Conflict Management Approach and Farmers-Herdsmen Conflict in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area, Enugu State, 2016-2024

In the last decades, farmers-herdsmen conflict has become one of the emergent threats to
regional and national security in Nigeria. Governments at different levels have adopted several
approaches aimed at confronting the conflict, yet the menace has remained endemic. This study
was focused on the investigation of conflict management approaches and farmers-herdsmen
conflict in Uzo-Uwani, Enugu State. Accordingly, the study was guided by the following specific
research objectives: (1) to ascertain whether the Enugu State government deployment of security
forces contributed to the escalation of farmers-herdsmen conflict in Uzo-Uwani; and (2) to
determine if Enugu State government anti-open grazing legislative approach account for criminal
activities in Uzo-Uwani. Time series research design was adopted, with data garnered from mixsources of documentary and survey. The study applied the core assumptions of state fragility
theory and qualitative descriptive method of data analysis to validate the following hypotheses
that: (1) Enugu State government deployment of security forces contributed to the escalation of
farmers-herdsmen conflict in Uzo-Uwani; and (2) that Enugu State government anti-open
grazing legislative approach accounted for criminal activities in Uzo-Uwani. We recommended,
among others, that instead of kinetic and reactionary approaches, Enugu State government
should exhibit absolute political will in the promulgation and implementation of policies that
support livestock reformation by providing land space and basic infrastructures for ranching of
animals and other ancillary agro-pastoral businesse