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Climate Change and Inter-Ethnic Conflict in Nigeria a
Olakunle Michael Folami & Adejoke Olubimpe Folami a
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Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria
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Obafemi Awolowo University Version of record first published: 26 Feb 2013.
To cite this article: Olakunle Michael Folami & Adejoke Olubimpe Folami (2013): Climate Change and Inter-Ethnic Conflict in Nigeria, Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice, 25:1, 104-110 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10402659.2013.759783
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Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice, 25:104–110 C Taylor & Francis Group, LLC Copyright ISSN 1040-2659 print; 1469-9982 online DOI: 10.1080/10402659.2013.759783
Climate Change and Inter-Ethnic Conflict in Nigeria Downloaded by [University of Ulster at Coleraine] at 01:53 26 April 2013
OLAKUNLE MICHAEL FOLAMI AND ADEJOKE OLUBIMPE FOLAMI
Security has been a major issue in Nigeria’s developmental crisis. There are various social phenomena such as AIDS/HIV, global warming, financial meltdowns, and terrorism, which have consequences that have always led to social disorganization as well as to breaches of security as a result of the endemic poverty and the level of underdevelopment in Africa. Climate change has been added to this list, as a global problem, but its effects are more pronounced on the African continent than anywhere else in the world. The local recognition of this fact has been steadily growing, and there is now need for networking of researchers and policymakers to work toward mitigating the effects of climate change in Africa.
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limate change is anthropogenic in all dimensions; carbon dioxide and black carbon emissions are all the havoc caused by human beings as a result of their activities on earth. Industrialization drives and production mechanisms are believed to be the causes of the greenhouse effect, which eventually leads to climate change and in turn affects humankind’s environment. The activities that led to global warming are more at the door step of the more economically developed nations of the world, but the effects are more pronounced in the developing countries because of a lack of adaptive mechanisms to combat the challenges. The world is reaping the fruit of overexploitation of natural resources and the emission of poisonous chemicals. While rich countries are responsible for three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions, the poorest people are being hit first and hardest by a changing climate! Many developing countries have taken steps to reduce emissions and are looking to rich countries for financial and technological support. According to Ester Agbarakwu, the rich countries have the money and technology to pull the world from the brink of no return. The rich countries have a double duty: to deliver massive emission cuts at home and to provide resources for poor countries to address their emission problems too. Over the course of just six months, an average UK citizen will be responsible for the equivalent emission of the greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide
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that someone in a developing country will generate in their whole life-time. Yet, while emissions in developing countries are generally low, the effects of global warming hit African people the most, according to the research done by Paul Chowdhry and Anthony Costello. Disasters have always been with us, but they are becoming more frequent and more severe. As global warming increases, the frequency and severity of climate extremes reflect more weather-related disasters. It can leave people without access to food and water, without income as crops fail, and displacement from homes because of flooding and drought. The incessant, inter-communal crises have been traced to the aftermath of the effects of climate change in Nigeria. People that have been affected by consequences of climate change move to other communities where the effects of climate change are less severe, as A.S. Gbadegesin and his associates have shown.
