A short video trended on social media last week of Nigerian Soldiers providing security for farmers as they harvested beans on their farms. Although less than 30 seconds long, the video speaks to the terrible state of insecurity in Nigeria. This is not the right time to be a farmer in Nigeria. As a farmer, you are confounded with different layers of challenges on a daily basis; from getting cheap and affordable fertilizer from those in government to being stuck in the age-long conflict between farmers and herders.
You would have cleared the field, planted, watered and nurtured your farm for several months but once it is time to reap the fruits of your labour, those herding cows who have the entitlement belief that their animals should graze freely encroach on your source of livelihood and you dare not challenge them as that may cost you your life. Several souls have been lost in this vicious cycle. When human life is worthless for those of animals, something is fundamentally wrong. Head or tail, the farmers is the loser, as reporting these atrocities to security agents is often of no use because many of the offenders will walk free after a few days in prison. Those who have dared to attack their cows in retribution have paid with their life.
How cows have become more important than the life of farmers and the overall well-being of the country beats the imagination. For all the atrocities they have committed in the past, the herders have now been rewarded with a brand-new ministry by the federal government. Ranching that should solve the problem as practiced in advanced countries, is an anathema for us in Nigeria. Cows must graze, and freely too. As a farmer, if you are not too comfortable with that –you’ll be told to go to court. That is the new lexicon in the country.
In Nigeria, farmers now have the option of picking who providessecurity for them. It is either you pick security agents or you can choose to work with bandits and terrorists. If you pick security agents, although it is supposed to be free, I doubt that it is. Until we get confirmation from those directly involved, I want to believe that there would be some form of gratification for those who are providing security to our farmers. If, however, the security services iscompletely free, I would commend those that came up with the initiative, particularly, the establishment of agro-rangers by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
On the other hand, if a farmer chooses to use bandits and terrorists, their charges are spelt out and known to all parties involved before the contract is signed, sealed and enforced. The parties simply share what is harvested equally. You will be allowed to harvest your crop but must split it with your oppressors now turned ‘protectors’. A farmer could also choose to pay the bandits in cash. To have any notion that you could escape paying these unholy taxes has led to the death of many farmers.
When former President Muhammadu Buhari was in power, 45 farmers who believed that they could plant and harvest their produce freely were killed like rats in Borno state for daring to harvest crops on their farms without either military protection or the bandits givingthe green light. In November 2020, suspected members of the Boko Haram sects attacked Zabarmari village, about 20 kilometers from Maiduguri and slaughtered 45 farmers met working on their farms. Garba Shehu, then the Presidential spokesperson, was angry that the farmers went to their farms without informing the military.
According to him, the farmers should have gotten military clearance and backing before going to their farms. “People need to understand what it is like in the Lake Chad area. Much of those areas have been liberated from the Boko Haram terrorists but there are a number of spaces that have not been cleared for the return of villagers who have been displaced. Ideally, all of these places ought to probably be allowed to pass the test of military clearance before settlers or even farmers resume activities on those fields”, Shehu stated. That massacre was described by the United Nations as the most violent attack targeted at civilians in 2020.
A new report by SB Morgan intelligence revealed that at least, a minimum of 1,356 farmers have been killed in the Northern part of the country between 2020 and 2024. Those are the reported numbers. The actual figure could be more. The report also explained that although the region is responsible for supplying the country’s agricultural needs, its farmers have faced multiple taxation imposed by bandit warlords operating in rural areas.
Let me quote the report verbatim: ‘’In early 2024, SBM found that no less than N139 million was paid as farm levies (including planting and harvesting) to bandits who demanded at least N224 million across the North between 2020 and 2023. In the same period leading up to June 2024, at least 1, 356 farmers were killed across the country, with most of the killings occurring in the North. These illegal tolls have made it difficult for farmers to access their farms and added to the mounting food insecurity exacerbated by factors such as an unstable currency’’.
Furthermore, the report stated that insecurity is the second most important issue facing farmers in the country after poor road infrastructure, and that it has affected the dining table of Nigerians,which has in turn, worsened the overall food security situation of the country. Insecurity, particularly the rise of Boko Haram, banditry, and communal clashes, has decimated farming communities across the north. Farmers, who once cultivated large expanses of land are now forced to abandon their fields due to fear of attacks.
