A fresh wave of bloody clashes looms over Kano State ahead of the upcoming harvest season, prompting urgent alarms from both farming and pastoralist leadership.

The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) and the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) have jointly warned that an impending convergence of harvesting timelines and early herder migrations could trigger severe violence if the government fails to intervene immediately.

Unlike previous years where transhumant herders from the Niger Republic returned to Kano post-harvest, a severe water scarcity in Niger is forcing an unprecedented early migration.

"This year, they are expected to return while harvesting is still actively ongoing," warned retired Captain Abdullahi Bakoji, Chairman of the Kano State chapter of MACBAN. "This early return drastically heightens the risk of catastrophic clashes between farmers and herders."

Bakoji added that MACBAN has already dispatched urgent security reports and actionable recommendations to the Kano and Jigawa state governments, alongside federal security agencies, begging for proactive intervention.

For Kano`s farmers, the stakes have never been higher. The state`s AFAN Chairman, Abdullahi Ali Maibiredi, lamented that the perennial conflict continues to swallow livelihoods without permanent solutions from authorities.

"I personally lost about 85 per cent of my crops last year, yet no necessary action was taken to address the destruction," Maibiredi revealed. "We are calling on the authorities to step in before the situation deteriorates further, especially now that we are entering the critical harvest window."

While Kano has enjoyed relative peace in recent years compared to other flashpoints in Nigeria`s Middle Belt, structural triggers remain unaddressed. MACBAN leadership identified the following systemic issues fueling the tension:  Illegal occupation and total closure of gazetted cattle routes. Encroachment on designated grazing areas and traditional livestock resting points.

Both AFAN and MACBAN have expressed a unified willingness to engage in immediate stakeholder dialogue, calling on the government to aggressively clear blocked grazing routes and deploy security buffers before the migration influx peaks.