The farmer/herdsmen problem: A geometer solution

In Euclidean geometry, if you place two points in a plane such that one of the points has a fixed position and the other one is position free, then there is at least one time that the two points will meet almost surely. The coupling of associated generators at such meeting points determines the overall […]

In Euclidean geometry, if you place two points in a plane such that one of the points has a fixed position and the other one is position free, then there is at least one time that the two points will meet almost surely. The coupling of associated generators at such meeting points determines the overall magnitude of the underlying event at such points. For instance, if there are strings attached, it is trivial to see that such meeting points are purely collision points. The consequence is the birth of another process known to mathematicians and physicists as a chaotic process. The recent Farmer-Herdsman problem nationwide could be explained on the basis of this truth. In fact, the underlying proposition that will come out of this consideration if adopted could be used conveniently to solve the lingering problem existing between the farmer; whose position is fixed with respect to a given disc and the herdsman whose position is flexible relative to another disc or/and even that of the farmer within an interconnected topology for the good of both farmers whom history itself could not separate since time immemorial. Essentially, the farmer and the herdsman are like the two sides of a coin with less clear cut differences and to which one side complement the other always. Thus, any attempt to lay blames on one is an attempt to lay proportionate blames on the other.
Right from the inception of cultivation agriculture in the plains of river Nile and the lower sides of rivers Tigris and Euphrates, man discovered the beauty of  fixed point geometry with navigation tendency in accordance with some physical laws of nature for one need or the other. On the other hand, certain compelling factors make a component of the human race flexible in geometry; moving from one point to another so that the other form of agriculture (pastoral agriculture) gets the required care for better growth and development. This naturally designed dynamism creates two distinct lives for humanity worldwide and by some geometrical connections, the two titans clash as in the Euclidean notion above. Though, such connections may be politically motivated, it is also true to say that it is purely a problem of geometry of objects in space. For geometry is as old as politics.  Thus, what is presumed to be generated by a political process may equally turn out to have a solution in geometry: In this case, the position geometry of the farmer and the herdsman.
Historically, there were cattle routes that placed metric measures and well-defined paths for the herdsman devoid of connections with the farmer. Today, the ever increasing need to carryout cultivation agriculture has sent such routes to the kernel of their engineering functions. The only way the herdsman could carry on his pastoral agriculture is by defining arbitrary paths in the neighborhood of the farmer. This flexible position geometry (arbitrariness) of the herdsman together with the expansionist frameworks of the farmer ensures increasing number of meeting points in the topology therein and in accordance with the principle of survival of the fittest, such chaotic processes are formed. This is the root value problem existing between the farmer and the herdsman today in Nigeria. The consequence is a shift in a traditional paradigm of peaceful co existence between the two farmers to that which centers on creating more and more conflicts at the expense of both the herdsman and the farmer.
Nowadays, the magnitude of such clashes has grown heavily that thousands of lives are lost as a result of the rise in the number of meeting points between the farmer and the herdsman. Similarly, properties worth billions of Naira are destroyed whenever such clashes occur. This is beside the number of victims from both sides that are placed under humanitarian crises. Also, thousands of animals and farmlands of significant value not only to the herdsman or the farmer are being destroyed at an alarming rate today. There is also the key issue of environmental degradation arising from the activities of both farmers. It is not untrue to say that the farmer-herdsman problem as perpetrated today is even threatening the tribal and regional co-existence of the country.
It is then imperative that government at all levels understand the root cause of this problem and seek a optimal solution for this lingering crisis soonest. Similarly, government at all levels should note that the flexible geometry of the herdsman if not adjusted, re-structured and fixed will forever ensures the creation of multiple meeting points in some recurrent, minimal infinitesimal time for every leap in the future given the existing needs to expand cultivation agriculture.
Finally, it is key to note that there are societies, regional and tribal elements within and outside the country feeding fat on the farmer-herdsman problem. Without doubt, these bodies will try at all cost to see that the geometer solution that will create multiple benefits not only to the parties involved, but to the country in her quest to develop both forms of agriculture could not see the light of the day. It is imperative to regulate their evil actions for the benefit of the country and her people.

Dr. Sani wrote this piece from Umaru Yar’Adua University Katsina, Katsina State.