Insecurity a Threat to Food Security in Northern Nigeria, Says Ex-Gov Bafarawa

Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto

Former Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Dalhatu Attahiru Bafarawa, has stated that terrorism in northern Nigeria has become a major threat to food security which in turn poses danger to human existence.

Addressing journalists who paid him Sallah homage yesterday, the former governor said some parts of the state are under sieged, especially in eastern part of the state.

“As I’m talking to you now, some people from my village in Isa Local Government Area cannot go to their farms, and some of them had fled their home taking refuge in the town,” he stated.

Bafarawa noted that the unprecedented rise in insecurity has displaced farming communities and hindered cultivation, maintaining that in the next four months, there would be food crisis in the state as a result of insecurity.

He further explained that security challenges have led many farmers to abandon their farmlands, fled their communities, and relocated to urban areas, or taken shelter in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. 

Many have become unemployed and can no longer care for their families, and in some cases, they have resorted to criminality, leading to a vicious cycle of poverty and insecurity.

“These disruptions have hurt agricultural supply and have led to inflated prices of agricultural produce,” he
added

The former governor urged those in authority to inform the central government on the situation in the state so that measures could be taken to curb the menace.

According to him, “If the government is aware of our plight, they can seek our advice and we will contribute our quota.”

He disclosed that the insecurity has made some school children to drop out, saying the menace has affected all sphere of life.

“Let me tell you in the eastern part of this state, children do not go to school as result of security challenges,” Bafarawa said, adding that the challenges have constituted social problems making many people to take into criminalities.

He charged journalists based in the state to intensify their reportage on the issues affecting the state, saying all those urban journalists would never report issues affecting the rural dwellers.

“You know those journalists in the city are only interested in who become Senate president, ministers and others,” he said.