Insecurity Threatens the Nigerian Food System

Lately, the people who grow our food are being killed and forced to flee their homes by insurgents in parts of the country. With daily headlines as below:

“Two Die as Farmers, Herdsmen Clash in Oyo Community” – Sahara Reporters, 16/01/2021¹

“Seven Farmers Killed, Others Injured by Bandits Attack in Niger” - Nigerian Tribune, 02/01/2021²

 “Bauchi Lawmaker Decries Attack on Farmers by Killer Herders” – The Guardian, 31/12/2020³

“Suspected Fulani Herdsmen Kill Three Farmers in Oyo” – Sahara Reporters, 27/12/2020⁴

“43 Farmers Killed by Insurgents Buried Amid Tears, Wailing” – The Guardian, 29/11/2020⁵

“Boko Haram Jihadists Kill Eight Farmers in Nigeria’s Borno State” - The Defense Post, 26/10/2020⁶

“Fulani Herdsmen Kill A farmer in Southern Kaduna, Hide Body in Cave” – Sahara Reporters, 08/07/2020⁷

A Canadian songwriter, Leonard Cohen once said that “there’s a crack in everything and that’s how the light gets in”. This statement is true for many situations in life and earnestly brings hope to mind even in the worst of times.

However, juxtaposing this line of thought with the condition of Nigeria’s agricultural sector is farfetched. Agriculture in the country is “embellished” with cracks. Albeit fathoming the glorious emergence of light as philosophized by Cohen is exasperating and honestly inconceivable. Daily reports of farmers being kidnapped and/or killed across parts of the country reflect a clear pattern of destruction of lives and properties. Even though contextualizing this as an effort towards crippling the country’s food system seems illogical, and makes little to no sense despite unambiguous pointers to this effect.

Crop farmers in Nigeria. Image source: Guardian Nigeria

These happenings bring to mind pungent questions about who benefits from crippling food production in Nigeria. The closure of Nigeria’s land borders from 2019 – 2020 directs a pointer at food importers. Nevertheless, these food importers have existed since the 90’s when Nigeria lost its stance on food sovereignty. Why then would there be a sudden need to attack farmers and slow down food production in the country? Next on this illusionary list of “suspects” are arms dealers. Well, considering the incessant proliferation of arms across the country, it’s tempting to conclude that corrupt politicians or top double-dealing security principals are profiteering from budgetary allocations committed to combating insecurity.

There is also the plausible theory of man’s inhumane nature meted out by brainwashed insurgents in the Nigerian context. Otherwise, could it be a mere coincidence that innocent farmers are maimed, kidnapped, raped, and killed on daily basis across parts of the country? That’s a rather befuddling coincidence if I must say. Unverified reports in some quarters claim that the situation has deteriorated to the extent that insurgents extort farmers to enable them access to their farmlands. A situation could not be more embarrassing.

Sadly, what began as a clash between farmers and herders in the middle-belt has transcended to unprovoked and senseless attacks on farmers across the country. Consequently, the causality theory throws President Mohammadu Buhari’s administration off its quest for achieving food security which they maintain remains at the fore of the administration’s agenda. Furthermore, it is a no-brainer that the achievement of food security in Nigeria is hugely dependent on the safety of rural farmers who make up over 70% of the food production workforce. Therefore, rising cases of insecurity will continue to fuel food inflation which currently stands at 19.56%.⁸

Suffice to say, Nigeria’s food production system is under threat because the life of an average farmer is unsafe. Our food heroes are dying and something needs to be done about it.

Reference

1. Sahara Reporters (2021):  Newspaper publication on 16^th January 2021. http://saharareporters.com/2021/01/16/two-die-farmers-herdsmen-clash-oyo-community
2. The Nigerian Tribune (2021): Newspaper publication on 2^nd January 2021. https://tribuneonlineng.com/seven-farmers-killed-others-injured-by-bandits-attack-in-niger/” - Nigerian Tribune, 02/01/2021
3. The Guardian (2020): Newspaper publication on 31^st December 2020. https://guardian.ng/news/bauchi-lawmaker-decries-attack-on-farmers-by-killer-herders/
4. Sahara Reporters (2020): Newspaper publication on 27^th December 2020. http://saharareporters.com/2020/12/27/suspected-fulani-herdsmen-kill-three-farmers-oyo
5. The Guardian (2020): Newspaper publication on 29^th December 2020. https://guardian.ng/news/nigeria/national/43-farmers-kild-by-insurgents-buried-amid-tears-wailing/
6. The Defense Post (2020): Newspaper publication on 26^th October 2020. https://www.thedefensepost.com/2020/10/26/boko-haram-kill-eight-nigeria/
7. Sahara Reporters (2020): Newspaper publication on 8^th July 2020. http://saharareporters.com/2020/07/08/fulani-herdsmen-kill-farmer-southern-kaduna-hide-body-cave
8. Trading Economics (2021): Nigeria Food Inflation – 1996 – 2020 Data. https://tradingeconomics.com/nigeria/food-inflation

       The Author

Ogbole Esther

 ''As an agriculture enthusiast, I have long had a passion for contributing my quota to the growth and development of the Nigeria agricultural sector and this birthed an interest in research to see what and how precisely agricultural strategies are implemented in developed economies of the world and how they can be adapted to suit the Nigerian scenario''.