Conflict, culpability, and conciliation: reframing the Fulani herdsmen-farmers crisis in Ahmed Yerima’s Hendu

Abstract

The persistent conflict between Fulani herdsmen and farming communities in Nigeria has generated significant scholarly interest with prevalent attention focused on structural and environmental factors like transhumant pastoralism, climate change, ethno-religious divisions, irredentist tendencies, resource control, and the failure of state intervention. While these studies provide critical insights into the conflict, its psychological and moral dimensions remain understudied–specifically, the absence of mutual culpability, or the failure of parties involved to acknowledge their roles in sustaining the crisis. This study, therefore, addresses this gap by uncovering Ahmed Yerima’s conflict resolution reflections in his play entitled Hendu. Johan Galtung’s triadic conflict resolution models of peace–peacekeeping, peace-making, and peacebuilding–are used as theoretical framework because they help in revealing the triggers of the conflict, enabling personal empathy, and enshrining the ethos of communal love. The symbolic representation of transcultural love in the play, which is exemplified in the union between Kingi and Jock, underscores a gripping vision of reconciliation–one that is rooted in empathy, dialogue, and coexistence. Acknowledging the reality of mutual culpability and embracing moral reflection on both sides of the conflict are essential attitudinal postures that are capable of transforming entrenched hostilities to peace.