Borno rice farmers killing: AFAN mourns, says Nigerian food security further threatened

By Ezurike Ugochukwu

The recent killing of innocent rice farmers by the terrorist group, Boko Haram has draw the sympathy of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria(AFAN) for the families of the departed souls and the Government and people of Borno State.

The AFAN national President Arc Kabir Ibrahim in a release said the unfortunate killing  of  farmers in Borno portends disaster for the nation’s food system as farmers are now very scared of going  to their farms to do dry season farming.

The slayed rice farmers being taken to the cemetery for burial

The AFAN president expressed serious concern, stating that the country’s food system which has been seriously endangered by the recent  COVID-19 pandemic, Flooding and Insecurity is now compounded by the rice farmers killing, that unless some drastic and decisive actions are taken immediately the nation stands to slide to terrible food crisis.

It therefore called on the government to get rid of shaded areas caused by leaves that  serves as hideout for the insurgents in the Sambisa and Rugu forests of North East and North West shielding kidnappers from being located. insists that efforts should be made to bulldoze them.

“It is common knowledge that the insurgents have turned these forests into a safe haven.

“The Security forces should make announcements for all persons living in the immediate vicinity of the forests to relocate because there will be air and ground raids as well as complete chemical defoliation of the forests.

“This will be followed by bull-dozing of sections of the forests immediately afterwards.

“We believe the Climate Activists will sympathize with us especially if we turn some of the cleared areas into farm land as it is evident that the farm plantations will also mitigate the feared climate change arising from the obvious deforestation,” AFAN said.

Ibrahim said its better to bulldoze the forests of Sambisa and Rugu and achieve lasting peace and food security than the fear of deforestation.

He said, “The continued threat to lives and livelihood of the people living in these areas far out-weighs the presumed effect of climate change after defoliating the forests.

“The time to take action is now otherwise we will all die from the dehumanizing pain of hunger in these regions because the farmers cannot produce the required food for even subsistence,” Ibrahim concluded.