Insecurity, Environmental Change,
and the Forgotten Plight of
Fulani Herders in Nigeria
I write this as a Fulani Nigerian who was born and raised in a family of traditional cattle herders, and also as a university graduate of Environmental Management. My perspective is therefore shaped both by lived experience and by my academic understanding of the environmental and socioeconomic factors affecting pastoral communities in Nigeria.
Boderi Reni Mamman
August 14, 2026
The Changing Reality of Fulani Pastoralism
Growing up as a Fulani boy, I understood firsthand what it meant to be a herder. I followed my father's cattle herd countless times across plains, valleys, and mountains. The reality of pastoralism 10 to 20 years ago was significantly different from what it is today.
During the rainy season, my family and other herders would migrate from Kaduna State to Bauchi State in search of greener pastures. Bauchi offered extensive grasslands, fewer tsetse flies in some areas, and large stretches of relatively open land. At that time, there were fewer farms in many of the areas where we grazed, and our major concern was often protecting the cattle from wild animals.
Around the middle of September, we would begin our migration back to Kaduna. Along the way, the cattle could graze on crop residues after harvest and on the abundant vegetation along riverbanks, where farming had not yet become widespread.
Over the years, however, this way of life has changed dramatically.
Population growth has resulted in the expansion of cultivated land. Areas that were once open grazing spaces have gradually been converted into farms. Riverbanks that once provided important grazing corridors have increasingly become agricultural land. Forests and grasslands have continued to shrink, while the availability of free land has diminished.
My maternal grandfather, Arɗo Pulaani, recognized this problem before many people did. When he began to see the forest and grazing areas disappearing, he purchased a piece of land in Kaduna State. At the time, some of his fellow Fulani herders mocked him for selling some of his cattle to buy land. They would say that land would never finish and that he did not understand the value of cattle.
Today, we are all grateful that he made that decision.
That small piece of land has become extremely important to our family. It is now where members of our family farm and graze their remaining cattle. What some people considered a foolish decision at the time has become one of the most important decisions he ever made.
The Decline of Grazing Land and Livestock
As grazing land continued to disappear and pasture became increasingly scarce, many members of our extended family stopped migrating to Bauchi and began remaining in Kaduna. The number of cattle they could keep also declined because there was simply not enough grazing land to sustain large herds.
Today, it is increasingly difficult to find members of our community who own the large herds that were once common. Many have had to sell cattle as a survival strategy and as a way of reducing the size of their herds to match the limited resources available.
This has contributed to widespread poverty and economic hardship among pastoral families—not necessarily because they are unwilling to work, but because the livelihood they have known and practiced for generations has become increasingly difficult to sustain.
For many of these families, cattle are not merely animals. They are their savings, livelihood, social security, and primary economic asset. When the environment can no longer support the herd, the entire household economy becomes vulnerable.
This is one of the major challenges confronting Nigerian herders that receives far less attention than it deserves.
"For many of these families, cattle are not merely animals. They are their savings, livelihood, social security, and primary economic asset. When the environment can no longer support the herd, the entire household economy becomes vulnerable.
"
Climate Change and Environmental Pressure
My academic background in Environmental Management has also given me another perspective on this problem.
For my undergraduate research, I studied “The Implication of Climate Change on the Livelihoods of Cattle Herders in Kargin-Dutse.” During the research, I gained a deeper understanding of the environmental changes affecting local pastoralists and how these changes interact with poverty, resource scarcity, and insecurity.
The communities I studied described changes in rainfall patterns, longer dry seasons, declining vegetation, shrinking water sources, deteriorating pasture, and increasing pressure on the remaining natural resources. These environmental changes do not exist in isolation. They interact with population growth, agricultural expansion, land-use changes, and insecurity.
When grazing land disappears but pastoralism remains the only livelihood available to people who have never attended school and have no alternative source of income, the consequences can be devastating.
Fulani Communities Are Also Victims of Banditry and Kidnapping
There is another dimension of this crisis that is often overlooked: Fulani communities are not only associated with the insecurity affecting Nigeria; they are also among its victims.
My family has experienced this insecurity personally.
In 2017, one of my cousins was brutally killed by kidnappers at home. He was not travelling or involved in any confrontation; he was simply at home when he was killed.
In 2018, my youngest brother was kidnapped. Thankfully, he was eventually released without a ransom being paid, but he was severely beaten during his captivity.
In 2019, my younger brother was kidnapped again and spent approximately seven weeks with his abductors before our family even knew where he was. When he eventually returned home, he was physically devastated.
At one point, farmers came to our ruga—our pastoral settlement—and told our family to leave the area because of crimes committed by people described as strangers. We have also lost countless cattle to rustlers and criminals.
In one particularly devastating incident, members of our extended family lost more than 1,000 cattle in a single day. The animals were taken from herders in broad daylight. The perpetrators warned the herders not to speak about what had happened, threatening to kill them if they did.
Imagine what this means for a family whose entire livelihood consists of cattle.
In a single day, people who had spent their entire lives building their livelihoods became virtually assetless. They had families to support and responsibilities to fulfil, but no farms, no formal employment, no savings, and in many cases no formal education to fall back on.
The economic and psychological trauma is profound.
Between 2024 and 2026, I have personally become aware of numerous Fulani people in and around my area who have been killed or kidnapped. The pressure on these communities is immense.
Yet, despite all this, some people continue to describe all Fulani people as “bandits.”
This is deeply painful and fundamentally unfair.
