Rising insecurity compounds northern residents’ economic hardship

CHIMA AZUBUIKE writes about the growing hardship in the North and the impact on the residents

When Bilkisi Bako and Halilu Tijjani, both residents of Damari in the Sabuwa Local Government Area of Katsina State, finally decided to tie the nuptial knot in a well-publicised nikkai ceremony which attracted a large crowd of well-wishers who had thronged the venue to wish them well in their journey to marital bliss, little did they know that the much-anticipated bliss would soon turn into a nightmare.

Prayers from the khadi and the Imam in charge of the local masjid in the Damari community had barely been concluded when armed bandits stormed the wedding and abducted the newly-wedded bride and her companions.

Reports of the attack which happened on February 1 went viral as the bandits also targeted a van conveying some guests to the party in the Sabuwa area.

During the assault, at least four members of a local vigilance group that responded to the initial distress call from the venue of the wedding lost their lives.

Saturday PUNCH, while quoting statements from the villagers, had reported that about 55 wedding guests, predominantly women, were abducted and had been held hostage since the incident.

In a viral video on social media that followed the dastardly act, the bandits threatened to marry the bride off to one of their leaders unless the captives’ relatives paid a ransom of N100m.

The video showed the captives with AK-47 rifles around their necks and the bride was seen dressed in an army uniform, with one of the bandits saying, “Here is the bride adorned in army uniform.”

The bandits, obviously unmoved about their actions, taunted the state Governor, Dikko Radda, who had allegedly pledged to rescue all the victims and challenged him to fulfil his promise.

The gang leader, adorned in a police uniform, arrogantly claimed responsibility for the abduction and warned against any rescue attempts.

“I am the one who abducted them, and I will never release them until the ransom is paid,” he boasted, adding, “And if there is anyone who thinks they could rescue them, they should try it.”

A Sabuwa community leader who did not want his name in print for fear of being trailed and hacked to death lamented that the kidnappers were audacious enough to issue open threats to a sitting governor.

Farmers lament

Farmers in the northern region of the country have continued to bemoan the unending attacks by bandits who not only destroy lives but also farmlands. A farmer, Ismaila Abdul, who resides in the Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State told Saturday PUNCH that the situation was worse than when Boko Haram held sway.

“Sometimes, they (Boko Haram) even bluntly told us that they were waiting for us to grow the crops for them. Then on harvest day, they come to wait for us to harvest the produce; then they would cart everything away, leaving the farmers with only their grief and the fatigue they had suffered over months of labour.

“What can we do? Who do we report to? We have given up on the police. It is only the military that assists us occasionally, but usually by the time they come to our rescue, the bandits and terrorists have wreaked havoc, killed as many as they wanted, and escaped into the bush and the vicious cycle continues again and again,” he lamented.

Abdul also maintained that the claim that about 50 per cent of farmers had abandoned their larger farms in the deep sections of the bush where they engaged in large-scale farming is true.

“Most of our farmers, after sowing the crops across the state, for fear of being killed or kidnapped by the terrorists and bandits, cannot return there to harvest again,” he added.

Not a few of the farmers who spoke with our correspondent insisted that the cultivation of rice was more pathetic as they dare not venture near their rice farms around the swamps or flood plains which are more fertile and more promising for higher yields because such locations were infested with the insurgents.

One of them, Musa Dahiru, said, “I have a rice farm around the Alau Dam in the Konduga Local Government Area, which I cultivated for 10 years, but this year, I dare not go near there. I have attempted selling the farm, but not a single buyer has come forth; no farmer will risk buying it, because he doesn’t know when the insecurity will end to enable him to cultivate it.”

Another farmer, Mohammed Kazeem, disclosed that thieves disguised as terrorists had taken advantage of the situation to invade farms and steal crops, including sorghum and maize cobs right from the stalks at night.

“You have to convey home all your produce the same day you harvested them, or you risk losing them to the unwelcome night visitors who can even kill you if they meet you keeping watch on your farm at night,” he said.

Fading agricultural glory

Several years back, the North prided itself in agriculture with an abundance of groundnut, and rice pyramids, among others. Nigeria’s years of Boko Haram and present-day banditry have triggered hunger and starvation in the North, increasing the risk of a food crisis.

However, the war against Boko Haram in the North-East seems to be losing steam as the terrorists continue to pound areas in Yobe, Borno, and Adamawa states while Taraba grapples with the scourge of armed bandits.

In the North-West, armed bandits, which some residents suspect could be Boko Haram with a different face, are ravaging states like Zamfara, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, and Kebbi majority. There have also been reports of bandits collecting taxes from villagers for protection, ransacking communities at will, raping, killing, maiming, and stealing foodstuff. Scores of residents have also been killed and displaced.

