Apart from being the largest producer of cotton in the country, Katsina State is also known for the production of millet, guinea corn, groundnut, maize, beans, rice and wheat.
Equally worrisome was the gruesome massacre of innocent rice farmers in Zabarmari, Jere Local Government, of Borno State by terrorists in December, 2020. The forty-three (43) farmers were allegedly slaughtered without any intervention by the security forces in the area. In Kaduna, Sokoto, and Kebbi the situations are the same
Early this year, three farmers were slaughtered in Ijugbere axis of Owo Local Government Area (LGA) of Ondo State following an attack on a community.
To wade off the bandits, the Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, on January 18 this year, gave seven days ultimatum to herdsmen to immediately vacate forest reserves within the state. But the order generated several controversies as even the president argued that ”insecurity is not alien to any group, the language they speak, their geographical location or their faith.”
Reacting to the sad development, Gabriel Uwalaka, an agricultural economist described the situation as pathetic. Said he: “Today in Nigeria, it can be chiefly said that nowhere is safe. The home, the farms and the roads are not safe. Everyone lives in fear of the known. The person you see today, you may see no more.
“That is the pathetic story of Nigeria of our time. Terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and armed robbers roam about the streets and bushes freely, unchallenged. Nigerians are tired of excuses by the military authorities after collecting trillions of Naira to fight insurgency in the country. Wanton killing of farmers and destruction of farm products have adverse effects on both our livelihood and food security. Without farmers there would be famine with obvious consequences”, Uwalaka said.
Observers are worried at the rate of banditry, kidnapping for ransom, unemployment, rape and all forms of terrorisms have become the new normal in our communities. Nigerians have become so much terrified, as nowhere is safe; the home, the farms and the roads. Bandits rule in many communities, they set rules that must be obeyed.
Unfortunately, the common man is now caught in-between two contending phenomenon; when he goes to the farm, he gets killed and when he stays at home he dies of hunger.
For how long, Nigerians would continue to live in fear remains unknown. Experts advise president Muhammadu Buhari to rise to the occasion by overhauling his security architecture. The earlier this is done, they argue, the more lives would be saved, food crops salvaged and the national economy strengthened.
