The recent report that over 165 farmers have been killed across the country since the beginning of this year is damning and reprehensible. The wanton killing of farmers is a threat to the nation’s food security and should be halted forthwith. Already, Nigeria is experiencing extreme food crisis and high cost of living following the hasty removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of the exchange rates. The situation will likely worsen if the killing of farmers is not stopped by the government. Apart from producing food for the entire country, farmers also produce food for exports and contribute so much to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
There is no doubt that the worsening general insecurity in the country has made it difficult for farmers to cultivate their crops or even harvest them. The activities of bandits and killer herdsmen have seriously hampered food production in the North-West and North-Cenral regions. The insurgency in the North-East region has affected agriculture and farming. Not quite long ago, about 100 rice farmers were gruesomely killed in Borno State by the insurgents. In some parts of the South-East, South-South and the South-West, killer herdsmen and other criminals have made farming a hazardous occupation in recent times. These dastardly killings pose a serious threat to the nation’s food security. That is why millions of Nigerians are experiencing extreme hunger. This can also explain the rising cost of food items. We urge the security agencies to provide adequate security to farmers.
Unfortunately, Sokoto, Benue, Plateau, Niger and Delta states have accounted for some of the most gruesome killing and kidnapping of farmers in the past few months, according to new reports. In March alone, no less than 30 farmers were murdered by bandits in four local government areas of Sokoto State. Six farmers were also killed in Niger State during bandits’ attacks, while one farmer was murdered in Plateau State. Overall, Benue State, which has become a killing field in recent years, accounted for the majority of farmers killed in 2024 so far with a disturbing figure of the 130 farmers killed in Kwande, Ukum, Agatu and Apa LGAs of the state in the last three months.
Besides, kidnappers have, in their campaign of terror, held hostage over 295 people in Sokoto, Kaduna, and Borno states. Farmers in Benue lost not less than N1.1billion to attacks by bandits, which led to the destruction of vital agricultural produce, many farmlands and villages in some extreme cases. Also, farmers in Ika North-East and Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State could not access their farms due to routine kidnappings. Likewise, over 80 per cent of people in IDP camps in Sokoto are farmers.
The financial losses arising from the killing of farmers is unquantifiable. Farmers’ association in Sokoto State has paid not less than N3billion as ransom to bandits. The inability of security agencies and banking institutions to nip these transactions in the bud is untidy. At a time when the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the international community are working in concert with the federal government to boost food production in the country, it is sad that the activities of bandits and killer herdsmen are threatening agriculture.
Since Benue State has experienced the worst of these killings, we call on the governor of Benue State to liaise with other governors in the region to stop the wanton killing of farmers in the region, adjudged to be the nation’s food basket. The report that some farmers are asked to pay tax to bandits and killer herdsmen in some parts of the country is despicable and unacceptable. Criminals should not be allowed to control any part of Nigeria and even have the temerity to levy taxes on Nigerian citizens. Those behind the kidnapping of farmers should be ruthlessly dealt with. The abandonment of farm lands and the rising threats to the lives of farmers will exacerbate hunger in the land.
The government should crush the killers of farmers and other Nigerians. These include terrorists, bandits and cattle herders. Communal crises in some parts of the country have already taken a toll on farming and farmers, but not as devastating as the dangers posed by terrorists, bandits and killer herdsmen. No nation can make meaningful progress when its farmers and citizens are killed on a regular basis.
Government should halt the current threat to the nation’s food security. No nation can exist without adequate food production system. To avert extreme hunger and famine, the federal government should prioritise the security of farmers and farmlands.