Violence among the Fulani herdsmen of Nigeria
Violence among the Fulani herdsmen of Nigeria
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Memo; Violence among the Fulani herdsmen of Nigeria
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Subject; violence from the Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria
Introduction
This memo will provide details and information about the violence of Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria. The Fulani herdsmen have caused a lot of problems to people who live around their grazing areas. Some of these problems include the need for grazing land for their cattle while the neighbours who live next to them are farmers, resulting in a conflict of interest. This happens because the farmers see the plants in the fields as their source of income, and it is the thing they value the most. On the other hand, the herdsmen see the animals starving due to lack of food, i.e. grazing lands, and therefore they feel bad because that is their source of income, and as considered in some instances in Africa, cattle are a sign of wealth. Therefore if the Fulani herdsmen value their cattle as their wealth, then it turns out that they must do anything to make sure that the cattle are fully taken care of. In this instance, we realize two sides pushing to protect what is theirs. However, on the side of the Fulani, they are trying to satisfy their personal needs with resources from other people around them, which might be considered inappropriate behaviour (Odoh & Chilaka, 2012).
Therefore to curb these challenges in the northern part of Nigeria, then the challenges must be addressed. There are different ways of addressing these challenges. One of them is bringing to knowledge people who do not yet know about the conflict and then brainstorming for the most appropriate ideas that help the lesson’s challenge (Odoh & Chilaka, 2012). When the challenges are severe like these, there is a need for a total change to be realized so that the problem can be solved. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the issues at hand, which affect the peace of the neighbouring communities among the Fulani herdsmen. This paper also tries to discuss the two conflicting sides and offers several suggestions into what should be done to change the situation, which is devastating day by day. ( Ajibefun, 2018).
According to the terrorist research and Analysis Consortium (TRAC), the conflict in the northern part of Nigeria is a land-based conflict. Land-based conflict means that a group of people are not staying within their premises and are thus coming to use other individuals’ resources, and therefore it causes conflicts. The conflicts arise because the herdsmen are not ready to stop the ill behaviour of the present time. This alludes to the fact that their cattle are more important to them than the common good and peace.
The type of security crisis presented herein can be termed as domestic because of its nature. It can also fall under war; however, it is not war; what causes the war is the domestic confrontations and lack of knowing how to respect other people’s property and premises. Therefore, this is a domestic security crisis since there is a lack of adequate resources, in this case, land to help the Fulani herdsmen graze their kettle and the farmers around them to continue with their farming without interruption.
Human security comes along with the fact that the conflict addressed and talked about concerns human beings. The human beings in these two cases think, and it becomes difficult for anyone to convince any of these two groups otherwise since they hold onto their belief so firmly. Therefore, there is a human security factor when there are these confrontations since war is an easy thing to come up with. This is because continued instances of injustice cause fights, and in this case, the Fulani do not give their neighbours the peace they deserve and the ability to appreciate them from a positive point of view. This is a sign of a rigid mindset which is always very difficult to convince the believer of these concepts. Human security in this issue should have brought you to convince a person that even though things happen, it might not be very positive. It is still a sign that there is hope for human security to be regained in most of the parts, even though not in a complete and former peace and oneness.
Human security is as important as other concerns and issues that arise as people get to know each other more closely. There are many causes together for this situation at hand whereby there is a group of people who believe they are better. Therefore their issues have to be listened to and addressed while at the same time, they also tend not to value other people around them (Ezeonwuka, 2016). The groups that can be associated with these characteristics are the Fulani. They keep getting into the farms and other private places of the communities surrounding them and grazing their cattle.
On the other hand, the people who are farmers and generally neighbours to the Fulani herdsmen suffer since they have always tried to solve this challenge, and it has not been fruitful so far. Another cause of this problem is the lack of civilization or lack of education among the Fulani people of the northern part of Nigeria. Their thinking is very rigid, and they are almost unable to change; therefore, this causes conflict. Another causative agent or promoter of the conflict is the inability or the unwillingness of the government to act upon these issues and provide a guideline towards dealing with these issues.
Even though there have been trials to solve the challenges, it has not been arrived at. There is a possibility of consensus if the political leaders in the country and the other people try to talk and have a dialogue with the Fulani people and the neighbouring communities and peoples for finding a lasting solution to this challenge. Apart from political leaders and others in the administration, we can also have non-governmental organizations that can help change the situation. Spiritual and religious organizations can also push for a change through their different ways of bringing positive change to the society they exist in.
The current situations need a specialized kind of people to solve the challenges. The former peoples and groups which were tasked with this did very good work because it is not possible for the current situation to be the way it is was it not for the former justice like Aliko Dangote. The government still needs to come up with possible solutions to the challenge so that there is a good manner of relations and peace existing between the Fulani and the herdsmen. The current issue which we have discussed herein has not been fully solved so far. Even though different people are working very hard and smart to make sure that the issue is solved, it is important to go to the situations when it all started and try to see how the issues can be solved.
The possible ways of making sure that the current challenges are solved are like; involving the government to a larger extent and making sure that the government is part and parcel of the group. The individuals can also decide to talk to the leaders and discuss the issue to appreciate peace.
References
Odoh, S. I., & Chilaka, F. C. (2012). Climate change and conflict in Nigeria: a theoretical and empirical examination of the worsening incidence of conflict between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in Northern Nigeria. Oman Chapter of Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review, 34(970), 1-15.
Ajibefun, M. B. (2018). Social and economic effects of the menace of Fulani herdsmen crises in Nigeria. Journal of Educational and Social Research, 8(2), 133.
Ezeonwuka, I. F., & Igwe, A. U. (2016). Emerging challenges in Nigeria’s national security in the twenty-first century: The Fulani herdsmen menace. Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 4(5), 204-215.
Bello, A. U. (2013). Herdsmen and farmers conflicts in North-Eastern Nigeria: Causes, repercussions, and resolutions. Academic journal of interdisciplinary studies, 2(5), 129.
Li, N. (2018). Nigeria’s Fulani herdsmen-farmers conflict and peacebuilding. Global journal of agricultural research, 6(5), 1-15.
Li, N. (2018). Nigeria’s Fulani herdsmen-farmers conflict and peacebuilding. Global journal of agricultural research, 6(5), 1-15.
Musa, S. D., Shabu, T., & Igbawua, M. I. (2016). Resource use conflict between farmers and Fulani herdsmen in Guma local government area of Benue State, Nigeria. J. Def. Stud. Res. Manag, 4(1).
Bello, A. U. (2013). Herdsmen and farmers conflicts in North-Eastern Nigeria: Causes, repercussions, and resolutions. Academic journal of interdisciplinary studies, 2(5), 129.
Oli, N. P., Ibekwe, C. C., & Nwankwo, I. U. (2018). Prevalence of Herdsmen and Farmers Conflict in Nigeria. Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology, 15(2).
