There has been a recurrent rate of prevalent and pervasive violent conflicts
between herders and farmers in Nigeria. Issues emanating from environmental
degradation, and socio-political disorder have shifted pastoralist migratory
patterns and increased tensions between farmers and herders. This, however,
has influenced conflicts and hostility between farmers and herders, leading to
violent clashes, killings, forced displacement, attrition of inter-communal
interactions, as well as the annihilation of agricultural and livestock outputs.
The Nigerian press, however, has successfully created a shared meaning of the
Fulani-herdsmen activities in the country within a particular rhetoric community.
These include agents with different characteristics in a similar/different setting,
taking several actions, thereby formulating a particular rhetorical vision. The
major rhetorical vision established in this paper is conflict and the underlying
symbolic reality of peace. This paper examined articles in the Nigerian press as
related to Fulani-herdsmen’s activities and the fantasy themes embedded in it.