Banditry Has Harmed Every Community
Banditry and kidnapping have caused enormous damage across Nigeria. They have affected Fulani, Hausa, farmers, traders, Christians, Muslims, and people from many other ethnic and religious communities.
It is therefore dangerous to define an entire ethnic group by the actions of criminals.
From my personal observation, the insecurity that has become so widespread today did not remain confined to pastoral communities. It gradually spread from rural areas and vulnerable communities into other parts of society and, increasingly, into towns and cities.
Fulani communities have suffered tremendously from this insecurity.
Many herders have lost their cattle—their only significant economic assets. Others have been forced to abandon traditional migration routes because of kidnapping, cattle rustling, armed attacks, and conflicts over land and crops.
Herders Are Also Trying to Avoid Farmer-Herder Conflicts
Another reality that is rarely discussed is the effort many ordinary herders make to avoid damaging farmers' crops.
At present, in some areas around my community, the little cattle that remain are kept on hills from approximately May until November. The animals are brought down only after the harvest season.
This is not because the hills are necessarily ideal grazing areas. It is because many herders are trying to prevent their cattle from entering cultivated farmland and destroying crops.
This has become a survival strategy.
Many Fulani herders deliberately keep their cattle away from flat agricultural areas because they do not want to create conflict with farmers. Yet, even the hills are increasingly being cultivated.
A common pattern in places such Lere Local Government Area of Kaduna State, is that a herder may identify an uncultivated area on a hill where cattle can graze. After some time, when farmers notice that cattle manure is present there, they may inform the herder that the land belongs to their ancestors and that they intend to cultivate it that year.
The herder then has to move elsewhere.
This process has become increasingly common. Eventually, there is nowhere left to go.
"Eventually, there is nowhere left to go..
"
The Forgotten Educational Crisis
The environmental and security crisis is also connected to a long-standing educational problem.
For decades, many nomadic and pastoral Fulani communities have had extremely limited access to formal education. Government provision of effective and accessible nomadic education has remained inadequate in many of the communities I know.
This is particularly troubling because many Fulani children are willing and eager to learn.
In 2025, when I returned to my community, I organized classes for children there. The response was overwhelming. The turnout demonstrated something important: the children are not opposed to education. What they lack is consistent access to teachers, classrooms, learning materials, and sustainable educational programmes.
When a community has limited access to education, and its traditional livelihood is simultaneously being destroyed by environmental degradation, land pressure, insecurity, and displacement, its young people are left with very few alternatives.
Fulani children from my community willing to learn but there are no classrooms and no teachers
A Crisis That Requires a Broader Understanding
The situation facing Fulani pastoralists in Nigeria cannot be understood solely through the lens of farmer-herder conflict or banditry. It is also an environmental issue.
It is a land-use issue.
It is an education issue.
It is an economic issue.
It is a security issue.
And, ultimately, it is a human development issue.
The disappearance of grazing land has placed extraordinary pressure on pastoral communities. Climate change and environmental degradation are making the situation more difficult. Agricultural expansion is reducing the remaining spaces available for livestock. Insecurity is preventing traditional migration routes from being used safely. Cattle rustling and kidnapping are destroying household assets. Lack of education limits opportunities for younger generations.
At the same time, the stigmatization of an entire ethnic group because of the actions of criminals creates another layer of suffering.
Criminals should be held accountable for their crimes, regardless of their ethnicity or occupation. But an entire ethnic community should not be collectively criminalized because some individuals from that community have committed crimes.
A Personal Appeal
I am not writing this to deny the suffering of farmers or other Nigerian communities. Farmers have also suffered enormously from attacks, displacement, destruction of crops, kidnapping, and killings. Their pain is real, and it deserves recognition and justice.
My appeal is simply that the suffering of Fulani communities should also be acknowledged.
I ask that the Fulani pastoralist be seen not merely as a potential security threat, but also as a Nigerian citizen who may be struggling with poverty, environmental change, displacement, insecurity, lack of education, and loss of livelihood.
I ask policymakers and international partners to look beyond the headlines and investigate the deeper causes of the crisis.
There must be greater investment in accessible education for pastoral communities, including sustainable models of education that can reach children in remote settlements. There must also be serious attention to land-use planning, livestock development, water access, climate adaptation, conflict prevention, secure grazing and livestock corridors where appropriate, and alternative livelihoods for pastoral families who can no longer sustain traditional herding.
Most importantly, Nigeria needs a security system that protects all communities without discrimination.
My grandfather's decision to buy a small piece of land years ago seemed foolish to some people. Today, that land is helping members of our family survive.
His story taught me something important: when people lose their land, they can lose much more than physical territory—they can lose their livelihood, dignity, economic security, and hope for the future.
The Nigerian crisis will not be solved by blaming one ethnic group.
It will be solved by understanding the realities faced by all communities, protecting innocent citizens, holding criminals accountable, restoring trust, improving access to education, addressing environmental degradation, and creating sustainable livelihoods.
I write as a Fulani man, as the son of herders, as someone who has personally experienced the consequences of kidnapping and insecurity, and as a graduate of Environmental Management who has studied the environmental challenges confronting pastoral communities.
I am not asking anyone to ignore the crimes committed by some Fulani individuals.
I am asking that we do not confuse Fulani identity with criminality.
The ordinary Fulani herder who is struggling to protect his family and the little cattle he has left is not the same person as a bandit.
And until we are willing to make that distinction, we risk deepening the very crisis we are trying to solve.
"I am asking that we do not confuse Fulani identity with criminality.
"