RESURGENCE OF BANDITRY IN KATSINA STATE; Farmers Warn Of Impending Food Shortage

“Serious food crisis is imminent in Katsina State because farmers cannot access their farms. There will not be much farming activities in major parts of the state this year”.... Farmers Warn

Katsina state, the home state of Mr. President, Federal republic of Nigeria is once again in the news. Certainly, it is not for good deeds but for the simple fact that it has again, been overrun by criminal elements, bandits and kidnappers.

Concerned stakeholders are raising their voices over the return of these criminal elements whose nefarious activities in the state, if not promptly addressed by the security agencies with proper supervision by the state government, is capable of provoking an unprecedented food crisis in the state.

One aspect of the spiraling acts of the criminals that is creating fears and apprehension in the minds of the residents of the state is the worrisome and increasing numbers of deaths by the bandits who have turned down the offers of the state government’s peace accord.

According to farmers in the state, this acts of criminality would not only lead to food scarcity and hunger, but certainly, result in grave economic implications on the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Recall, the State Governor, Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari, in his quest to address the situation, granted amnesty to some of the bandits. This followed the tour he undertook, in the month of September 2019 to Fulani settlements and strong enclaves of the bandits in Rugu Forest and during this tour, some of the leaders of these group of bandits and their forest commanders, denounced crime and criminality.

This rapprochement saw a significant reduction in the massive attacks on the state’s rural communities. However, the resurgence of the banditry, observers say may not be unconnected to how some of the repentant bandits refused to surrender their weapons after the peace deal.

Farmers who expressed concern about the activities of the hoodlums in separate interviews, said there was no way the state would not experience food scarcity because farmers were running away from their farms due to persisting attacks.

They berated the state government over what they termed premature deaths of their colleagues, insisting that between January and May 2020 alone, over 73 innocent farmers have been massacred in Dutsin-Ma, Kankara, Danmusa, Faskari, Safana, Sabuwa and Batsari Local Government Areas.

One of the farmers, Murtala Sani Kankara said there would be great shortages of food produce in the state because most farmers could not currently access their farms.

He said; “We are supposed to clear our farms now for this year’s cropping season but nothing has been done because of constant attacks by armed bandits. For your information, between January and May this year, the bandits killed over 73 farmers in Dutsin-Ma, Danmusa and Safana local governments alone.

“Some of us who survived the attacks are now taking refuge in our relatives’ houses in Katsina, Kankara and Dutsin-Ma towns. We do not know when we will return home and start farming”.

Another farmer, Rabi’u Abdulkardir said; “Serious food crisis is imminent in Katsina State because farmers cannot access their farms. There will not be much farming activities in major parts of the state this year.

“Hundreds of farmers have been killed and thousands of communities have been destroyed by these bandits but yet Governor Masari is busy fighting Coronavirus instead of bandits’ virus that is finishing us.

He stated that the rate at which the bandits committed these crimes had increased exponentially and that the crimes were thwarting the state’s economic development to an enormous extent.

On his part, Usman Sarki called on federal and state governments to adopt proactive measures that would end bloodbath in the state, saying if nothing is done it might result to scarcity of food items and famine.

He explained that the deadly attacks had scared farmers away from their farms, adding that many farms had been abandoned as a result of fear of being killed or abducted by the men of the underworld.

Governor Masari in a chat with the Chief of Defense Training and Operations, Defense Headquarters, Maj. Gen. Leo Irabor, who paid him a courtesy call in Katsina, described the rising spate of banditry and kidnapping bedeviling local farmers in the state as disturbing and worrisome.

He said farmers in communities bordering the deadly Rugu forest have become targets of armed bandits and kidnappers, saying the bandits killed over 50 persons in the last 14 days.

“We are in a very serious and desperate condition. As the raining season approached, even those who can access their farms cannot because of the activities of bandits who have now taken over major parts of the state,” the governor added.

Additional Reports Culled from ThisDay