As part of the rebuilding effort following the uprooting of the Boko Haram terrorist foothold in the North-east, the Adamawa State governor is embarking on measures to improve agricultural productivity in his state. Daji Sani, in Yola, reports
National and international humanitarian organisations have been releasing scary reports about poverty and starvation in the North-east in the aftermath of the devastations occasioned by Boko Haram insurgency. But following the clearance of the terrorists’ strongholds in the zone, where Boko Haram has used as base since 2009, the governor of Adamawa State, one of the three worst affected states, Senator Mohammed Bindow, has embarked on measures to restore and improve agriculture. Bindow is unhappy that Boko Haram attacks and insecurity has caused farmers in Adamawa State to miss three planting seasons. He says this is the major reason for the increasing incidence of starvation in the state and the North east, generally.
Solution
The governor has decided to key into the federal government’s agricultural transformation programme to boost agriculture, as a solution to the hunger ravaging the area. He says the programme involves short and long term measures aimed at ensuring that food is surplus in the state this year and the coming years.
Speaking recently in Yola, the state capital, during the distribution of 105 new tractors to the 21 local government areas of the state, Bindow said the tractors were purchased through Joint Account to boost mechanised agriculture in the state. He said the warning by the United Nations and other international and local organisations was alarming and drastic measures needed to put in place to stem hunger in the North-east.
Besides tractors, Bindow said his government has procured fertilisers, modernised seedlings, and pumping machines for dry season farming.
“I want to assure you that my administration is still making some arrangement to provide more farming inputs and dry season fertiliser to farmers, Bindow told farmers in the state.
Also speaking during the distribution of the tractors, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Ahmadu Waziri, said the state government would help the local government in ensuring proper utilisation of the tractors for maximum benefit.
Responding on behalf of the local governments, the chairman of Fufore Local Government Area, Alhaji Aliyu Boya, said the development would not only help to boost agriculture at the grassroots but would help to enhance revenue generation and e employment in the councils.
Although the military has degraded the insurgency in the region, stakeholders are still alarmed at the level of humanitarian challenges faced by people in the North-east. They have suggested a holistic approach in tackling the issues of food supply, shelter, access to education, employment and the rebuilding of roads and institutions destroyed by the insurgency in the area.
Peculiar Challenges
Apart from the challenge of Boko Haram insurgency, which has largely affected the northern senatorial zone of the state, the lingering crisis between Fulani Herdsmen and farmers in the central and southern senatorial zones have also affected farming activities. These issues pose a great challenge to the state government.
Of recent, the issues of security, how to improve food security, creation of jobs ,rebuilding of schools and provision of qualitative education have dominated the executive meetings of the Adamawa State government .The state government after a series of meetings has decided to shift the executive meetings to the three senatorial zones because of the peculiar challenges of each zone.
Following the meetings held in Numan, Mubi and Fofure in the three senatorial zones, Bindow said one of the approaches in dealing with the peculiar challenges of the state was to shift the executive council meetings to the three senatorial zones to enable the officials appreciate the issues faced by the people.
He said another reason was to facilitate adequate planning and bring government presence closer to people at the grassroots and also create employment for the youth. “If government activities are going on everywhere in the state, hunger and unemployment will be a thing of the pass,” the governor stated.
Menace of Killer Herdsmen
In an effort to build peace between herdsmen and farmers, the state government last year set up an Administrative Penal of Enquiry headed by Mr Joshua Atiku to investigate the matter and come up with recommendations on how to put the lingering crisis to rest in the state. After the panel submitted its report, the state government on January 7 this year started the implementations of the panel’s recommendation by compensating herdsmen and farmers in Kodomun village, in Demsa Local Government Area of the state. The state government gave them cash donations totalling N10 million as well as 775 bags of rice to cushion the effects of the attacks on the people of the area.
Presenting the relief materials to the people of Kodomun penultimate Saturday, Bindow, who was represented by the deputy governor, Mr. Martin Babale, said the assistance was part of the peace Initiative Building Mechanism put in place by the government to try to find a lasting solution to the lingering crisis. He reiterated government effort to implement the Joshua Atiku Administrative Panel of Enquiry report, saying the donation is part of the recommendations of the report.
