Ogun State women staged a heartfelt protest on Wednesday, urging the government to address the escalating insecurity that they say is crippling food production and endangering lives.
The women specifically demanded decisive action against criminal herders who are destroying crops and murdering farmers who dare to speak out.
Marching through the streets of Abeokuta, the protesters carried placards bearing messages of their distress and frustration, highlighting the devastating impact of insecurity. Some of the placards read, “Stop destroying our farms,” “Stop killing our farmers,” “We want Fulani cows to stay out of our land,” and “Stop raping our children.”
Speaking to journalists at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) state secretariat in Oke Ilewo, Abeokuta, Adeshola Kogbodoku, the women’s leader, explained the purpose of their demonstration. “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 stated.
Kogbodoku attributed the nation’s acute food shortage and rising poverty directly to the prevailing insecurity. “The food shortage that we are talking about is a result of this problem of insecurity. We can’t afford to buy Gaari again, the growing poverty is alarming, and all of these are a result of insecurity. Travelling from Abeokuta to Lagos is becoming a burden because you can get kidnapped on the road,” she lamented.
Read also: Bode George slams APC as “one-man show” lacking true structure
She called upon Governor Dapo Abiodun and President Bola Tinubu to intensify their efforts in combating insecurity, which she described as making life unbearable for citizens.
“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. Our mothers couldn’t go to the farms anymore, they either get kidnapped or raped. It is now becoming so hard for a family with three kids to eat three square meals,” Kogbodoku explained.
“We hereby call on President Bola Tinubu and Governor Dapo Abiodun to come to the aid of the people. The government should go after these criminals and smoke them out of their hideouts,” she implored.
Kogbodoku emphasized the need for a stronger stance against the perpetrators. “We have the wherewithal, the government should stop treating these criminals with kid gloves. Insecurity is a major problem, if people can go to the farm and get their farming activities done without the disturbance of these criminals, then there will be more food in circulation, and people will be able to make good money for themselves from their farm produce and it will gradually be cutting down the growing poverty among the people,” she concluded.
© Ripples Nigeria