Nigeria: Fulani conflict escalates

Written by David Fletcher 07 Jul 2017
Nigeria: Fulani conflict escalates

Africa's Sahara desert is increasingly encroaching upon traditional farmlands. Muslim Fulani herdsmen, the largest nomadic tribe in Africa, are desperate for grazing land and water for their cattle, but farmers can't tolerate their crops being eaten, trampled, and destroyed by those cattle. This conflict for survival gives rise to violence. The mainly Christian Nigerian farmers have no defence against marauding herdsmen wielding guns and machetes. The central Christian area of Nigeria was once the main target, but with increasing desert encroachment, more areas are targeted. The Fulani are now even more of a threat than Boko Haram insurgents. Farmers are being slaughtered, and some are considering abandoning their farms. AK-47 assault rifles from the conflicts in neighbouring Libya and Mali come across porous borders. A recent anti-grazing law has failed to stop the Fulani. President Muhammadu Buhari, a Fulani, has ordered military crackdowns on them. Pray for God to destroy their sources and stockpile of weapons.

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