A group of concerned women in Ogun State took to the streets of Abeokuta on Wednesday in a peaceful protest, raising alarms over increasing attacks on local farmers and growing food insecurity across the country. The demonstration was aimed at drawing the attention of both the state and federal governments to what they described as a life-threatening crisis affecting families and food supply.
The protesters carried placards with various messages such as “Stop destroying our farms”, “Stop killing our farmers”, and “We want Fulani cow to stay out of our land.” The group said that criminal activities by some herders have become unbearable, resulting in the destruction of farmland, rape, kidnappings, and the killing of farmers.
The leader of the women, Adeshola Kogbodoku, spoke to journalists at the Nigeria Union of Journalists’ Secretariat in Oke Ilewo, Abeokuta. She noted that insecurity in farming communities is directly responsible for the food crisis and worsening poverty in the nation.
“It has been very difficult for people to go about their lawful business, our fathers and mothers can no longer go to their farms,” she said. “These ruthless cattle herders are killing our people, using their cows to eat and destroy what the people have planted, and if the owners say anything, these herders will kill them and nothing will happen.”
Kogbodoku added that women in many villages have stopped going to farms for fear of being raped or kidnapped. She explained that the hardship has made it nearly impossible for average families to eat decent meals daily. The cost of basic food items has risen significantly, and poverty is spreading faster, she added.
She called on President Bola Tinubu and Governor Dapo Abiodun to act urgently by deploying more security to rural areas and bringing the attackers to justice. “The government should go after these criminals and smoke them out of their hideouts,” she said.
