Nigeria's Necessary Nailed-Down Strategy

June 23rd, 2025

Ian Cheng

Last week, between 150-200 Christians were murdered in a massacre in Nigeria in horrifying ways. This is all part of a trend that has persisted for decades: massive waves of violence that have shaken up the country. It is not a new problem but one that has intensified recently.

The conflict in question is located in the Middle Belt, which is exactly what it sounds like, a large strip of land going across the middle of Nigeria. A state in the southeastern part of the region, Benue, has been the location of a serious conflict between herders and farmers (Nigeria uses a state system like the USA.) Herders, who are usually Muslim, go into farmland while finding food for their cattle. Farmers, primarily Christian, say the livestock ruin their crops and pollute water sources. In response, they tried to steal cattle, prompting retaliation in the form of getting farms burned down. There are around 7 million illegal weapons in Nigeria, including machine guns and AK-47s, and they have made the herder-farmer conflict deadly.

Moreover, the instability in Benue has allowed armed criminal gangs to step in and reap the benefits. They’ve hurt both herders and farmers, yet, have managed to turn the two groups even more hostile toward each other. Each side blames each other instead of the gangs. Both state and national governments have tried to respond but have their hands full. Lots of other significant events are occurring simultaneously. For example, Boko Haram, an anti-Western Islamic militant group, is rising again in the northeast. From 2014 to 2016, they’ve captured at least 1,300 people and hold prisoners in conditions with little to no food and healthcare. A total of $910 million is required to support 3.6 million Nigerians in the northeast, not accounting for the herder-farmer conflict. There is simply so much to deal with to the point that the government cannot respond as effectively.

Fortunately, with the right steps, Nigeria can lift itself out of the sorry state that it is currently in. The first lies in improved border management. Nigeria shares a border with many other nations, such as Cameroon and Chad, but there are many holes. There are over 1400 illegal entry points compared to 84 controlled points, meaning that it's incredibly easy for criminals or even undocumented migrants to sneak in weapons and cause more violence. Nigeria is a member of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) and they have already engaged in joint-operations and training programs with allies, targeted to make borders safer. Additionally, Nigeria can crack down on corruption, because bribery is a big reason why law enforcement is so ineffective. The African nation can also seek international help from organizations like the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank to equip the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and other security agencies with better technology, such as monitoring and identification systems. With these tools, Nigeria can more strictly enforce anti-immigration policy, keeping criminals and guns at bay, while keeping transparency in place.

Another issue hampering the proper handling of violence is political incompetence. State and national government officials are blaming each other on basically everything, leading to less productivity. For example, even though Nigeria had money allocated to fix the Alau Dam, it wasn’t done for six years. As a result, a flood that displaced 400,000 people and destroyed crops that would have fed 1.6 million people for six months struck northeastern Nigeria. This just comes to show that not only are resources limited, but also not being used effectively. More political unity and compromise, especially between the two biggest parties, the All Progressive Congress and the People’s Democratic Party, is needed to work towards carefully calibrated solutions.

Finally, compromise is also of the utmost importance. Herders are originally from the northern regions of Nigeria, where land is desertified and doesn’t see much rainfall. Thus, they migrate to the south, where conditions are better. This is also where farmers in question live. It isn’t completely the herders’ fault that this conflict is happening. Even if it may be unfair for farmers, more space needs to be allocated to herders, ensuring that they can continue raising their cattle. This will allow peace to happen because disputes over land, like those happening right now, will be resolved.