Review of Farmer-Herder Conflict Effect on Rural Livelihood and Housing in Nigeria: The Way Forward

The paper seeks to examine the implications of farmer-herder conflicts on rural dwellers livelihood in Nigeria. The study used secondary data obtained from review of relevant literature via journals, unpublished thesis and newspaper. Evidence from the study revealed that farmers’ livelihood is directly related to number of assets owned. It is also evident that most farmers in Nigeria are not well educated. Hence, the high reliance on natural capital such as farming land, crops, number of animals or birds. Consequently, most farmers are highly vulnerable if for any reason they lack access to their farm which serves as only source from which they derive their livelihood. In addition, personal observation by the author and information from published literature revealed that a lot of houses were burnt or destroyed during the crisis in Igagan. The implication is that homelessness that is not the characteristic of the study area will now be endemic. The paper concluded that the crisis could lead to the need for more IDC due to continuous displacement, high rural urban migration, unemployment, increase crime rate, destruction of lives and property. Therefore, the paper opined that Oyo state government should beef up security and to also provide a lasting solution to the crisis.