Some farmers in Ekiti State had returned to the farms after the Christmas break with the hope that they would go into the new year in some form of abundance. They had harvested cassava from their farms, and were about to ship their products to the market. They were happy that returns from the farm was going to be better than the previous years. But they did not envisage the attack from criminal herdsmen who ran their cattle through several hectares of farmland in the Idege farmstead, near Ado Ekiti, the state capital. One of the farmers, who gave his name as Ibrahim, though volunteered that the attacks had been consistent for about two years now, described the latest destruction as “massive”. Hear him: “They destroyed over 4,000 heaps of cassava on my farm alone.” That, as he said, was aside from the havoc they wrecked on his brother-in-law’s farm as well the farms of about 28 other farmers in the area alone. Those who suffered most in the attacks were farmers who planted yams and cassava.
To demonstrate that the herders’ actions were deliberate, Ibrahim said, “They were not just destroying the cassava by eating up the leaves and the stems, they also uprooted the tubers to feed their animals.” He was not done. He said the herders performed more acts of impunity. He claimed that the herders undertook some more deliberate actions that gave the impression that there was a deliberate action to run the farmers out of business. For instance, Ibrahim said, “In some instances, they went to the new yam farms we just cultivated, brought out the yam seeds, and cut them for their cattle”!
The grieving farmer said, “These are callous acts, and the government should not allow this to happen without checks.” He went on by pleading that the government take action now to put them in check, to prevent a total breakdown of law and order. He highlighted the implications of the attacks on the farmers, the society and the government. According to him, if not checked, this could lead to a situation where the farmers who continue to lose their investment will not be able to continue with their jobs, and the people from an area that used to produce food items for the people locally and beyond will find it difficult to even make ends meet. Such a development will affect the economy of the area and the state, and then have a negative impact on the effort by the government to address food insecurity in the country. He said, “Time for the government to take action is now, because we know how much we contribute to the attainment of food security in Ekiti from that axis.” He sorts of struck a cord there. The administration of Bola Tinubu had declared a state of emergency in the food and agriculture sector. The aim is to achieve food security in the country and also assist the farmers to produce enough to generate foreign exchange for the country. A situation where in an attempt to keep their animals alive, herders destroy the means of livelihood of others and also impede food production will hamper that objective.
Already, the development has created fear in the people such that many of them have stopped going to the farm for fear of being attacked by the armed herders on the prowl. That is why Ibrahim lamented that “These people are silently killing us.” Confronted with these challenges, he was asked what steps he and his colleagues had taken to ensure that the government was aware of the development. He responded, “They have been coming to beat us and caused destruction to our farms, which we report to the security agencies but without serious actions (taken).”
However, the government said that the allegation that no action was taken by agencies of government to address the issue was inaccurate. Brigadier General Ebenezer Ogundana, the special adviser to Governor Biodun Oyebamji on security matters counters the allegation. He said, “We arrest herders who destroy farms. Some of those arrested by police and Amotekun recently are either with the police or their matters have gone to court. Some of them are already in detention. Some have been made to pay compensation and sign an undertaking.” It is either Ibrahim was not well informed about this effort by the government, or those steps were taken in other locations away from Idege, Ado Ekiti. Ogundana said the government was working hard to ensure that farmers do not continue to suffer that kind of attack, while also ensuring that law abiding herders go about their business without hindrance. He said, “What we want is that there should be no cause for conflict between farmers and herders.”