herder-Farmer Crisis
01:49 Nigeria: Location and Population
03:08 The Creation of Modern Nigeria
04:27 The Emergence of Nigeria’s Security Problems
05:56 Why Are Herders Migrating South?
08:20 The Herder-Farmer Violence in December 2023
09:35 How to End Herder-Farmer Violence?
11:10 Why the Herder-Farmer Crisis Destabilises Nigeria
SOURCES AND FURTHER READING
Nigerian Presidency
statehouse.gov.ng
United Nations | Addressing the Herdsmen-Farmers Conflict in Nigeria
• UNTFHS - Nigeria: Addr...
The Fulani People | Metropolitan Museum of Art
www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ful...
Farmer-Herder Relations in Nigeria
bbforpeace.org/blog/2021/05/0...
Nigeria: What Everyone Needs to Know
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