POLITICAL UNDERTONES AND THE INSECURITY THREAT FROM THE FULANI CATTLE HERDSMEN IN NIGERIA

Nigeria as a nation have witnessed and continues to witness internal insecurity issues such as terrorism, religious conflicts, incessant killings, proliferation of arms, communal clashes, Fulani herdsmen/Farmers clashes, kidnappings, unlawful protest and armed robbery etc. The rates of insecurity in Nigeria have reached its peak by keeping the nation in fear, anxiety, restless and hindering national unity; thereby affecting the growth and development of the country. The objectives of this study are thus: i. to establish the connection between the political undertones and the threats from the Fulani herdsmen to Nigerians. ii. to ascertain the reasons for the unleashing acts of insecurity threats to Nigerians in the name of cattle rearing., iii. to dig out the political undertones, as regards to the consequences of insecurity threats from the cattle herdsmen. And iv. to suggest measures, on how to tackle the insecurity threat from the Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria. The theories used in this work are Frustration Aggression theory and Modernization theory to address the insecurity threats of the Fulani cattle herdsmen in Nigeria. The research design of this study is descriptive survey research design, of both quantitative and qualitative approach to data analyses which are based on primary and secondary sources like questionnaire, journals, historical textbooks, newspapers and online publications. The study was conducted at the Federal College of Education Eha-Amufu. The researcher chose this area because of the prevalence of problems arising from farmer header clashes in that community called Eha-Amfu. Population of the study was 200, comprised both male and female workers in the institution. Simple random sampling technique was used to draw the sample of the study. The instrument for data collection in this study is questionnaire. The study also finds that the Nigerian government's response to the crisis has been inadequate and politicized, exacerbating the problem. Results shows that conflicts have resulted to loss of valuables: like displacement of family, destruction of farmland, communities and some parts of states facing hunger and starvation, abject poverty leading to corruption and nepotism. The need to tackle insecurity in the rural areas, more especially their farmland, for massive production of food in order to eradicate hardship, promote good leadership in Nigeria was recommended. It also includes relevant keywords to facilitate search and discovery.