The Internal Violence against Nature in the Farmer–Herder Conflict in Nigeria

Abstract

This article examines the farmer-herder conflict in Nigeria through the lens of Norbert Elias’s figurational theory. It argues that current interventions on this violent conflict fail to address the underlying ontological and relational dynamics of such violence. Departing from conventional explanations that reduce the farmer-herder conflict to resource scarcity, ethnicity, or security challenges, the article conceptualises the conflict as a form of internal violence, rooted in historical socialisations and shifting interdependencies that affects nature. The analysis reveals how this conflict reproduces disrupted figurations between communities and within the natural environment, exacerbated by climatic, economic, and political transformations. The article contends that understanding the deeper violence against nature, underlying the farmer-herder conflict, is essential to grasping the broader dynamics of violence. It concludes that addressing such conflicts requires more than policy and institutional reforms; it also demands a fundamental transformation in how communities are shaped to relate to one another and to the natural environment. The article contributes to debate on environmental sociology by foregrounding the relational dimensions of violence against nature and their implications for addressing environmental sustainability and social cohesion.