Author: The Nation

Researchers on cross-border movement of herders between Nigeria and neighbouring countries have rejected a popular view that most of the herder-farmer conflicts in Nigeria involve herders from other countries.

Such conflicts, which had been particularly deadly in Benue and Adamawa States were often attributed to herders from Chad or Niger Republic. But the researchers who presented their findings at a research validation seminar organised by the Centre for Peace and Security Studies of the Modibbo Adama University (MAU), Yola, said it is Nigerian herders that actually migrate to other countries.

One of the researchers, Dr Adam Higazi of the University of Amsterdam who presented a research result on ‘Pastoral Mobility, Intergroup Relations and Peacebuilding in the Borderlands of Nigeria and Cameroon,’ during the research validation seminar, stressed that Nigeria produces the most migratory herders beteeen Nigeria on the one hand and Niger, Chad and Cameroon on the other. 

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Higazi, who conducted his research in affiliation to MAU Yola, said:  “Many pastoralists are crossing from Adamawa and Taraba particularly to Cameroon and are trying to reach the Central Africa Republic but some stop in Cameroon.

“We did not find much movement of herders from Cameroon or Central Africa Republic to Nigeria. It is really going much more in the other direction. Similarly, we found some return movement of some pastoralists who had left Nigeria.”

In her own evaluation of the herder-farmer conflict issue, Dr Janet Muhammed, who is the West Africa Programme director of Conciliation Resources, an international peacebuilding organisation with headquarters in London, said by way of solution that for Nigeria to resolve herder-farmer conflicts, it must look beyond the herders to factors, including inadequate grazing reserves, that encourage conflict.

The Director of MAU’s Centre for Peace and Security Studies, Prof Jude Momodu, said the research on herd movement and herder-farmer conflicts is an eye opener to policy makers on how herders and farmers can co-exist harmoniously.

Grooming sessions by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for schoolchildren and their teachers in Adamawa State have empowered schoolgirls economically and raised their class attendance levels.

The teachers and children stated this and registered their appreciation during a field visitation by UNICEF officials and journalists to some schools in Jada and Guyuk local government areas. 

The training programme, funded by the Netherlands Directorate-General for International Cooperation-Accelerated Sanitation and Water for All programme ll (DGIS-ASWA II) in conjunction with UNICEF, impacted knowledge on male and female schoolchildren on personal hygiene.

Female children particularly received grooming  on handling menstruation during school hours and even at home, and  testimonies of the children indicated that the training changed false negative and primitive beliefs on menstruation.

“Following the training, we girls are making money from new entrepreneurship. We make reusable menstrual pads locally, which is cheaper and can be reused for up to six months,” a pupil, Aisha Suleiman said.

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She added that local pad making had addressed the challenges of skipping classes due to menstrual flow that she preciousely had no money to buy manufactured pads for.

During a field visit to Tsohon Tikke Primary school, one of the schools which benefitted from the training by UNICEF,
the head teacher, Musa Umar said what used to be in the dark and kept people in ignorance has been brought to the open courtesy of the training as issues surrounding menstruation were freely discussed and long nursed doubts cleared.

“I initially could not see myself, a Fulani man, discussing such issue with my students, but the training has enabled a seamless relationship between the parents, teachers and the students and everyone is the better for it,” Musa said.

The Coordinator of WASH in Jada Local Government Area, Obadia David, said 60 children 13 to 17 years old across 20 schools in the area were impacted and are expected to spread their knowledge to their peers.