Farmers from ten towns in Ogun State’s Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area, including Ogunmakin, Ayegunle, Aluoge, Showunmi, Yakoyo, Lemomu, and Beere, protested on Monday against what they described as “devastating destruction” of their farms by suspected herders.
The farmers alleged that their losses over the last ten years as a result of herders frequently bringing their livestock to graze on their properties could not be less than N100 million.
Cassava, corn, sugarcane, potatoes, and plantains were among the crops reportedly damaged by the cattle.
According to the farmers, the herders’ activities posed a substantial threat not just to the government’s efforts to increase food production, but also to the security of inhabitants in the impacted communities.
They said that many farmers were unable to continue their activities owing to herder intimidation, harassment, and attacks.
The farmers revealed that repeated discussions with the herders’ leadership had yielded no results, warning that unless President Bola Tinubu and Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun intervened immediately, the deteriorating situation may lead to another avoidable farmers-herders fight.
During the protest, the farmers held placards bearing various messages, including “Gov Dapo Abiodun, save us from the herders destroying our farms”; “President Bola Tinubu, rescue us from the herders”; “The herders are destroying our means of livelihood; we are no longer safe in our communities”; “Ogun Assembly, please save us from herders”; and “We beg IGP Tunji Disu, DSS, to come to our aid.”
Addressing the protest in Ogunmakin, Mr. Muritala Saka said, “The herders are nothing but an absolute thorn in the flesh of the farmers. They will bring their cows and graze on whatever we planted, be it maize, potato, plantains, or cassava.
“We have reported them to the security agencies several times, but this has not brought a stop to their dastardly actions. It is like these herders are intentionally destroying our farms to send us packing from our communities.
“Some of us are now in debt because we can’t pay back what we borrowed to invest in our farming. We call on President Bola Tinubu and Governor Dapo Abiodun to please come around and help us before it gets too late. We don’t want a herders’/farmers’ crisis in our communities. The herders should vacate our communities.”
Mr. Jimoh Oduntan, who also spoke at the ceremony, decried the herders‘ damaging acts, describing them as “pure evil and an act of wickedness.”
Oduntan said, “These herders are like a bone stuck in our throats, causing us so much anguish and pain. It is the government that is encouraging us to go back to the farm, and we are trying our best, but these herders are making our efforts in vain.
“Our losses are huge each time they bring their cows to graze in our farms, yet we have tried several times to make them see reason to stop their terrible act, but they have continued to inflict on us unbearable pain and destroy our means of livelihood. We beg Governor Abiodun and President Tinubu to please rescue our people and us from these herders.”
Mr. Kunmi Adekunle, another farmer, condemned the herders’ damaging activities, saying that despite multiple reports to the police, they had persisted in letting their animals munch on the farmers’ crops.
Adekunle said, “We have been on this for some time. We have reported the herders to the police, but they have refused to heed our plea. Yet these same people also have their farms where they planted sugarcane and potatoes, and you will never see their animals eating what they planted, but they are always quick to bring their animals to feed on what we planted.
“We don’t want to go into confrontation with the herders, and that is why we are having this protest to call for the intervention of the Ogun State and federal governments to call these people to order. We want the herders to leave our farms. They can’t continue to use their own business to destroy our own means of survival too. We are fed up.”
While expressing his disgust with the alleged commotion made by the herders, a protester, Sunday Balo, said that some of them nearly raped his wife and that the matter had been reported to the police.
Balo said, “We are all not happy or angry that the herders are destroying our farms. I borrowed N1m, which I invested in my farm, but I have nothing to show for it because the herders brought in their cows to eat all that we had planted.
“Even last year, they nearly raped my wife. They attacked her with a cutlass, and we reported this to the police in Ogunmakin. Our wives can no longer go to the farm; nobody is safe. We are just begging the government to please arise and help us. The suffering is too much.”
