AFENIFERE RAISES THE ALARM: Southwest Security Breach Pushes Agricultural Sector To The Brink Of Collapse!

LAGOS — The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has raised an urgent alarm over the sharp escalation of attacks and kidnappings targeting farmers in the Southwest region, warning of an impending food crisis and deepening poverty.

In a powerful statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi, the group highlighted a disturbing surge in regional violence. Recent atrocities include the killing of a female farmer in Ondo State, the murder of four farmers in Oyo State, and the high-profile abductions of agricultural investors like Mr. Ooreoluwa Osonuga in Ogun State and Honourable Debo Farounbi in Osun State. Despite a N30 million ransom payment, Farounbi’s captors have refused to release him, demand further cash, and are extorting families for motorbikes.

The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) confirmed that persistent security threats have severely discouraged agribusiness investments and crippled the livelihoods of thousands of families across Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, and Ondo states.

According to data from The Guardian, agricultural activities in parts of Yorubaland have plummeted by an estimated 40 per cent.

Farmers are abandoning their lands due to a triple threat: fear of violent abduction, exploitative middlemen (“Onibaranda”) driving down farm-gate prices, and destructive illegal grazing by armed herders.

The crisis is mirrored in Northern Nigeria, where the Cowpea & Beans Farmers Association reported a staggering 70 per cent drop in production due to rampant banditry and farmer-herder conflicts.

Both the World Bank and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have warned that this regional instability is fundamentally altering agricultural survival in Nigeria.

In response to the crisis, Afenifere lauded President Bola Tinubu’s recent directive to formulate a National Threat Assessment and a five-year Strategic Defence Operations Plan within 90 days.

To combat the immediate threat in the Southwest, Afenifere called on the six regional governors to execute a decisive security blueprint:

Empower Amotekun: Increase personnel and equip the outfit with surveillance drones and modern communication tools.

Enforce Laws: Strict implementation of anti-open grazing laws and transition toward modern ranching.

Clear Forests: Establish specialized ranger units to flush out bandits from thick forest reserves

.Secure Borders: Set up joint state-border checkpoints to block armed groups traveling via multiple motorbikes.

The socio-political body stressed that without a combination of robust military action, community policing, and swift judicial sanctions, the nation faces a bleak outlook for food production and heightened unemployment.