In the North-Central, the situation is not different. Many roads in the region have become travellers’ nightmares. Travellers moving from Rijau to Birnin Gwari and Gwanin Gora to Rijana through Kaduna and down to Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, Niger, and Kogi, as well as the Federal Capital Territory do so with fear.

Looming food crisis

The World Bank in one of its reports, disclosed that Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe all in the North-East; and Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara states in the North-West regions of Nigeria might suffer food crises due to high levels of insecurity and armed conflicts that had reduced the standards of living across the region.

“It is projected that most areas in West and Central Africa will remain minimally food insecure until May 2024, with some being categorised as Stressed IPC 2. Nigeria (far north of Adamawa, Borno, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara states) will be at crisis food security levels, mostly because of persistent insecurity and armed conflict and deteriorating livelihoods,” the read in part.

Speaking in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, the candidate of African Democratic Congress in the 2023 general elections for Ningi/Warji Federal Constituency in Bauchi State, Zakari Garba, said that the current challenges bedevilling the region were caused by corruption.

Garba explained that if the government could dispassionately tackle inflation, currency devaluation and enhance local production, the situation would begin to improve.

He said, “What Nigeria is facing are three major things which include inflation, currency devaluation, and lack of production. Unfortunately, all the routes that led us to this situation are corruption and bad leadership.”

He noted further that things were a lot better between 1960 to 1980, adding that the decline was a result of negligence.

“If you can go a little back to Nigeria’s history, we were one of the strongest countries that boasted about many things, especially agricultural products, even before the discovery of crude oil but instead of maintaining that, we didn’t.

“Sometimes, armed bandits forcibly mark farmlands as no-go areas in some of the states, the owners who are farmers dare not near the farms as they wallow in need.

“Need I add, that the reason for our suffering is because we import almost everything. The painful thing is that we buy without using our currency; that’s one of the major things that contributed to our inflation.

“Let’s talk a little bit about currency devaluation. The Nigerian currency between 1960 and 1980 was stronger compared to the current one,” Garba added.

The World Bank in its latest food security report also stated that food inflation had been a reoccurring issue faced by several governments across the globe and inflamed by the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

“In Nigeria, the price of food products has increased in geometric progression,” it added.

The report further highlighted the precarious situation many states in Nigeria found themselves in as food prices continue to rise.

Overview of Food Security and Nutrition that since the onset of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 78 per cent of Africans had been unable to afford a nutritious diet.

Worried by this, the Programme Officer of Hope Foundation for the Lonely, Ballin James, called on authorities to rid the North of insecurity, adding that the effect of allowing it to fester would be dire if not nipped in the bud.

While highlighting the challenges of small-scale women farmers, James said, “Farmers are among the worst hit in security challenges because of the impact of insecurity on agricultural productivity and food security. Insecurity has led to displacement of farmers, destruction of farmlands, and disruption of agricultural activities, leading to reduced agricultural productivity and food insecurity.”

She urged the government to tackle the causes to avert the impending dangers.

“I think the way forward would be to address the root causes of insecurity in the states listed. This could involve a combination of measures such as improving security, promoting peace, and providing humanitarian aid to the affected communities,” James added.

Perhaps, in a bid to avert a food crisis, President Bola Tinubu approved the prompt release of 102,000 metric tonnes of rice and maize from the National Food Reserve to enhance the availability of food in the country.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, who disclosed this following a gathering of the Special Presidential Committee on Emergency Food Intervention on Thursday said, “The first one is that the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has been directed to release about 42,000 metric tonnes of maize, millet, garri, and other commodities in their strategic reserve so that these items will be made available to Nigerians; 42,000 metric tonnes immediately.

Idris said the whole idea was to crash the cost of these food items.

“It is our own time to face this challenge. The government is going to respond adequately and it is already responding adequately. The President has directed that whatever it will take, food will be available to Nigerians at a cost that is also very reasonable. And that is what the summary of this meeting entails,” he added.

But lamenting the growing economic situation, the Secretary of Nigeria Labour Congress, Gombe State chapter, Ibrahim Fika, said the situation had become dire. According to Fika, workers have continued to groan under the weight of hardship.

He said, “In every way, it’s unbearable, the situation is getting worse than expected. Workers are at the receiving end.”

“Can you imagine some workers who have not received their January salaries till now? Those are victims of this biometric attendance.”

On how the 42,000 metric tonnes of food items from the government should be shared, Fika urged the authorities to learn from the mistakes made during the COVID-19 pandemic where items in states were hoarded in stores while the poor and vulnerable languished.

“A committee needs to be constituted with the inclusion of strategic stakeholders to give insights and rub minds with those in need,” he added.

