Cows obstruct Nigeria's capital as climate change, development leave herders with nowhere to go

ABUJA, Nigeria — At an intersection seven miles from the presidential villa, frustrated drivers honk as a herd of cattle feeds on the grass beautifying the median strip and slowly marches across the road, their hooves clattering against the asphalt. For the teenage herder guiding them, Ismail Abubakar, it is just another day, and for most drivers stuck in the traffic, it’s a familiar scene unfolding in Nigeria’s capital Abuja. Abubakar and his cattle’s presence in the city center is not out of choice but of necessity.