”Nigeria is now passing through the darkest chapter of its history,” says the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN). CBCN’s Most Rev Lucius Ugorji made this statement during the opening session of the 2022 Second Plenary of the CBCN, held at the Sacred Heart Pastoral Centre, Orlu, and Imo State. A soaring level of insecurity, unemployment, and food and commodity prices, left many Nigerians feeling anxious and finding it harder and harder to afford to live a decent life. The bishops were very loud and clear on the causes of these crises and their socio-economic consequences if left unaddressed.

Insecurity in Nigeria is complex and multidimensional but the herder/farmer conflict appears to be one of the major dimensions on the table. While the conflict is enmeshed in a strong Jihadist narrative, it is important to recognize that there are other sides of the story that require attention and their contribution to the conflict. Among these, the climate and environmental contributions to this conflict have remained insufficiently addressed in public policy spaces. It is imperative to point out that desert encroachment and the shrinking of lake Chad are forcing the pastoralists from the Sahel region and those whose livelihood depend on the lake Chad basin to move down south in search of pastures and water for their livestock, and fertile lands for farmers. Nigeria minister of defense Lt Gen Abdulrahman echoed this position in a recent interview. Therefore, the current discussion of the Nigeria government with other stakeholders to regenerate the lake is indeed a step in the right direction. However, it remains to be seen how this statement will be marched with action.

Some reports show that the increasing rate of desertification in northern Nigeria is about 0.6 km per year, and Nwafor (2006) estimates desertification to about 351,000 km 2. Pastoralists and migrant farmers are aware that they will stir resistance from the indigenous communities who have long prepared for war. The situation is scary, and rather needs appropriate climate response from the Nigeria national government. It is therefore important to shed light on the climate dimension of the conflict going on in Nigeria.

Such challenges as desertification in the Sahel region have been a concern to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).   The Plan of Action to Combat Desertification supports the UNCCD.  Nigeria being part of the 10 UNISS Countries of the Sahel will need to think and act more collectively in addressing its security challenges. Nigeria is also part of the FAO Action Against Desertification. The building of the Great Green Wall offers a window solution.

However, the greater challenge for Nigeria is the political will to restore lake Chad. It is a common knowledge that lakes do not shrink without interference on their tributaries. It is also a common knowledge that mega projects like dams for electricity, agriculture and other so-called development projects have been built that obstructed the flow of water to the lake. It is a clear example of how the so-called development program and projects are stifling the livelihood of people that they proclaim to promote.

In the light of the above, the Nigeria Government will consider urgently to sort out the climate and environmental drivers of the Farmer/Herders conflict and extricate from the Jihadist narrative. Indeed, no productive mechanism would be taken to address the farmers/herders conflict in Nigeria without proper recourse to the divorce of the unholy marriage between the Jihadist narrative and the climate and environmental drivers of the conflict. It is in this vein that AEFJN calls on the Nigeria national government to act on the Climate determination that COP27 aims and make lake Chad a case in point for loss & damage.

Chika Onyejiuwa