Herders/Famers Violent Conflict and Controversial RUGA Settlement Programme.

The persistent violent conflict in Nigeria mainly between the sedentary crop farmers and the nomadic cattle herders particularly the Fulani of Nigeria, had claimed many lives and led to damage of properties and continued to garner a lot of comments and proffered solutions from different public policy analyst, non-governmental organizations, development partners, international and local actors, social commentators, policy makers, state and federal government and international research organizations.

According to two international organizations’ reports: Amnesty International and International Crisis Group, in 2018 the conflict between herders and farmers was six times deadlier than Boko Haram, with a death toll of 1,949, almost double what it was the year before. Nigeria's farmers/herders crisis killed more than 6,000 people in the last three years and Benue was the most affected state in the country.

Amnesty International further reported, between January 2016 and October 2018, the Fulani/herders conflicts claimed lives of 726 people in Benue state alone. This is not to mention other worst hit states: Adamawa, Plateau and Zamfara.

Also, in its new report, “Harvest of Death: Three Years of Bloody Clashes Between Farmers and Herders”, Amnesty International claimed that the escalation of the bloody clashes between pastoral farmers and herders in the country was escalated by the federal government's inability to investigate the conflict and bring perpetrators to justice. 

According to the international human rights organization report, 2075 recorded deaths occurred in 2018, representing 57% of the total deaths in the last three years. Other states affected include Edo (9), Ebonyi (4), Rivers (2), Abuja (2), Ondo (2), Anambra (1), Abia (1) and Ekiti (1). The research covered clashes between farmers and herders from January 2016, between August 2017 and September 2018 in 10 field trips to 56 villages in 14 states.

It is against this background, recently, in the quest to respond to the recommendations and agitation from critical stakeholders; international organizations and well-meaning Nigerians, for the federal government of Nigeria to address the root causes of the conflict by reforming cattle management practices and improving policies on agriculture and land access. Also strengthen mechanisms for conflict resolution, investigate the attacks, prosecute perpetrators, and respond to instances of violence with symbolic gestures such as visiting and supporting communities affected by this crisis.

The federal government of Nigeria on Tuesday, June 25, 2019 introduced the implementation of Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) settlements, the latest plan to put an end to a recurring conflict between nomadic herders and farmers. RUGA is proposed as a settlement for animal farmers, not just cattle herders, with the provision of necessary and adequate basic amenities such as schools, hospitals, road networks, vet clinics, markets and manufacturing entities that will process and add value to meats and animal products. One of the key expected outcomes of RUGA settlements plan is to put an end to the nomadic lifestyle of herdsmen, who are usually, but not exclusively, Fulani. According federal government, RUGA settlement will bring in investors that will set up modern centers where cattle breeders can slaughter their animals. It will provide at least 2,000 jobs and will be a major attraction for foreign investors. The cattle herders that hope to benefit from RUGA settlements are expected to be registered with cooperatives for the purpose of the ranching scheme. It is only the cooperatives that will then be able to get rental agreements for land from state governments and also benefit from ranch resources on several terms.

Currently, 11 states have reportedly shown interest designated as pilot states, which are Sokoto, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Kogi, Taraba, Katsina, Plateau, Kebbi, Zamfara and Niger. The federal government went on to claim that RUGA is a permanent solution to herders/famers unwanted violent conflicts.

Despite all these articulated benefits of RUGA settlement plan by the federal government of Nigeria, one questions the lack of transparency on the relational and procedural step behind the establishment of RUGA settlement as panacea to the lingering herders/farmers conflict in Nigeria. Firstly, there was no adequate consultation among the critical stakeholders before the formulation of the programme, hence the outright condemnation from the southern as well as Northern region of Nigeria. Many a citizen does not understand the gains of RUGA settlement plan.

Therefore, if the champions of RUGA are sincere, it is pertinent that the federal government of Nigeria and its agency, the National Orientation Agency in collaboration with Civil Society Organizations to work together and sensitize the populace on the RUGA’s merit and demerit. By engaging in this programme and policy formation step, the RUGA plan will gain legitimacy form the critical stakeholders or die a natural death like the likes in the history such as: (1) Creation of Grazing Reserves in 1965. (2). Establishment of the National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE) in 1989. (3). Establishment of the National Grazing Reserve Bill 2016.

Finally, the herders/famers conflict in Nigeria is both social and political conflict which if not well managed could lead to the destruction of the entity called Nigeria. It is against this notion that the government at all level should see it as a matter of urgency to call emergency meeting/ dialogue on the subject matter. Secondly, in doing so, the communities, other critical stakeholders and the victims of the herder/famers violent conflict who are currently in the Internally Displaced Persons camp, should be consulted in the formulation of policies to address the conflict.     

@Iheanyichukwu Iheke 2019.

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