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In the last few years, several African countries have witnessed an increase in conflict between pastoralists and sedentary farmers and among pastoralist groups. While issues such as climate change, desertification, regional conflicts, population expansion, trafficking and terrorism have been highlighted as the reasons for the surge in violence, none of these issues fully explain the increased use of small and light weapons by several pastoralist groups and sedentary farmers. This article explores the changes in the dynamics of cattle ownership, termed neo-pastoralism, as a possible explanation for the increase in armed clashes between the groups. The article explains how traditional pastoralism is gradually giving way to neo-pastoralism, a form of pastoralism which involves larger herds and increased use of arms and ammunitions. Nigeria is used as a case study to explore these new patterns of conflict due to having the largest number of cattle in the sub-Saharan Africa region and the scale of the conflict in the country. This article is based on field research and interviews carried out in Nigeria between 2013 and 2019.
Olayinka Ajala (Wed,) studied this question.