THE palpable insecurity being orchestrated by Fulani herdsmen across the country may jeopardize Federal Government’s policy to shift attention from oil-based economy to agriculture for sustenance.
The observation was made by a former Commissioner on the board of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC), Chief Henry Ofa, during a chat with journalists in Warri, Delta State.
He expressed deep concerns over the precarious state of insecurity in Nigeria particularly as regards agriculture that is beginning to attract attention from youths and corporate bodies.
Ofa, who represented Ethiope West, Sapele and Okpe local government areas on the board of DESOPADEC, said the alarming rate of insecurity in the country and the Federal Government’s spirited efforts at diversifying the country’s economy through the agrarian sector are two paradoxical issues that must not be allowed to coexist.
The former commissioner observed that the Federal Government was laying much emphasis on agriculture as the leeway out of the festering economic morass, without consciously directing adequate attention towards the herdsmen menace that “is chasing farmers from the bush.”
According to him, “Nigerians are being advised to return to agriculture, but how can their efforts be worthwhile when their security is not guaranteed in the farms?
“Herdsmen’s activities have left many uncertainties in different farming communities; people are being chased away from their farms; their economic crops are destroyed and some are even murdered in the process.
“If this remains the order of the day, then the hope of diversifying the country’s economy through agriculture may be under serious threats,” he said.
Ofa explained that the agricultural enhancement policies of the Federal Government are commendable, but stressed that “it must urgently devise a means of controlling cattle movements in farmlands”.
On the imperative of a reserved grazing area for cattle, he said cattle rearing is a “private business” and should be treated as one.
He suggested that interested parties should acquire portions of land in which they could go about their lawful businesses without undermining those of others.
It will be recalled that the heinous activities of herdsmen against farmers and their farms in some parts of the state have become a source of concerns to stakeholders who are calling for the immediate solutions to the menace.