A development expert, Yusuf Ruwa, while also lamenting the challenges brought about by insecurity said, “Just look at people’s faces you will see the extent of the current hardship, Nigerians are no longer smiling, everyone is afraid.”

“I don’t believe in the government sharing food and money which seems not to be working at all. Give us peace and good policies and programmes.”

Govs meet NSA

Worried by the insecurity that has spread across the country, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum met with the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu. During the meeting that had a representative of the Department of State Services, the governors agreed to support the NSA in the states to enhance the nature and quality of intelligence.

They also called for the reduction of foreign exchange demand by use of moral suasion to reduce dependence on foreign exchange, imported goods, and services to address the current security situation and food stability in the country.

In a statement by the NGF Chairman and Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, at the end of the first emergency virtual meeting, the governors said they “recognised the need to address the connection between food inflation, naira depreciation and rising insecurity across parts of the country from a systemic perspective” and called for urgent discussions with and synergy among stakeholders in improving the situation in the shortest possible time.

They agreed to support improved enforcement efforts by reviewing the extant criminal justice laws in the states to ensure quick dispensation of justice on perpetrators of insecurity in the states.

Similarly, the Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum and Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Yahaya, during the annual Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Lecture held in Maiduguri, Borno State, emphasised the need to revisit the principles of the Sardauna era.

He urged northern leaders to walk the talk if they truly wanted to address the common issues confronting the region and bring it back to the forefront as envisioned by the late premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello.

“Under my leadership, and with the support of my colleagues, the Northern States Governors’ Forum is coming up with a strategic roadmap towards addressing the root causes of under-development in our region. We believe that only through good governance, unity, and a shared commitment to progress can we overcome the security challenges affecting us,” Yahaya said.

The governor added, “As leaders of northern Nigeria, we must ask ourselves: What would Sir Ahmadu Bello have done if he were alive? How would he have responded to the current security challenges bedevilling northern Nigeria?

“I would say, without any fear of doubt, that the late Sir Ahmadu Bello, like the true statesman that he was, would have responded decisively with a sense of unity, determination, and effective governance.”

As part of efforts to ameliorate the situation in the region, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security on Wednesday said it trained and distributed farm inputs to 250 farmers in Gombe State in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Finance and National Planning.

The Permanent Secretary in the FMAFS, Temitope Fadeshemi, said though the exercise took place simultaneously across the country, the initiative was aimed at poverty reduction, uplifting the lives of smallholder farmers, and encouraging sustainable agricultural practices in the country.

Represented by the State Director of the ministry in charge of Gombe State, Ibrahim Bomoi, Fadeshemi said the programme was being implemented under the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy.

“The NPRGS reflects our government’s dedication to addressing poverty at its roots, emphasising the pivotal role agriculture plays in economic growth and development. Through initiatives like today’s training and empowerment programme, we are sowing the seeds of positive change.

“This will ensure that smallholder farmers have the knowledge, resources, and support needed to thrive in an ever-evolving agricultural landscape. This programme is not merely an investment in agriculture, it is an investment in the future of our nation.

“As we equip these farmers with the tools to enhance productivity, improve resilience, and embrace sustainable practices, we are laying the foundation for a more resilient and prosperous agricultural sector,” he said.

Fadeshemi said the intervention if well utilised by the farmers would reduce the high cost of food commodities and enhance food security. He advised farmers to judiciously utilise the inputs for the purpose for which they were given for the benefit of Nigerians.

Saturday PUNCH learnt that the beneficiaries, including crops, livestock, and poultry farmers, received chicks, feeds, fertilisers, seeds, and chemicals, while the government would also pay a certain amount of money to each of the farmers via conditional cash transfer, expected to be disbursed directly into their accounts by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Improve security will boost food availability – Experts

However, experts have called on the governments of the northern states to improve the safety of lives and property to make food more accessible.

James noted that farmers should be provided with the needed facilities to alleviate their challenges, “Additionally, there could be efforts to improve agricultural productivity and food security in the states, This could involve providing farmers with access to credit, inputs, and markets, as well as improving infrastructure such as roads and irrigation systems and providing solutions to post-harvest losses,” she added.

Also, a Gombe-based social commentator, Mahmud Ringim, said Nigeria could achieve recovery by supporting industries to thrive.

He said, “To emulate the prosperity of nations like China and India, the President should prioritise the manufacturing sector. Indigenous investors, exemplified by the Dangote and BUA industries, serve as economic ambassadors globally.

“By providing targeted support and encouragement, the government can propel the manufacturing sector to create employment opportunities for graduates nationwide.”

But Ruwa urged the Federal Government to allow food items to pass through land borders and checkmate the activities of grain hoarders as a way to bring the prices of food items down.