HERDERS-FARMERS CONFLICT, STATE GOVERNMENT’S INTERVENTION AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA: EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT FROM OGBESE COMMUNITY IN AKURE NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT, ONDO STATE
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Date
2023-06
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International Journal of Management, Social Sciences, Peace and Conflict Studies (IJMSSPCS)
Abstract
This study investigated herders-farmers conflict, state Government’s intervention,
and conflict management in Nigeria. The issues examined include: the causal factors
responsible for the herders-farmers conflict; the conflict effects on social economic;
various form of intervention programmes that state government embarked on reducing
herders-farmers conflict and the level of awareness, extent of the acceptability, efficacy
and the inevitable consequences of the intervention programmes. The study used the
survey-descriptive research design while four-point scale likert-type questionnaire was
employed as the research instrument to elicit responses from one hundred responses
selected using convenience and voluntary response sampling method. The data was
analyzed using SPSS Software Version 26. The findings from the study revealed that
scarcity of natural resources such as grazing land and water; destruction of crops and
farmland caused by the herders during grazing are the major internal factors that
caused herders-farmers conflict and the conflict as well has negative effects on socioeconomic.
The establishment of Amotekun Corps and enacted of anti-open grazing law
as parts of the programmes established by the government in reducing the herdersfarmers
conflict received full awareness and acceptability by all and sundry. The
efficacy of these programmes has no doubt significantly reduced the conflict, though;
the inevitable consequences remain the huge cost implication of the establishment of
Amotekun corps and criticisms from oppositions. The study therefore recommends that
Northern State Government should encourage and establish ranching system,
trainings, and provide fund and loan at very low interest to herders to enhance cattle
business since cattle rearing is their major occupation, which in return will reduce the
herders’ migration southward. While in the western part of Nigeria, modern way of
rearing cattle – ranching should be made mandatory for the indigenous herders to
embrace with the support of the state government as being practiced in other civilized
country. In addition, Western Nigeria Security Network codenamed Operation
Amotekun should strategize another means to complement the efforts of her state
security network – Amotekun Corps to combat the security challenges facing the
region.
Description
Staff Publication
Keywords
Herders-farmers conflict, Conflict Management, State Government Intervention, Ogbese Community, Nigeria.