Babale stated, “Government is going to implement the recommendations of the white paper on the enquiry and punish accordingly those involved in perpetrating the crisis. I urge you to be your brothers’ keepers by imbibing the spirit of forgiveness and forge ahead for the progress of the area and the state at large.”
He said government would soon constitute a peace reconciliation committee to be saddled with responsibility of reconciling aggrieved people in the area.
Chairman of the affected community, Pius Raymond, appealed to government to beef up security in the area, saying pockets of attacks are still recorded in the area. He urged government to rebuild the houses destroyed as a result of the attacks.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mallam Ahmad Sajoh, said government had compensated the owners of 47 cows belonging to Fulanis, which were allegedly killed by the communities in the area. Sajoh said N4.7 million was expended by government as compensation for the cows.
However, barely 24 hours after the compensation, Fulani herdsmen invaded three communities, namely, Kwayine, Gidan Dadi and Karlahi near Kodomun, all in Demsa local government, killing three mobile police while two were declared missing.
The Adamawa State police command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Othman Abubakar, who confirmed the development to journalists in Yola said the policemen were among those drafted to secure Kwayine, Gidan Dadi and Karlahi communities after clashes that followed the alleged killing of 47 cattle in the area. He added that four rifles belonging to the policemen were also missing.
Othman said, “Fulani militia attacked the three villages and we lost three of our gallant MOPOL while two are missing. We have constituted a high powered search team and by the special grace of God we are going to recover our men. On the side of the civilians, two bodies have so far been recovered.”
Bindow condemned the attack, which occurred less than 24 hours after a government delegation on peace building mission visited the area. The governor in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mallam Ahmad Sajoh, directed security agencies to deploy more personnel to the area. He described the attack as unfortunate and sad especially coming after recent peace and confidence building efforts.
“The governor feels highly disturbed that after he had sent delegations on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday to interface with the different communities in the area, a clash could occur so soon thereafter,” the commissioner stated.
He assured residents of government’s resolve to restore peace to the affected areas and protect the lives of every citizen.
Bindow saluted the gallantry of the police in confronting the attackers and urged them not to relent until normalcy was fully restored.
Broader Interface
Stakeholders say experience has shown that the idea of bringing together only the representatives of the farmers and herdsmen to try to find a solution to the clashes between the two groups has proved inadequate. They believe the government should organise town hall meetings involving everybody in the groups and do more to sensitise the people on the need for peaceful coexistence through radio campaigns using local languages.
Gloom
However, the UN Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel, Toby Lanzer, painted a gloomy picture of the humanitarian situation in the North-east in a report last year. Lanzer stated, “Here is something we know. We know that in the next 12 months 75, 000 or maybe as many as 80,000 children will die in the North-east of Nigeria unless we can reach them with very specific food.”
Many observers have also warned that with millions of people lacking food in northern Nigeria and neighbouring countries, the situation could get worse and, perhaps, become one of the biggest food crises in the world.
The scary statistics had in September last year spurred the United Nations Children Emergency Fund, in partnership with the Adamawa State government, to kick off the expansion of its community-based management of acute malnutrition, and young child feeding in the 21 local government areas of the state.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Fatima Atiku Abubakar, who opened the programme, said more than 800,000 children in the state were malnourished, noting that 38 per cent of children are less than five years of age.
UNICEF field officer, Dr Abudullahi Kaikai, said UNICEF had supported the treatment of 31,415 children from June 2011 till date in the state. He said UNICEF was able to do this through the provision of Ready-to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), training, supportive supervision and monitoring. Kaikai said an additional 682,823 children also received Vitamin A supplements.
UNICEF nutrition specialist, Philomena Irene, disclosed that UNICEF had provided clinics across the state to treat children who lost their mothers during child birth and victims of insurgency.
The Bindow administration is trying hard to mitigate the effect of insecurity on the people, but it still faces enormous challenges.
