…Our forests, bushes, farmlands not yet safe — Communities

By Anayo Okoli, Vincent Ujumadu, Steve Oko, Ugochukwu Alaribe, Jeff Agbado, Chinonso Alozie, Chimaobi Nwaiwu & Emma Iheaka

ENUGU —THE security situation in the South-East region has no doubt witnessed appreciable improvement due largely to actions taken by some of the states. But clearly, it is not yet Uhuru, especially in the rural areas where farmers are still afraid to go to their farms. With the farming season approaching, farmers have expressed fears over their safety in their farms. In some communities such as Isi-Uzo Council in Enugu state farmers have reportedly been subjected to attacks by criminal elements suspected to be Fulani herdsmen.

Recently, there was an outrage over this. Observers have wondered why the council chairman and the leadership of the communities could not organise the youths to comb and take over the forests and protect their poor farmers. In recent past, criminal Fulani herdsmen and other criminal elements laid siege to some communities in Ezeagu Council, Enugu State, attacking and kidnapping people almost on a daily basis.

The communities took action, and decided to use their vigilante groups to comb the forests and bushes and pursue the criminals out of their forests and farmlands. Now, communities in Ezeagu have been peaceful and safe. Let communities in Isi-Uzo, particularly Ehamufu, adopt the same measure and combat their enemies.

Recently in Imo State, a forest located between Obowo and Mbaise, was discovered as a camp for criminal elements who neatly parked different brands of cars in the forest. It shows clearly that the forests, bushes and farm lands in Igbo land are not safe and the communities need to rise up to recover and take control of them.  Last week in Awka, a group of local vigilantes busted a hideout where criminals suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, according to their accounts, kept two kidnap victims. This was while combing the bushes in their area. This underscores the dire need for communities to know what goes on around them.

We still can’t go to our farms despite improved security —Ihiala residents

In Anambra State, security has improved tremendously in the past two months following decisive measures taken by the state government.

However, a section of the population, the farming community, is still unable to freely go to their farms because not all the forests and bushes hitherto occupied by non-state actors have been cleared. Mostly affected are forests in Ihiala, Orumba South and Nnewi South council areas. Some farmers from the affected communities, particularly Lilu, Orsumoghu, Azia, Isekke, Mbosi and parts of Uli, claim that suspected gunmen still maintain their abodes in their forests where they used to farm.

Mr. Ikedirgwu Onunkwo, a farmer in Ose Akwa, Ihiala, said that he attempted to go to the farm across the Ulasi River after it was said that Governor Chukwuma Soludo had driven the bad boys out of Anambra, only to discover that the boys are still there.

He said: “I have a very large farm across the river, which I have been cultivating for the past 20 years, but the gunmen converted part of it to their den. I have not gone there in the past six years and when I learned that the gunmen have been driven out, I tried to visit my farm, only to discover that they are still there.

“I know that the government has the capacity to rid our farms of these illegal occupiers and the earlier it does that, the better for the state so that we can go to our farms.”

Speaking recently, Governor Soludo acknowledged that few places are still being occupied by the hoodlums, but assured that the state will soon be totally free of the bad elements, courtesy of the new security outfit.

We support youths to sanitize the forests and bushes  and make them safe for farmers —Ebonyi Monarch

The traditional ruler of Nkaliki Unuhu autonomous community, Ebonyi State, Ezeogo Sunday Oketa said he would encourage the youths to comb the forests and bushes in their communities and make them unsafe for kidnappers, herdsmen and other criminal elements. He said that his community is predominantly farmers and can do anything to secure the farmlands for cultivation this season.

“The criminals and herdsmen cannot be above the community and youths should take it upon themselves to clear the forests and bushes to enable farmers to go to their farms to ensure food security. Although we don’t have much forest in my community, my neighbouring villages have forests. I am in support of encouraging the youths to comb and clear the forests of all criminal elements to give way for farmers to go back to their farms with confidence. There is no way criminals will hijack our forests and farmlands and prevent the farmers from going to their farms.

“The youths and community leaders should unite to eliminate and flush criminals out of our forests and bushes to reclaim our lands,” he stated.

Comb forests, flush out stranger elements —Eze Ogbuka Origa

The traditional ruler of Okorie Ogori Abam in Arochukwu Council Area, Abia State, Eze Ogbuka Origa, also agrees on the need for South-East youths to comb forests in their local communities and flush out every stranger element occupying them.

