IMPACT OF HERDERS-FARMERS CONFLICTS ON INFRASTRUCTURAL FACILITIES AND SCHOOL ENROLMENT IN BENUE STATE SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Ibrahim, Nuhu Saidu & Adebayo, Olalekan Rahman

Abstract

The study examined herders-farmers conflicts, infrastructural facilities and school enrolment in Benue State, Nigeria. Two research questions guided the study. The survey design method was adopted for the study. The population of the study is eleven thousand nine hundred eighty seven (11,987) teachers from 407 secondary schools in Benue State. A total of 400 teachers from one hundred secondary schools constituted the sample of the study. Purposive and proportionate sampling procedures were used to select the sample size for the study. The instrument for the study is a researcher designed questionnaire tagged ‘‘Herders-Farmers Conflicts, Infrastructural Facilities and School Enrolment Questionnaire’’ (HFCIFSEQ). The data collected were analysed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions. The result shows that there is a serious impact of herders-farmers conflicts on the provision of infrastructural facilities in secondary schools and on students’ enrolment in secondary schools in Benue State. The study recommended among other things that the main responsibility of any government is to protect lives and properties of her citizens. Therefore, the Federal government should rise up to its responsibility by providing enough security in all the affected areas and Federal government of Nigeria, state, local governments, individual and non-governmental organisations should collaborate and embark on reconstruction, building of schools, hospital, homes and other infrastructures damaged in the study areas. This will encourage the people to send their children back to school.