Plateau: ‘Home of Peace and Tourism’ where famine looms

Plateau State has the epithet, ‘Home of Peace and Tourism.’ However, it has become the theatre of renewed conflict that is now taking a huge toll on the state that was once known for its thriving farming culture and massive food production. ISAAC SHOBAYO writes on the current state of affairs.

Plateau State has been in the news for the wrong reasons in the past two months, occasioned by the activities of the rampaging bandits, often referred to as gunmen. In Mangu Local Government Area alone, no fewer than 300 people, mostly children and women, were killed in a gruesome and bizarre manner, while several houses were burnt and the inhabitants displaced from their ancestral communities.

Apart from Mangu, the northern flank of the state, specifically the Barkin-Ladi and Riyom axes, are not spared from this malady, as communities and villages are at the mercy of the bandits on the prowl. Many villages have been sacked and illegally occupied by the rampaging marauders.

Piqued by the ugly development, the Commander, Operations Safe Haven (OPSH), who is also the General Officer Commanding Third Armoured Division, Major-General Abudulsam Abubakar, recently relocated the operational base of his command to the troubled Mangu Local Government Area for proper attention.

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Taoreed Lagbaja, was also in the locality recently, where he launched operation ‘Hakorin Damisa’ to arrest the ugly trend.

Though the military intervention has brought relative calm and relief to the residents of Mangu Local Government, the recalcitrant bandits have changed their mode of dastardly operations to the destruction of farms and provocative midnight grazing of animals on farmlands.

In the past three weeks, most of the farmers in the farming communities of Mangu, Riyom, Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi local governments have been counting their losses and are completely devastated as most of their farms have been mowed by bandits. Unripe crops like maize, irish potatoes and cabbage, among others, are targets of the marauders.

It will be recalled that Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), in charge of security in the state, recently seized more than 1,000 cows for grazing on farmlands in Dumunan village in Bwai district of Mangu Local Government.

A cross section of farmers in the affected communities who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune lamented that the tactic adopted by the bandits is a deliberate ploy to destroy the people’s economy and inflict pain and hunger on them.

A large-scale farmer in Riyom Local Government, Ishaku Chollong, told the Nigerian Tribune that apart from the killings for which the bandits are notorious, they have resorted to the invasion of farms in the night.

“Apart from coming to kill, these bandits, suspected to be killer-herdsmen, have been invading our farms in the night, cutting down crops billed for harvest and running their cows through the farms. They often come in large numbers for these dastardly operations.

“It may interest you to know that my farm, which is about 15 acres, was destroyed in one night by these bandits. There are other farmers who have suffered the same fate.

“In another instance, they displaced people. When the inhabitants are nowhere to be found, these elements run their animals through the farms. In fact, their sole aim is to cripple the economic base of the people and displace them for possible occupation of their ancestral lands.”

A widow, Mrs Kabgyang Ishaya, whose husband was killed by bandits two years ago and now resorted to farming to eke out a living, was also affected. She narrated that her large expanse of farmland from where she had hoped to pay her children’s school fees in September was mowed down completely.

“The maize farm, which was about five hectares, was cut down and grazed by cows. The little resources I had were invested in this farm. Other farmers within this community also suffered the same fate. My husband was killed two years ago by these bandits and now they have come to destroy my farm,” she lamented.

Reuben Pam, a civil servant and farmer, lamented that the marauders have been wreaking havoc in both Barkin-Ladi and Riyom, leaving most farmers frustrated. He described the development as “unfortunate,” adding that the situation could lead to acute poverty, hunger and squalour in the state.

According to him, the trend, if not urgently addressed, could also lead to famine in the state and the country as a whole.

On her part, Juliet Dachom said it would be difficult for many people to survive if the situation continued, adding that the nation’s economy would also suffer if nothing was done to nip the terrible situation in the bud. She appealed to the state government to come to their rescue.

Speaking on the unfortunate development, national president of Berom Youth Moulders (BYM), Mr Solomon Dalyop Nwatiri, who disclosed that the terrorists have resorted to the destruction of farmlands, stated that quite a number of farms, precisely in Barkin-Ladi and Riyom, had been destroyed, basically to weaken the economic base of the people who are predominantly farmers.

He said, “From two weeks to date, no fewer than 800 farms covering about 3,000 hectares of land have been destroyed, particularly in these two local government areas. Virtually all the farmland has been razed; only a few are standing.

“These destructions are often carried out at night. Just yesterday, more than 10 farms were destroyed in Tanjol community alone. Based on our estimation, the farmers in these two local governments have lost close to N500 million.”

He said the only way out of the situation is an outright ban on open grazing and the dislodgement of Fulani settlements that have become terrorist enclaves, adding that if the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) is not banned, the killing in Plateau State and in the entire Middle Belt will continue unabated.

At the moment, the state risks an acute shortage of food following the activities of bandits and killer herdsmen in some parts of the state. There is palpable fear that the unfortunate development might snowball into a shortage of food supply, as the local governments affected by this incidence are major agrarian communities in the state. Moreso, quite a lot of farmers have been displaced from their communities and are now either in the internally displaced persons camps or with their relatives in the cities.

Piqued by the unfortunate development, the state government recently took significant steps by approving the cultivation of 900 hectares of land across three affected local government areas: Mangu, Barkin-Ladi and Riyom, in the first phase of the intervention.

Dr Susan Bentu, the Managing Director and CEO of the Agricultural Services and Training Centre and Marketing Limited (ASTC), said in an interview that Governor Caleb Mutfwang commissioned the ASTC to mitigate the losses suffered from the attacks, destruction of farms and displacement of numerous farmers from their lands.

She added that the state government has also responded to the plea by the farmers to provide security for the cultivated crops and encourage displaced persons to return to their homes.

The Deputy Commandant Head of Agro Rangers, NSCDC, Plateau State Command, Olusola Bakene, also assured farmers that his team is fully mobilised to protect and secure the farmlands. The Agro Rangers, specialised and trained personnel, will ensure that the crops are shielded from further destruction.

An official of the Practicing Farmers Association of Nigeria, Plateau State chapter, who craved annoymity, said both the state and federal governments need to go beyond this level of intervention and collaborate with the security agencies to rout the bandits from the affected communities.