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ocial disorganization theory has been used to explain the security implications of Fulani herdsmen migrants. This theory identifies crime-ridden neighborhoods as those in which residents are trying to leave at the earliest opportunity. Residents are uninterested in community matters, therefore, the common sources of control—the family, school, business community, and social service agents—are weak and scantly moving. According to Larry Siegel and Gordon Howard, constant resident turnover weakens communications and blocks attempts at resolving neighborhood problems or establishing common goals. The “push and pull model” provides a further explanation for the reasons why Fulani herdsmen had to leave the north and sojourn in the south. Factors that push them away include the damages climate change has brought to the north, including drought, land slides, desertification, pollution, sand storms, disease, hunger, and unusual weather. Pull factors that attracted the Fulani herdsmen to the south were moderate weather, market opportunity, green vegetation, forage, and hope and aspiration. Yet the migration also eventually led to unavoidable crises. Thus, we must examine the connection between climate change and inter-communal conflict. It will help us understand the security consequences of climate change for the host communities. The Yoruba people, of whom there are more than twenty-five million, occupy the southwestern area of Nigeria along the Republic of Benin border. They comprise the host community for migrants from the north. To the east and north, the Yoruba culture reaches its approximate limits in the region of the Niger River. Ancestral cultures directly related to the Yoruba, however, once flourished well north of the Niger. “Ifa” theology states that the creation of humankind arose in the sacred city of Ile-Ife where Oduduwa created dry land from water. Much later, an unknown number of Africans migrated from Mecca to Ile-Ife. At this
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point, the eastern Africans and western Africans synergized. Ife was the first of all Yoruba cities. Oyo and Benin came later and grew and expanded as a consequence of their strategic locations at a time when trading became prosperous. Ife, unlike Benin and Oyo, never developed into a true kingdom. Although it remained a city-state, it had paramount importance to the Yoruba as the original sacred city and the dispenser of basic religious thought. Until relatively recent times the Yoruba did not consider themselves a single people, but rather as citizens of Oyo, Benin, Yagba, and other cities, regions, or kingdoms. The history of the Fulani seems to begin with the Berber people of North Africa as far back as the eighth century A.D. As the Berbers migrated down from North Africa and mixed with the peoples in the Senegal region of West Africa, the Fulani people came into existence. Over a thousand-year period from 900–1900 A.D., they spread out over most of West Africa and even into some areas of Central Africa. Some groups of Fulani have been found as far as the western borders of Ethiopia. As they migrated eastward they came into contact with different African indigenous groups. As they encountered these other peoples, they conquered the less powerful tribes, as reflected in the Caleb Project. The “Wodabe” Fulani of the eastern Niger are among the pure nomadic herdsmen. They seek to find pasture for their herds just south of the Sahara Desert. Some are being forced to find other means of support. For most Wodabe, however, to farm is a rejection of their heritage. Addressed in the 1994 Survey of Fulani in Burkina Faso, the “Jelgooji” of eastern Burkina Faso too have clung to the tradition of herding more tenaciously than many other groups, yet they tend to be more semi-nomads.
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ulani herdsmen’s movement to the southwest is unprecedented in the last two decades in Nigeria. Questions were asked from the respondents why the Fulani herdsmen migrated to the southwest. The followings were the excerpts culled from the interviews we conducted. Musa, a residence of Shaki, said he moved with his cattle to this part of the country because climatic conditions have become unpredictable. Drought and desert storm have seriously affected the people’s lives and that of the animals: no water for animals to drink, no forage for them to eat. The drought was lasting longer than expected. Abu claimed that strange diseases had killed most of his animals before he initiated movement to the southwest of the country with his cows, five years ago. Weather has become so unusual. Unprecedented heat, desert storms, drought, and disease followed the change in climatic conditions. The inclement weather did not affect just his animals, it also affected his family. Strange diseases are common among the people. Suffering has also increased
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proportionately among the people. No water to cook, to bathe, to wash, to drink with, or to feed the animals. His wives trekked almost twenty kilometers daily in search of water to feed their animals and to make up for house chores. Sule said he decided to migrate when he realized that his life and those of his animals were in danger. Things are a little bit better here, although climate has also affected this region southwest. When he arrived here, rain fell periodically but now there is a variation in climatic conditions. This region is gradually becoming a desert. Everywhere is hot and dry. The economy aspect of climate was provided as a reason by Rabiu, who lives in Ilobu. He said, in the Chad, the economy depends on Lake Chad, which is drying up and has become only a ghost of itself. There is no more abundant water for animals and people. When he realized that climate had affected the environment in terms of availability of water supply in the Chad and green leaves for cows and his family, he decided to search for forage. His decision to move to the southwest was not pre-determined by the economic hardship in the Chad alone, but also predicated on the climate variability that affects the life of animals and human beings.
