Pastoralist Transhumance and Conflicts in the Sahelian zone of the Nigeria-Niger Borderlands

Abstract

Pastoralism has been an old practice in the Sahel region of West Africa. In recent years, pastoralists in Nigeria have increasingly been migrating on seasonal transhumance southward from the neighboring countries especially Niger Republic in search of better grazing conditions. This has increased pressure on farmlands which instigate farmer-herder conflicts. These conflicts occur mainly between farmers and pastoralists, but also between pastoralist groups themselves. However, there has been a shift in these conflicts recently to involve traditional institutions and in some cases the local authorities along the borderlands. The involvement of local institutions in the conflict has created an incentive for local actors, particularly pastoral community-based groups in responding to these violent threats. As pastoralists are mobile, these conflicts became difficult to contain and thus, spill across borders. Consequently, the conflict has now transformed into an urbanized regional conflict that involves some major cities along the Nigeria-Niger borderlands; Sokoto, Zamfara, and Katsina on the Nigerian side and Dosso, Tahoa, and Maradi in the Niger Republic. These areas are now experiencing an unprecedented growing wave of violence that has become complex and escalated into a hydra-social conflict. This research aims to investigate how the fluidities of the Nigeria-Niger borderland intensified armed conflicts between the local pastoral organizations and the sedentary population spreading to some urban cities along the borderlands.