MIGRATION FOR SURVIVAL IN NIGERIA: INTERROGATING CAUSATIONS AND CONSEQUENCES

Abstract

The movement of man and resources have remained a natural corollary of human existence. Herders move from one point to another; voluntarily or by force of unanticipated occurrences. Irrespective of the factors necessitating this movement, it has become a huge part of life and living for the pastoralists, bearing dire consequences for the migrant herders and host farming communities in ways that call for social work professional intervention. This paper focused on modern migration trends amongst Nigerian herders occasioned by climate change and human influenced disasters. It x-rayed some causes of this trend viz; climate change, ethnicity, terrorism and religion, implicating them as part of the growing spatial struggle for survival in modern Nigeria. The paper reviewed data from secondary sources including United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and International Organization for Migration (IOM). It recommended the prompt implementation of the Paris Climate Accord (COP21) of 2015; improved capacity building for Arbitrators and conflict resolution mechanism in the country and a migration policy that will involve a holistic framework for eco-diversity.