“Communities should form local vigilantes that should from time to time comb their forests to ensure that nobody unknown to the local authorities is squatting in them. Every stranger in any community must be identified to the traditional ruler. Anybody unknown to the traditional ruler must be chased out of the forests. Farmers must not be made to live in fear in their own ancestral land,” the monarch said and urged the state governments to strictly implement their anti-grazing laws to tackle the menace of herdsmen.

Report any suspicious movements to vigilantes, Abia monarch encourages farmers

On his own part, the traditional ruler of Okaiuga Nkwoegwu Autonomous community in  Umuahia North Council, Eze Nzenwata Mbakwe, tasked farmers in the South-East not to be unnecessarily scared of Fulani herdsmen who invade their farm lands, but urged them to call the attention of community vigilantes whenever they suspect illegal movements. He urged his subjects to move into their farms with confidence, and report any suspicious movements around their farms for prompt action.

Eze Mbakwe assured his people of full security by the local vigilantes, insisting that people would not desert their ancestral land because of hostile stranger elements.

Every community should form an active vigilante group

A former President-General of Ihiagwa Ancient Kingdom in Owerri West Council of Imo State, Emeka Nkwoada supports the idea of every community having vigilante group to assist in tackling the criminals and protecting farmers and their farmlands. He said that the Ihiagwa vigilante group has been of great help in the fight against criminality in their area.

“Every community should form a vigilante group to assist in rooting out these criminals. Youths have the vigour and should organise themselves to save communities. In my community, Ihiagwa, the vigilante group has been of great help in the fight. The Police and military have been doing their best and I would say the collaboration of the vigilante group has really helped,” he stated.

The National Secretary of the Church of God (Seventh Day), Nigeria, Evangelist Okechukwu Keshi Ukaegbu, tasks able-bodied youths in communities to organise themselves into watch groups and ensure that forests and bushes in their areas are free of criminal elements. This, he said, would give farmers the confidence to go to their farms. The cleric, however, stressed the need for integrity in the recruitment process.

He said: “Communities in the South-East zone should engage their able-bodied youths to sanitize their forests and flush out criminal elements occupying them. But inasmuch as this initiative is commendable, much is also left unattended in the security arrangements in the country. Nothing will be more adequate than the government paying genuine attention to police reforms to ensure an effective police force that will respond adequately to the policing needs of the citizenry.

“A situation whereby the citizens resort to self-help policing arrangements is an aberration and should not be encouraged. Even the self-help initiatives are characterised by wide gaps because most times, the persons recruited to serve this purpose turn out to be criminal elements themselves. Most times, the recruitment process is highly faulty and lacks integrity. Sometimes, they become willing tools in the hands of the traditional rulers who divert their functions to witch-hunting real and perceived enemies.

“But such efforts are commendable; at least to temporarily fill the yawning gap, but a lot more needs to be done to harness the entire process.”

We are already clearing our farms of criminals —Imo Vigilante leader

Following lamentations by farmers and residents of some communities of Ngor Okpala Council Area of Imo State over the activities of criminals, leaders of the communities’ vigilantes in the area have organised their men to invade the forests and bushes to confront all criminal elements operating from there. In the Amasa community, for instance, the vigilante leader, Kenneth Okechukwu Anyamele said they have already embarked on the operation.

“We have started an operation to get rid of these criminals from our bushes and farmlands. We have cleared the bushes and moved around to make sure that our farmlands and bushes are safe. We have engaged in surveillance and monitoring of our areas just to make sure that our people are safe as well as those going to their farms. We work with the security agencies.”

An  industrialist and large scale farmer, Chief Johnson Okolo believes that farmers will not be safe to go to their farms unless the Federal Government disarms killer herdsmen destroying their crops and punishing those arming them.

According to Okolo, the youths may not do much because they are not armed like the people they are going to face. He claims that the youths who will face the criminals in the bushes are also exposed to the danger of being arrested by law enforcement agents who will readily level charges against them.

“Farming is an activity that is done with a relaxed mind; it is not what one will be doing with a feeling of threat to his or her life. So whether the youths go into the bush to flush out the criminal elements threatening the lives of farmers or not, the problem of insecurity of farmers can’t be easily solved without the federal and state governments doing the needful.

“Remember that the youth that will go into the bushes and farms are not well armed while the people they are going to chase out are armed with sophisticated weapons. Until the Federal government takes drastic action against the terrorist masquerading as herdsmen in the bushes and farmlands, farming will be very difficult”, Okolo said.