SECURITY IMPLICATIONS OF HERDSMEN MIGRATION TO SOUTH-EAST

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

Abstract

The Fulani herders migrate from the northern part of the country to non-Hausa regions in search of grass to feed their cattle. This process sometimes leads to cattle grazing on farmlands, destroying crops, which creates conflict between herders and farmers in the affected communities or states. So, the recent herder migration to the Southeast has caused a severe conflict between the herders, the farmers, and the host communities. However, this migration has been interpreted by the people of the Southeast as an agenda to Islamize the region, and this has posed a security risk to the people. This paper interrogates herders' migration to the Southeast and examines its security implications and possible solutions. Conflict theory was adopted for the paper as its framework of analysis, while the documentary method of data collection, which is anchored on secondary sources, was employed. The paper investigates the reasons for the herder's migration to the Southeast implicated economic losses and attacks from the Boko Haram insurgency on the herders to avoid tax collectors, harmful insects, frequent droughts and desertification, rural banditry and cattle rustling; hence, they are in search of grasses for the grazing of their cattle. The paper suggests ranching as a global best practice based on the findings. As cattle-rearing is a private business, government should institute adequate security outfits and support community-based conflict resolution bodies in the respective areas.