Laolu Elijah, Ibadan

SEVERAL farmers who are mostly women have protested at the palace of Soun of Ogbomoso, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye Orumogege III over alleged atrocities of some Fulani herders in the Oriire local government area of Oyo State

The protesters who held leaves said they were fed up with kidnapping, harassment, rape and incessant attacks by the herders who had invaded their farmlands.

According to them, their alleged attackers were Fulani who are Bororo.

Chanting some songs in Yoruba which means, “We can’t take these attacks any longer. Bororo herders graze their cattle with our corn and other farm produce. They rape our women on the farm and as a result, we can’t go to our farms again and we are hungry.”

The villages which the bandits have invaded are Kedo Arigbeyo, Kedo Salami and Mosunmaje.
The leader of the protesters, Chief Aremu Ogundare said, “We don’t enjoy farming any longer, all the cassavas we cultivated they were destroyed by them, no one has any cassava in the farm again.”

“The cashew farms we thought of falling back on they would take their cows there in the night to eat them up. To feed our families now is hard, we can’t train our children in schools. Those in higher institutions have returned because we can’t raise fund to sponsor them any longer.Feeding also is a problem. That’s the reason we are here pleading with Kabiyesi to help us out”.

“We discussed it several times, we were at the police station, we reported to local government chairman, none yielded any results. They persisted. They inflict machete cuts on us, threatening if anyone resists them they would kill them. Women can’t go to farm any longer. Even we men are enveloped in fear.”

“They forcefully take over lands. Nobody gave them land. They will come and erect huts on any land of their choice and begin to perpetrate their nefarious activities. We are fed up, we are helpless. That’s why we have come to seek the assistance of our royal father.”

The monarch is yet to respond to their distress calls.

When Vanguard called the phone number of the Chairman of Myetti Allah in the state, Alhaji Ibrahim Jiji, his phone was off and efforts to speak with the Spokesperson of Myetti Allah, Alhaji Yakubu were not successful as he did not pick calls put across to him.