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hen members of the host communities were asked the reasons why Fulani herdsmen decided to sojourn southwest, the responses provide a unique understanding of the relationship that exists between the two communities as a result of unbridled effects of climate change in Nigeria. Ademilokun, a community head in Efon Alaye said that he talked to their Seriki (head of Hausa community) about the reasons why they left the north. He spoke of the desert encroachment, drought, and Sahara desert wind-storms in the north. Increasingly, they are facing a familiar situation in the south. The weather has become unpredictable. When it is supposed to be raining, harmattan sets in. There is heat everywhere, acid rain, “black” rain, and other untold diseases. The southwest region is more affected by the climate change than the north. Gas is flared continuously by the oil companies in the Niger Delta. Mangrove trees fell discriminatorily by the locals, without replacement. Agriculture has been affected with variability in weather conditions. The Green Zone Belt is disappearing and everywhere is so dry. Apart from climate change, economic factors also motivated some of the Fulani herdsmen to migrate. Aladejare, a community head in Shaki, said that Fulani came south to sell their cattle, and upon arriving, realized that the atmospheric condition there was better than in the north. As a result they decided to stay permanently. Furthermore, political crisis provided as another strong factor for herdsmen migration. Apena, a traditional head in Ilobu, explained that a protracted crisis in the Chad Republic and Niger was
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occurring over the control of land. Moreover, drought, shortage in animal forage, lack of water for humans and animals to drink, and diseases like meningitis were provided as reasons for their migration. Relationships between the Fulani herdsmen and their host communities have been frosty. Crisis, armed conflict, and social unrest characterize interactions between Fulani and their hosts. When questioned about the herdsmen, a respondent, Dada, gave a xenophobic explanation: Fulani herdsmen are nomadic “Fulani Bororo.” There are the real Fulani who are from Nigeria and that is the Hausa-Fulani, but they speak a different language. The real Fulani here are afraid of the “Bororos” who are either jobless or have fewer cows and use the cows to steal from others. Herdsmen said their communities have been affected by drought; let them go back to their north. They have constituted a nuisance in the southwest; if they do not steal, they will be begging along the streets. Their begging is not real, it is in preparation of over-night robbery. In Shaki, there are predominantly farmers that plant mainly cassava and maize, and because of the fertility of the land, cows thrive better. Herdsmen cut down trees, destroy farms, rape women, kill children; in short, they are not environmentally friendly. Dele, a residence of Ilobu, gave a vivid account of his community encounter with the Bororos. The Bororos, who are herdsmen, allow their cows to consume maize in the cornfields of the farmers. The Bororos are still primitive; they believe that eating cobs of corn would make female cattle produce female calves. They let their cattle feed on maize that belongs to other people. The Fulani herdsmen are inhumane: they kill, maim, and rape women at will. The people of IIobu have been pushed to the wall and are now battle-ready for those hoodlums and will not take chances. They have done their worst in Iware, Agwo, Ilu Adie, and Alu among other villages. They have a strategy and they will get them. Twenty-eight hunters from about six villages held a meeting to square it up with these “invaders.”
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he perceptions of the Fulani herdsmen about their host communities speak volumes of inherent danger in the balance of terror and tension between the two. According to Musa, a Fulani herdsman who lives in Shaki, their hosts are just determined to be wicked. They always prevent their cattle from eating others’ crops. The others simply do not want the Fulani around. The Fulani are going to fight them with all their might, and support of government. They have arrows, spears, guns, and voodoo to fight. The others are not sympathetic toward the Fulani cause. When the Fulani arrived in Shaki, they had a meeting with their chiefs. They told the others about the climatic conditions in the north—drought, desertification, diseases, deforestation, and so forth. But now the Shaki are adamant and said the Fulani must leave. “Where should we go?”
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the Fulani retorted. The Fulani are not going to leave; it is going to be fire against fire. Another respondent, Abu, summarized his own view thus: They call us names. They said we are terrorists, we are jihadists, we are Islamists. I don’t know why they hate us. They have engaged us before in a fight, we defeated them. If they try it again we are going to gather other nomads from far and near to fight them. We have contributed a substantive amount of money to execute any unexpected uprising. They cannot just send us away. This country belongs to all of us; we have a right to leave in any part of the country. Besides, Allah is the owner of the universe. He gives us the earth to live. Allah did not divide any part of the world with any group; all this geographical division is man’s creation.
