Cattle rustlings have become a major crime in Nigeria recently, with the northern region being the hardest hit. In the past few years, rustling activities have resulted in the theft of a huge number of cows, deaths of people and destruction of property. Daily reports across the northern region have confirmed that cattle rustlings have significantly contributed to the increasing security challenges facing the Nigerian state and seem to have become big business involving the herders, big-time syndicates, and heavily armed bandits. However, despite the growing level of cattle rustling and its consequences for society, the situation has yet to receive adequate scholarly interrogation. This paper investigates the causes and consequences of, and state responses to cattle rustling in Nigeria.
Most commentators on political and development crises inNigeria have identified corruption as the prime factor. A number of factors have been adduced as responsible for the prevalence of corruption in the country. However, the aspect of culture is yet to be adequately captured. Yet, the place of culture in the high incidence of corruption as well as the constraints to its entrenchment cannot be underestimated. While the culture of the people abhors corruption, yet, we have various instances where culture has been invoked to support corrupt practices as well as fight against it. This article seeks to focus the angle of cultural dimension to the issue of corruption in Nigeria. It seeks to explain how culture has contributed to the menace of corruption and how it can be invoked for its extermination. In essence, it looks beyond the formal to the informal angle in the issue of corruption discourse in Nigeria.
The Boko Haram terrorist group's philosophy and activities have been subjected to different interpretations among the Nigerian populace. Such interpretations follow traditional lines of ethnic, regional, cultural, and religious cleavages in Nigeria. Some perceive it as war by Muslims against Christians, some as a sponsored conspiracy against the Muslim North, and others interpret it as the Northern war against the emergence of President Jonathan from the south-south geopolitical zone. A few regard it as a generic name for criminal gangs in Northern Nigeria. While overwhelming opinions in the south tilt toward a scorched-earth policy to counter Boko Haram, much of the north favors dialogue. One of the implications of these responses is the widening of already existing cleavages in Nigerian society, thereby further undermining efforts at building unity and coexistence among Nigeria's varying nationalities.
Climate change and its impacts on the physical environment have received increased attention in recent years, spurring debates on its global and local dimensions. While a common ground has been reached on its causes, manifestations and options for mitigation, its human security implications remain poorly understood. Links between climate change and social con lict is one of the most controversial issues in the climate change impacts assessment literature as priorities diverge between generalised scienti ic validity (pedagogy) and context-based security analysis (policy). This paper examines climate change-con lict linkages drawing upon experiences of migrant pastoralists and arable farming host communities in
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