Farmers at Idege, a farmstead in Ado Ekiti, the capital city of Ekiti State, invested millions of naira in cultivating their farms, but they are currently in tears as a result of the destruction of their farms by herders, ABIODUN NEJO writes

Some farmers at Idege, a farmstead under Ado Ekiti, the capital city of Ekiti State, are hoping they can recover from the losses running into several millions of naira they suffered due to the destruction of their farms spanning several hectares by herdsmen and their cattle.

They said it would take the intervention of the government to stop the menace of the nomadic herdsmen who feed their crops to their cattle whenever they come around in addition to being a threat to their continued interest in farming.

Governor Biodun Oyebanji, concerned about the crises between farmers and herders as well as other crimes in the farms that posed great threats to peace and food security in the state, had in September 2023 reconstituted the state Farmers-Herders Peace Committee.


The committee, which included cattle breeders, herdsmen, farmers, security outfits, and traditional rulers among others, was saddled with responsibilities including mitigating clashes between farmers and herdsmen and ensuring a greater level of productivity.

Consequently, as a proactive way to prevent the occurrence of clashes during the dry season with the anticipated North-South movement of herders, the committee in November last year extracted a commitment from stakeholders to work together and prevent nomadic herders from grazing on farms in the state.

One of the affected farmers, who identified himself as Ibrahim, alleged that between December 2023 and January 2024, about 30 farmers’ farms were destroyed by Fulani herders.


Ibrahim said, “The recent destruction was massive. They destroyed my farm and wreaked havoc on my brother-in-law’s farm. About 30 of us were affected. Farming is our means of economic livelihood. These people are silently killing us. The time for the government to take action is now.

“I appeal to Governor Oyebanji, Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, Mr Dare Ogundare, and the Commandant of Ekiti Amotekun Corps, Brig. Gen. Olu Adewa (retd.), to save us from unwarranted and willful destruction being wreaked on our farms,” Ibrahim said.

A middle-aged farmer, Pastor Tunde Umaru, who said he had been farming at Idege for the past 10 years, lamented, that the herdsmen destroyed their cassava crops and yam seedlings.

He said, “I am in serious pains. What I lost is to the tune of millions of naira. It is from the farms that I get money to fend for my family, send children to school and as well take care of my elderly mother.

“This development will have a serious negative effect on food production. The yam seedlings we are supposed to cultivate to produce yam were used to feed cows. They come at night, destroy our cassava, and uproot our yam seedlings for their cattle. We cannot harvest cassava again.”

Umaru, however, said that the way forward to save the farmers and promote food security was for the government to assist the farmers, saying, “The government should assist us and caution these herders.

“Let the two herdsmen arrested by the police following our report of the destruction of our farms be made to call their leaders so that we can sit down and iron things out. They (herdsmen) have leaders, we can sit together to agree on beneficial ways for farmers and herders.

“They are not supposed to be rearing their animals at night. The government should stop night cattle rearing or movement. Again, the government could make them leave to end their menace to encourage food production and keep hunger and poverty at bay.

“The activities and movements of the herders should be monitored and regulated. If the government takes serious steps against them, especially because of their destructive activities, they will go,” the embattled farmer said.

A 38-year-old victim, Hadi Salawudeen, who said he engaged labourers to plant cassava and yams at his farm, said, “I harvested the yam in August. I was planning to uproot the yam seedlings for cultivation in my new yam farm when the herders struck on December 14, 2023.

“They started with the destruction of my cassava, I had about 3,000 heaps in the farm. As the herders were feeding the cassava to their cows, they were also destroying the yam seedlings, uprooting and cutting them to pieces.

“On December 18, they invaded the farm again. What was left on the farm was negligible, less than 700 heaps. On New Year’s Day, I went to the farm to take some yam seedlings, but on January 2, 2024, the herdsmen were there again to finish everything on the farm. As I speak, they have destroyed everything on the farm.

“Many other farmers are having similar experiences. To go to the farm now is a stress. If we go to the farm in the morning, we would have to go back there (farm) in not more than two hours so that they do not come to ruin our farms.

“We reported the December 2023 incident to the police. The police were able to arrest some of the herders. I learned two suspects are still in police detention.

“But surprisingly, it was when the police arrested these two men that the herders upped their destructive activities in our farms. It was as if the arrest of the two herders emboldened others to do more. They increased the intensity of their destruction.

“We plead with the government to arrest them or send them away from the area so that we can farm. We are frustrated. The government should come to our aid,” he said.

Another victim, 42 years Jamiu Ahmed, who corroborated Salawudeen’s statement, said, “Following the destruction of our farms in December last year, we made efforts to see the Commissioner of Police. When we later reported the matter to the Odo Ado Division. The Divisional Police Officer assured that the Police would take steps to stop them. The Police from the Odo Ado Division went there, and two of the herders were arrested.

