(iPoster) Understanding Narratives in the Farmer-Herder Conflicts of Northern Nigeria

• In Event: Poster Sessions: African Politics Conference Group & Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Politics
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: African Politics Conference Group

Abstract

Farmer herder conflicts are often rooted in complex, multifaceted, and competing narratives and ideologies about land, identity, history and belonging. In northern Nigeria, where farmer-herder conflicts have intensified in recent decades, such conflicts threaten the stability of local democracies. Failures to adequately assess the causes of violence and design effective mediation programs result in increased reliance on vigilantism among affected communities in need of defense. Given that cultural narratives are central to constructing one’s perception of violence, investigations of how different stakeholders curate narratives of violence can advance our understanding of farmer-herder conflicts. In this study, we ask the question, how do stakeholders define the drivers of farmer-herder conflicts in Northern Nigeria? To answer this question, we analyze perceptions of the drivers of violence held by local stakeholders from the affected Nigerian states of Kaduna and Plateau. We address the lack of analysis of how social realities in conflict zones not only influence manifestations of violence but also shape communal narratives about violence. We highlight the implications of these narratives on the development of mutual suspicion and grievances between conflicting parties and urge researchers and practitioners to be attentive to how narratives shape conflicts and peace.

Through discourse analysis, we identify three themes in characterizations of farmer-herder conflicts in northern Nigeria: the ambiguity of land’s function as identity and resource, the mistrust of the ethnoreligious “other” as a colonial legacy, and the debate regarding the rights of indigenes and settlers. In particular, our findings fundamentally affirm that the analytical frameworks that prioritize land scarcity as a driver of farmer-herder conflicts eclipse the role of communal histories and identity. Moreover, we illustrate how the persistence of narratives that historicize ethnoreligious differences between non-Fulani, Christian farmers and Fulani, Muslim herders in Nigeria fuels mutual suspicion, which in turn precipitates violence.

We conducted 22 interviews with leaders of NGOs, lawyers, doctors, and political advocates with personal and/or professional experience in Kaduna and Plateau, in 2022. We describe and contextualize the perspectives that emerged in the interviews. We employed observational techniques, highlighting repetition of ideas, descriptions of events, impacts and actors, and silences or missing narratives. We took guidance from Kathy Charmaz’s (2006) constructivist grounded theory through which central findings emerge from analysis of interviewee data and preliminary research on the subject of discussion. To contextualize and ground these three perspectives, we referred to narratives in academic literature, particularly sociohistorical studies. Anticipating commentary on farmer-herder relations and Christian-Muslim relations, we honed in on their interpretations during the interview analysis.

Our findings suggest that while communities often seek justice or remediation outside of judicial mechanisms, efforts to improve the institutional capacity of government entities, such as security and judicial systems must occur to reduce distrust and strengthen democracy. Despite structural barriers and internal ambiguity regarding the commitment of local, state, and federal governments to reduce violence, the institutionalization of peacebuilding has led to more nuanced responses to farmer-herder conflicts. Thus, our results point to the potential for increased investments in public trust-building and state peace architectures to mitigate violence.

Charmaz, Kathy. 2006. Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis. SAGE Publications.

Authors

• Jennifer Eburuoh, American University

• Ellis Adjei Adams, University of Notre Dame