When Ibrahim Maisaje, a pastor of an ECWA (Evangelical Church Winning All) church in Panwasa Mada village, went to his farm with his family on 26 June, he was full of joy and expectation.
It was mid-season, the crops had grown well and the harvest season was looking promising. But what started as a quiet, normal day, suddenly turned into a nightmare as Maisaje’s wife noticed cattle eating their crops.
Panwasa Mada is in the central Nigerian state of Nasarawa, part of Nigeria’s Middle Belt, which is the main food source for the country. The inhabitants are mainly farmers, who earn their living through agriculture. Its green pastures also attract Fulani herdsmen and their cattle. Pressed from the north by the advancing Sahara Desert, the Fulanis push ever farther across West Africa into land owned by Christian farmers, causing inevitable clashes.
Read more on World Watch Monitor
Image: Flickr/CC – Conflict & Development
