Farmers–Herdsmen Conflict, Cattle Rustling, and Banditry: The Dialectics of Insecurity in Anka and Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State, Nigeria

Bashir Bello,Mustapaha Muhammad Abdullahi

doi:10.1177/21582440211040117

Abstract

The study examined farmers–herdsmen conflict, cattle rustling, and banditry in Anka and Maradun local government area of Zamfara State, Nigeria. The study examined the influence of farmers–herdsmen conflicts on cattle rustling and banditry, and vice versa. Exploratory research was employed; focus group discussion (FGD) and key informant interview (KII)were used to collect primary data from the respondents. The data generated were transcribed and recorded verbatim (word-for-word account of verbal interview) and they were converted into written form. Data were enumerated and thematic analysis and categorization were provided. Secondary data were sourced from internet and relevant books. This study adopted the environmental resources scarcity and frustration-aggression theory. The findings of the study revealed that farmers–herdsmen conflict precipitates the acts of cattle rustling and banditry. It also revealed that conversely cattle rustling and banditry contributed to the farmers–herdsmen conflict in the local government area of Zamfara State. The study discovered that the synthesis of farmers–herdsmen conflicts, cattle rustling, and banditry pose serious threat to the safety and security of the people. The researchers recommended that there should be an introduction of grazing reserves equipped with adequate social amenities and that there should be policies capable of enhancing herders’ transformation from traditional to the modern method of animal husbandry. They also suggested that various factors responsible for farmers–herdsmen conflict, cattle rustling, and banditry should be properly managed by traditional and religious leaders. The findings corroborate the gaps which the researchers intended to fill

Highlights

The conflicts between farmers and herders have been in existence since the pre-colonial period; the conflicts were well managed and controlled such that their impact was not felt on the internal security and agriculture of Nigeria in general as it is today (Benjaminsen & Ba, 2009)
This study found that the pervasive clashes between farmers and herders in many parts of Anka and Maradun local governments have to do with the destruction of farm lands by the cattle which are mostly owned by the herdsmen; the contamination of water by the cattle; overgrazing by the cattle; disregard for the traditional authority of their host communities; and indiscriminate defecation by the cattle
It was found that climatic change which is responsible for desert encroachment and structural factors such as scarcity of resources; reduction in the interdependence of pastoral and agricultural economies; and the lack of commitment on the part of the government to resolve the differences between the herdsmen and the farmers are some of the factors responsible for the farmers and herders conflict

Summary

Introduction

The conflicts between farmers and herders have been in existence since the pre-colonial period; the conflicts were well managed and controlled such that their impact was not felt on the internal security and agriculture of Nigeria in general as it is today (Benjaminsen & Ba, 2009). There is a long history of herders migrating to West as a result of which they have relationships with sedentary farmers and co-exist and cooperate with shared available resources (Cabot, 2017). The social structure was designed to accommodate “Ruga.” The purpose of creating “Ruga” was to regulate grazing activities and to resolve any conflict between and within the farmers and Fulani group (Ellwood, 1995)

Objectives

Results

Conclusion