In Niger State, 23 farming communities fled their homes in August this year following the occupation of a major military training camp in Kontagora Local Government Area by armed bandits. Abdullahi Isah, representing the Kontagora II constituency, who raised a motion on the floor of the Niger State House of Assembly, wondered how the farmers would feel safe when a major military training camp was successfully invaded and taken over by bandits. He pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to provide more security men backed with enough fire power to root out the bandits from the camp.
However, it is not all gloom as the federal government is also devising series of strategies to deal with the situation. Recently, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) deployed over 10,000 Agro Rangers across 19 Northern states, including the Federal Capital Territory, to safeguard farmlands and protect farmers from escalating attacks. The initiative is part of ongoing efforts to enhance food security in the region and other parts of the country. The NSCDC spokesperson, Babawale Afolabi, said that the corps’ main goal is to protect agro-allied investments and ensure the safety of farmers and their crops. He said that the Agro Rangers are also tasked with mediating conflicts between farmers and herders, promoting peaceful coexistence, and preventing the malicious destruction of farmland. Between January and March this year alone, no fewer than 165 farmers were killed by bandits, underscoring the severity of the security challenges faced by farmers.
While security agents tackle security threats posed by bandits and terrorist groups, new terror organisations are springing up on a daily basis. The latest terrorist group in Nigeria, known as Lakurawa isnow giving the military sleepless nights, as it has taken its nefarious activities a notch higher. Though said to have been in existence since 2017, the new terror group seems to be in firm control of Sokoto and Kebbi states. Lakurawa was said to have been initially invited by local leaders in Gudu and Tangaza LGAs of Sokoto State in 2017 to address the growing threats by bandits from Zamfara State. The group’s activities are also impacting food security as many farmers in that axis have abandoned their farms for fear of being kidnapped and forced to pay a ransom.
With the problems faced by farmers in Nigeria growing on a daily basis, nobody should complain of the rising cost of food stuffs in markets across the country. The quantity of food items getting to the market have reduced significantly and the high cost of transportation has now forced the price of staple foods beyond the reach of many Nigerians.
This was validated by the figures that came from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) which shows that Nigeria’s inflation rate surged to 33.88% in October 2024, up from 32.70% in September. That increase indicates a 1.18 per cent point increase month-on-month. On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 6.55 per cent points higher than the rate recorded in October 2023, which was 27.33 per cent. “On a month-on-month basis, the Headline inflation rate in October 2024 was 2.64 per cent, which was 0.12 per cent higher than the rate recorded in September 2024 (2.52 per cent). This means that in October 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level was higher than the rate of increase in the average price level in September 2024”, the executive summary of the report partly read.
On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in October 2024 was 2.94 per cent which shows a 0.30 per cent increase compared to the rate recorded in September 2024 (2.64 per cent). The rise wasattributed to the rate of increase in the average prices of Palm Oil, Vegetable oil, (Oil & Fats Class), Mudfish, Croaker (Apo), Fresh fish (Obokun), (Fish Class), Dried Beef, Goat Meat, Mutton, Skin meat, (Meat Class), and Bread, Guinea Corn flour, Plantain flour, Rice, (Bread and Cereals Class). Again, the average annual rate of food inflation for the twelve months ending October 2024 over the previous twelve-month average was 38.12 per cent which was an 11.79 per cent points increase from the average annual rate of change recorded in October 2023 (26.33 per cent).
The persistent rise was primarily driven by steep increases in food and transportation costs following the removal of fuel subsidies and continued naira depreciation, compounded by insecurity and flooding in the agricultural belt of the nation.
Earlier in the year, inflation hit 33.2% in March, following a February rate of 31.7%. June marked a peak at 34.19%, the highest in nearly 30 years, before easing slightly in subsequent months due to seasonal harvests. However, inflation began climbing again in September.
With the military now providing security to farmers harvesting beans, the price of the commodity has reduced slightly in the market as more of the produce makes it to the city centre. But how long are we going to sustain the practice?
The primary responsibility of the military is the protection of the territorial integrity of Nigeria, not farmers. While the Agro-rangers set up by the NSCDC should be sustained, the way out of the current food insecurity is for the military to completely root out bandits and terrorists from our land so that farmers could freely practice their trade and provide food for the increasing number of hungry Nigerians.
See you next week.
*Akintunde is a journalist and columnist
