Desert Encroachment Fuels Nigerian Religious Fight Over Land
This article is for subscribers only.
Shehu Bello leaned on a staff as he stood guard over his two dozen head of cattle grazing outside Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, and spoke grimly about his two main adversaries: farmers and desertification.
The encroaching Sahara Desert has pushed Bello, a 29-year-old Muslim, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) south from his home town of Shinkafi in search of pasture, and into conflict with communities that see grazing cattle as a threat to their crops. He moved to the Abuja area in 2011 when two of his nephews died and 20 head of cattle were stolen in a clash with farmers.