Ahmed, who said his parents had been cultivating yam and cassava at Idege for over 40 years and that he followed the trend, said his personal experience with the herders began in 2022.

He said, “My farm was ravaged in 2022 the same way it was destroyed in December last year. When we cried out early last year, Amotekun operatives went there, but they could not arrest them before the rains came last year.

“The herders returned in December last year and ruined the farm. As I speak, all my cassava and yam seedlings on the farm were destroyed. The same thing applies to all of us who have farms there. The herders uprooted our cassava to feed their cows.

“We plead with the government to intensify steps on this. All our cassava and yam seedlings have been ravaged. The government should help us by proffering lasting solutions to this incessant destruction of our crops”, Ahmed said.

https://punchng.com/lawless-herders-turn-ekiti-multi-million-naira-farms-to-grazing-land/?amp

Many Nigerians are lawless in built.

Restructure and practice true federalism for were? Each state should be able to have and implement their own laws, if you break any of the laws, you and your cow straight to jail.

Still looking for the cows.

Nigeria has indeed gone to the dogs oh

...a master slave parapo dealings
It is not a new thing since the days of Bushman Dan foolio.
If it is a lie visit Illorin

..for more traffic & reaction..substitude Ekiti with Imo..& see the 10th wonder of the world from the lens of " where are the cowwwss"..

...meanwhile if you are hungry on the basis of ebi n pa wa o..kindly request for the emikolliatives from the staples of Thief'nubu..cos the cowwwsss have finally come home to graze & destroy

Could be Chinaza disguising again. Investigate thoroughly.

Poison their cows

I thought Ekiti state passed the anti grazing bill? I wander why Governors in the south west are finding it so hard to enforce the law.


I don't understand what's really happening in this country again o

That's Too bad

THE GOVERNORS OF EKITI, ONDO AND OSUN STATES, PLEASE BEWARE. THE HERDERS ARE WITH YOU AND ARE VERY DANGEROUS.

EKITI BEWARE OF IWEALA/SHETTIMA DANCE @DAVOS.

I have concern about potential negative reactions from the Igbo people towards the government led by Tinubu. The moderator not to bring attention to the issue by pushing it to the front page. We are worried that the Igbos may use this as an opportunity to ridicule or discredit the Tinubu government. I request the moderator's assistance in keeping this matter low-key and avoiding any potential backlash.

meolaniyi:
I have concern about potential negative reactions from the Igbo people towards the government led by Tinubu. The moderator not to bring attention to the issue by pushing it to the front page. We are worried that the Igbos may use this as an opportunity to ridicule or discredit the Tinubu government. I request the moderator's assistance in keeping this matter low-key and avoiding any potential backlash.

My question is why do these people enjoy inflicting pain on others ? Why are they so selfish that they don’t care if other people’s means of livelihood is in ruins provided their cows are fed ?

I think it’s about time these herders are treated as terrorists because what they are doing at this point amounts to economic terrorism .

Ok

Blakjewelry:
Restructure and practice true federalism for were? Each state should be able to have and implement their own laws, if you break any of the laws, you and your cow straight to jail.

Is it restructure that made north to have sharia court, hisbah police?
These governors are simply cowards. They don't need restructure to make laws and implement them.

This stuff is really affecting the growth of Agricultural practices in the Southwest, governors should tackle this for God's sake!

Food will continue to be more expensive.

And tinubu is the president of Nigeria and yet the herdsmen is not afraid of south west

Lol

[quote author=TANID post=128077868][/quote]

Thanks for notifying me. I thought I editted it

aceman88:
Still looking for the cows.

We will never stop looking for them cows

Point me to any cows if you come across one if not let's face Evans

A greater %/of cows in southwest belongs mostly to the obas and some influential people of southwest. Farms destruction won't go anywhere soon. They should protest for sate police, not this rubbish peace meetings they keep arranging.

Lol, what a country.

Same Ekiti that voted Tinubu

Yoruba Ronu


Let them graze.. so that we can deal with igbo

SpatialKing:
Same Ekiti that voted Tinubu

Ronu

He will protect the Yoruba interest

Open grazing should be outlawed. Open grazing is useless and barbaric. Don't this fools know it's archaic and cause desertification as well as flooding? Are they that stupid? Bunch of useless folks! They had better fvck off or be gunned down!

jmoore:

Is it restructure that made north to have sharia court, hisbah police?
These governors are simply cowards. They don't need restructure to make laws and implement them.

leave governors your brother Tinubu has been shouting restructure all these years he is there now