From Nigeria to Cameroon: Inside the Lake Chad Region’s Climate Mobility Crisis

With increasing armed violence in Nigeria, desertification and droughts are creating new crises, particularly in the states of Yobe, Adamawa, and Borno.

In Ganye, Adamawa, climate change has led to soil degradation, water shortages, and severe desertification. These devastating climate impacts have compelled hundreds of residents to leave their homes to cultivate land in neighbouring communities in Cameroon.

Migrating Adamawa locals often clash with their Cameroonian hosts due to the scarcity of land and water resources in that area. A similar situation occurs in Yobe communities where villagers are compelled to migrate to the Niger Republic for farming, resulting in conflicts with their hosts.

These underreported, climate-driven clashes are exacerbating existing intra-communal violence between farmers and herders and fueling transborder insecurity.