With a population of more than 200 million people and an emerging middle class, Nigeria is witnessing a boom in demand for meat that offers potential but also poses risks to the Fulani nomadic and semi-nomadic herders who provide most of the country’s beef. Climate change is turning the semi-arid land which is usually used for grazing, into a desert, prompting the migration of the Fulani communities. This, as well as increased demand for land in Nigeria, has exacerbated tensions between farmers, who are predominantly Christian, and herdsmen, who are mainly Muslim. The conflict is far from straightforward, with frustrations on both sides: farmers see their crops destroyed by livestock, while Fulani herdsmen see their way of life under threat as grazing land is repurposed for agriculture. The clashes have occurred on West Africa's historic Muslim-Christian fault line. Yet the conflict goes beyond religion, bringing into focus issues like population growth and climate change in fuelling disputes over land.
Grazing Smoke, Harvesting Fear
Series, Jury Honorable Mention
A Hausa-Fulani boy stands while his cattle graze next to some farms on the outskirts of Sokoto, Sokoto State, Nigeria on April 22, 2019. A massive expansion of farming and a change of climate, attributed directly or indirectly to human activity in Nigeria, have cut access to grazing land for nomadic herders and fuelled persistent violence.
A group of Fulani girls gather inside an empty classroom before the day's lessons begin at Wuro Fulbe Nomadic School in Kachia Grazing Reserve for Fulani people, Kaduna State, Nigeria on April 19, 2019. The National Commission for Nomadic Education and the National Nomadic Education Programme were created to ensure equal access to basic education for Nigeria’s nomadic and semi nomadic populations. Nowadays, due to the lack of resources for this national program, classes are overcrowded with students.
A Fulani Muslim man prays during his pilgrimage to the tombe ofUsman dan Fodio, in Sokoto, Sokoto State, Nigeria on April 24, 2019. Usman Dan Fodio was a prominent Fulani religious leader, promoter of Islam and the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate. The ongoing strife between Muslim herders and Christian farmers, sometimes masking conflicts arising from religious differences, is a divisive issue for Nigeria and a number of other countries in West Africa.
Hausa-Fulani pastoralists and cattle buyers wait for the cattle transactions to begin while sitting on a metal fence at Kara Cattle Market in Lagos, Nigeria on April 10, 2019. Kara cattle market in Agege, Lagos is one of the largest in West Africa receiving thousands of cattle weekly due to the massive consumption of meat in the Lagos area.
An 8-year-old Fulani boy, Suleiman Yusuf, drinks milk from a cow belonging to his father’s cattle near his family home on Kachia Grazing Reserve, Kaduna State, Nigeria on April 16, 2019. Kachia Grazing Reserve is an area set aside for the use of Fulani pastoralists and intended as a center for livestock development. The grazing reserves were intended to prevent conflict by encouraging the nomadic pastoralists to settle through the provision of land for grazing and a constant supply of water.
A Fulani girl waits outside her house at Kachia Grazing Reserve, Kaduna State, Nigeria on April 16, 2019. Kachia Grazing Reserve is an area set aside for the use by Fulani pastoralists and it is intended to be a center of livestock development. The purpose of the grazing reserves is avoiding conflict through the settlement of nomadic pastoralists and encouraging them to adopt a sendentary lifestyle by providing land for grazing and constant access to water.
Herdsmen with their cattle wait for buyers at Kara Cattle Market in Lagos, Nigeria on April 10, 2019. The Kara cattle market in Agege, Lagos is one of the largest in West Africa, with thousands of cattle offered for sale weekly due to the massive consumption of meat in the Lagos area.
A farmer and his son work at a farm on the outskirts of Sokoto, Sokoto State, Nigeria on April 22, 2019. A massive expansion of farming in Nigeria has cut access to grazing land for nomadic herders and fuelled persistent violence.
A Nigerian Police Officer patrols part of the Adara farmers' village of Angwa Aku, Kaduna State, Nigeria where the houses were destroyed and burned in a Fulani attack on April 14, 2019. The ongoing strife between Muslim herders and Christian farmers, which claimed nearly 2,000 lives in 2018 and displaced hundreds of thousands of people, is a divisive issue in Nigeria and some other countries in West Africa.
Monica Gabriel, an Adara farmer woman in a bed at Nassara Hospital, Kajuru, Kaduna State, Nigeria on April 14, 2019, recovering from injuries sustained in a recent Fulani machete attack and shooting at her village. Monica was allegedly shot and attacked with machetes by a group of Fulanis who even cut one of her hands off. The ongoing strife between Muslim herders and Christian farmers, which claimed nearly 2,000 lives in 2018 and displaced hundreds of thousands of others, is a divisive issue in Nigeria and some other countries in West Africa.
A group of Christian Adara farmers attend Sunday service at Ecwa Church, Kajuru, Kaduna State, Nigeria on April 14, 2019. The ongoing strife between Muslim herders and Christian farmers, which claimed nearly 2,000 lives in 2018 and displaced hundreds of thousands of others, is a divisive issue in Nigeria and some other countries in West Africa.
Mohammed Abubakar Bambado, the Sarkin Fulani of Lagos, poses for a portrait on his throne at his palace in the district of Surulere in Lagos, Nigeria on April 29, 2019. Mohammed Bambado is a prominent businessman who was crowned as King Sarkin Fulani of Lagos, and Chairman of the Association of Fulani Chiefs in South West Nigeria. He advocates and protects the interests of Fulani and Hausa-Fulani pastoralists in the Lagos State and other parts of South West Nigeria.