Traditional Institutions and the Management of Herder-farmer Conflicts in Nasarawa State

Abstract

This study critically interrogates the changing roles (continuity and change) of traditional institutions in conflict management and peacebuilding regarding herder-farmer conflicts in Nasarawa state, Nigeria. The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) recorded at least 107 incidents of pastoralist conflicts with 539 fatalities between 1997 and 2020 in the state. The study reveals that traditional institutions, particularly its chieftaincy variant, have been, wittingly or unwittingly, playing conflicting roles in peace-building and management of conflicts between herders and farmers in the state due to a number of factors: a) lack of clarity in the constitutional roles of traditional institutions; b) undue politicization, commercialisation, and judicialisation of traditional institutions; and c) declining state capacity and attendant expansion in ungoverned spaces across the country. Despite these challenges, traditional institutions remain relevant in the management of herder-farmer conflicts in the state. Repositioning traditional institutions for greater productivity in sustainable security and peace-building demands paying attention to the highlighted critical elements of continuity and change that have occurred in the structure and organisation of traditional institutions; and how such changes have affected their legitimacy, capacities, and effectiveness in responding to conflicts between herders and farmers in the state.