Food shortage: Boko Haram collecting levies, killing Borno farmers – Suleman cries out

A senior consultant and public affairs analyst, Abdulsalam Suleman, has lamented the activities of Boko Haram insurgents in some parts of Borno and Adamawa, which is affecting the food shortage in Nigeria.

He said farmers in parts of Borno State cannot go to their farms due to levies being collected by Boko Haram insurgents, a situation affecting food availability.

Speaking with NEWSMEN , he disclosed that several farmers are being killed on their farmlands due to these levies.

As the economic hardship bites harder, Nigerians are currently lamenting over the shortage of food in the country.

To this end, President Bola Tinubu had directed the Department of State Services, DSS; National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; and the Inspector General of Police to monitor warehouses hoarding food items across the country.

Tinubu directed them to stop owners of these warehouses from profiteering.

However, Suleman said: “I’m particular about the level of insecurity in our country now; this issue has been there. I remember in 2015 during the government of Jonathan, Buhari said the then president was inept and could not wipe out Boko Haram and manage the economy, but he (Buhari) will clear out Boko Haram within three months.

“Eight years on, Boko Haram that was in the Northeast, that is Borno and Adamawa States, have spread to Katsina, Zamfara, Niger, Sokoto, and others states. So, eight years on, Buhari could not wipe out Boko Haram. It escalated to the level of collecting levies. In Bama, they have been collecting levies till now in Sabo Birni in Sokoto State and Zamfara. You dare not go to your farmland if you have not paid the levy.

“This is making a lot of farmers abandon their farms because some are being slaughtered and murdered with their families and helpers on their farmlands; two years on now, it has been difficult going to their farms, and because most farmers were unable to farm during the last farming season, we are experiencing food shortage now. What you didn’t plant, you can’t harvest, and those who planted have not been able to weed their farms or harvest. This is contributing to the present food shortage we are having.”