Canadian Social Science
A Critical Analysis of the Relationship Between Climate Change, Land Disputes, and the Patterns of Farmers/Herdsmen’s Conflicts in Nigeria
Abstract
Relying on the Nigeria Watch database and newspaper reports from August 2014 to April 2018, this study analyses the root causes, patterns, and politicisation of the farmers/herdsmen conflicts in Nigeria. This study critically examines the relationship between climate change, land disputes, and the patterns of farmers/ herdsmen conflicts in Nigeria.
Scholars’ attempts to examine the relationship between environmental (in)sustainability and violent conflicts have been largely inconclusive. The recent conflicts between farmers and herdsmen may have taken a different pattern, especially in the North-Central region of Nigeria. Many people have attributed the increase in the conflicts between the two communities (farmers and herdsmen) to several non-environmental factors. The study adopts longitudinal research methods to unearth the connections between climate change, land disputes, and the patterns of the conflicts. It, however, looks at the conflict(s) as a product of environmental influences but escalated by the “vested interests” benefiting from the continued conflicts in the region.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/10967
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