Background Report: The Fulani Herdsmen (Part V— Conclusion)
Previously published November 2016 (Project Cyma)
The current conflict in Nigeria between the Fulani herdsmen and their neighbors stems from a long history of feuding, farming, and herding, and will not easily be resolved. Preexisting communal conflicts have fueled violence as herdsmen turn militant in the face of urbanization, desertification, and the indifference of the Nigerian government to their plight. Fulani violence has taken more lives in the past six months than has Boko Haram, Nigeria’s most prominent terrorist organization, and it shows no signs of slowing in its deadly pace.
CONCLUSION
In Nigeria’s middle belt, a crisis grows daily, and it must be resolved for danger of further loss of prosperity, property, and life. The region’s conflict has been growing for a long time, and it is not easily managed. Numerous factors are at play in central Nigeria, and each of them complicates the embattled climate. For tensions in the area to be fully relieved, the causes of the conflict — internal and external — will have to be addressed along with the damage to which it has led.
It is unlikely that the Fulani militants will allow tensions in the middle belt to decline until either they are stopped or their grievances are addressed. Since stopping the violence without negotiation and compromise would result in great loss of life and could worsen the situation, it is in the best interest of both the militants and the government to cooperate with one another. The militants do not seek to destroy the government as some of Nigeria’s terrorist groups do, so the powers that be in the nation have little to fear by resorting to negotiations. The Fulani themselves can benefit from talks with the government as well, perhaps achieving their end goal, if in a diminished form.
A long history has led to the recent events in central Nigeria, and it has created a dangerous problem, but one that can be solved with care. Those affected will have to stop casting accusations and blame and begin to work together toward peace in the region. There may be a long period of tension and recovery, but the threat of Fulani militants only grows as their true goals are ignored, and so the work towards an answer must begin now. The solution may be simple or it may be infinitely complex, but it surely must start with a recognition of others not as militant and victim, Muslim and Christian, or herdsman and farmer, but as citizen and citizen, each with needs and concerns that must be weighed.
