Climate Change and Conflict in Nigeria: A Theoretical and Empirical Examination of the Worsening Incidence of Conflict between Fulani Herdsmen and Farmers in Northern Nigeria

Climate change in recent time has acquired global currency as never before. In fact, its ramifications, as well as its problems and consequences are well known, relatively unknown is its tendency to precipitate violent conflict. This paper examined, at the theoretical and empirical levels the nexus between climate change and conflict in Nigeria. More fundamentally, it showed how climate change accounts for the worsening incidence of conflict between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in northern Nigeria. Anchoring analysis on the eco-violence theory, we argued that much as we believe that the immediate cause of Fulani herdsmen and farmer conflict in northern Nigeria is natural resource scarcity that the remote cause is climate change which has through drought and desertification led to the worsening incidence of natural resource scarcity and worsen conflict between the two. Our position is that since climate change has come to stay, it is important for government to put more machinery on ground particularly in the north because over 70 percent of the nation’s food crop comes from the region by encouraging climate change mitigation and adaptation. Further, climatologic research should be enhanced to combat desert encroachment, and in the long run reduce inherent conflicts.