Migration of Fulani herdsmen to the southwest is not without security implications. Morenike, a woman opinion leader in Shaki, said: Since the arrival of Fulani herdsmen, we have been having sleepless nights; robbery on the high-ways has been a common occurrence. Though they are not robbing our people, they robbed travellers. But in case of this community, internal skirmishes, rape and stealing from neighbours have been their trade marks. They have also constituted themselves in to a public nuisance; they beg on the streets, shouting and create public disorder.
The security concerns of Fulani herdsmen migration have been enormous, according to Temitayo, another opinion leader who lives in Efon Alaye. She said: We don’t want them here; they are rapists, thieves, religious bigotries. They always look for trouble where there is none. At times, they organized religious campaigns against our religions. They call us pagans and all sorts of names. They have been fighting us for long, whenever we engaged them in fight they would travel to neighbouring countries to bring mercenaries to fight for them. They are ‘Jihadists,’ they are ‘terrorists,’ they move in groups, they fight in groups, and they live in groups. They are planning to import arms and ammunition to this community to fight our people.
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he consequences of climate change have untold security implications on the life of Nigerians. A series of inter-ethnic, inter-religious, and reprisal attacks in the country have been traced to the doorsteps of the two groups that are forced to live together as a result of unfavorable climatic conditions in the northern parts of the country. The group most affected by climate change lacks an adaptive mechanism. The Fulani herdsmen were already living in abject poverty before the strike of climate-induced disasters. When the migrants arrive in the host communities, a series of social factors come into play, such as cultural differences, religious intolerance, pressure on land, rape, robbery, theft, and other social vices.
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Without viable alternatives, these conflicts can erupt into security concerns. Of course, if climate change were taken seriously, these migrations would not be necessary in the first place.
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RECOMMENDED READINGS Agbarakwu, Esther. 2011. “Local Action on Climate Change.” Quarterly Newsletter (February): 1. Caleb Project. Available at http://www.byhisgrace,ce/fulani/www.calebproject.org, last accessed March 16, 2011. Chan, M. 2010. Hazards of Extreme Weather. Lagos, Nigeria: Punch Newspaper Editorial Column. Chowdhry, Paul. 2009. “The Carbon Capture Report.” Department for Foreign and International Development Magazine Issue 46: 1–2. Costello, Anthony. 2009. “All Change: How Fighting Climate Change and Poverty in the Same Battle.” Department for Foreign and International Development Magazine Issue 46: 1–2. Gbadegesin, A. S., F. B. Olorunfemi, and U. A. Raheem. 2011. “Urban Vulnerability to Climate Change and Natural Hazards in Nigeria,” in Hans G¨unter Brauch, Ursula Oswald Spring, Czeslaw Mesjasz, John Grin, Patricia Kameri-Mbote, Bechir Chourou, Pal Dunay, and J¨orn Birkmann (eds.), Coping with Global Environmental Change, Disasters and Security—Threats, Challenges, Vulnerabilities and Risks (vol. 5, pp. 669–688). Hexagon Book Series on Human and Environmental Security and Peace. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Howard, Glennerster. 2002. “United States Poverty Studies and Poverty Measurement: The Past Twenty-Five Years.” Social Service Review 76(1): 83–107. Siegel, Larry J. 2005. Criminology: The Core (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
Olakunle Michael Folami received a B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. He is a Lecturer 1 in the Department of Sociology, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria. He teaches Criminology, Law and Society, Social Stratification and Mobility, and Research Methods in Sociology. E-mail:
[email protected] Adejoke Olubimpe Folami graduated with second class upper division in Psychology from the Obafemi Awolowo University. She is a Master’s degree student and her research interests focus on Forensic, Conflict and Peace Studies, Development. She works currently with the Faculty of Social and Management Sciences of the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria. E-mail:
[email protected]