Violent Strangers at Our Gate: Global Climate Change, Conflict and Violent Crime among Farmers/Herders in Nigeria

Nigeria has increasingly become a theatre of violent conflicts especially that of herders and farmers with spiralling toll on human lives and property. This conflict occasioned largely by global climatic changes that has affected the environmental resources renewability that sustain human beings. The perennial herders and farmers conflicts have attracted large scholarly researches. Despite this scholarly research outcomes, there is a notable research gap on climate change and violent crime. This empirical study aims to address this gap. The objectives include to examine the link between climate change and the recurring conflicts as well as to interrogate how climate change induced conflicts result in violent crime in Nigeria. The Eco-violence theory guided the study. The study employed content analysis to analyse the nexuses between climate change, conflict and violent crimes. The findings revealed that changes in the global environmental composition – drought, desertification, reduction in rainfall, flooding, erosion, reduced land for farming and grazing- are responsible for environmental resource-scarcity that result in the skirmishes between herders and farmers. The study also found that this conflict has overtime assumed violent dimension which has led to the loss of lives and destruction of property. The violence is further exacerbated by the deployment of firearms by the herders. The recommendations include. The study recommends the supply of grasses to herders in their homes at a subsidized rate through a public/private partnership, as this will reduce the migration of herders from far north down south, and also reduce incidences of violent conflict and violent crimes.