Rising food insecurity: Time for the Presidency to lead the train against banditry

The analytical assessment of the impacts of any social challenge cannot paramountly be isolated to one direct effect. The reality of a good perusal of such situation would practically reveal the manifestations of strings of direct and indirect factors which have the potency to further generate other strings of circumstances to make situations clumsy. It is thus arguable that social problems are not merely secluded in terms of the effects they portend. The impacts may broadly bear easily identifiable as well as subtle impacts which may cut across economic to political formations of the society.

One social tragedy which has been knocking hard on the Country is the menace of banditry, which has recently moved to the top burner to compound the tale of insecurity in the Country. The rise of the menace has assumed a turbulent dimension in terms of the  expansion of its tentacle to the status of a phenomenon of tales of tingling narratives. The analytical perusal of the cause and effect dynamics of the problems arguably appear to be intertwined; thus making it difficult to isolate the assessment of the impacts. While socio-economic and political dysfunctions have been identified to constitute the causative factors of the menace, the same phenomenon has been identified in its effect to constitute the ground for several manifestations of certain trends of socio-economic and political storms. It is therefore observable that the economic impacts of the menace is responsible for generating strings of disturbances portending deformable strains in the social fabrics of the Country, which is no less true of the political formations. The increasing pressure on the Government from outcries over the menace amidst scores of other challenges demanding premium attention, is by itself a destabilising agent to pressurise the Government off balance.

Recently, the impacts of the menace on the economy have been on the top of discourse. While numbers of impacts have been observed to be constituting the bases of several wings of reservations, the impacts of the menace on food security appears much more easily identifiable. It is apparent that the impacts of the menace on food productivity is glaringly alarming. The susceptibility of farm settlements to bandit attacks and wanton destruction of their farmland and produce has been a bane of troubling narratives. The targets of these entities across the Country, particularly in the North where the agrarian cultivation for the Country largely finds expression, has brought the Country to a critical point where food security is wearing a very ugly face.

The observations of the rise in the prices of food staples most recently is one subject of concern. The proliferation of attacks and expansion of the tentacles of bandit operations across the Federation with the flagrant display of terror by nomadic herdsmen who have been hard in displacing farmers with unchecked hands of operation, has brought the Country to a situation where threats to food security is rightly putting up tents of reality. The rise in food inflation has become so troubling as many farmers who have been displaced by bandits are still being held-up in fear and cut-up in the trauma of losses incurred by gruesome attacks of economic and human catastrophe.  Many farmers who are still not convinced of the reality of any promising attention by the Government to give confidence to changing the narrative of the prevailing situation, have no choice than to go into hiding, rather than risk investment which are susceptible to losses by mischievous groups which have been left to expand their tentacles with flagrant impunity.

The prices of food staples over the last one year have been observed to have increased significantly. Some have soared far high above 200 per cent. The troubling impacts have further degenerated to instigate stronger strings of socio-economic circumstances which have further entangled the Country in the web of confusion. Civil Society stakeholders in an assessment of the rising storm have raised the concern over the potency of banditry in placing the Country at critical point of food crisis. In a communique issued on Thursday, following a meeting of civil society groups and media stakeholders in the Abuja, it was noted that in addition to displacement, insecurity has hampered agricultural activities and heightened the risk of acute food uncertainty in the country. According to their resolve, the adoption of new approaches by the government will address the specific political, economic, and social challenges that encourage banditry and terrorism in the country. The Stakeholders had called on the Federal Government to listen to the voices of reason that provide alternative options in dealing with the situation and to be accommodating in dealing with the anger and frustration of the citizens.

The communique co-signed by Gbenga Onayiga and Adamu Ladan, the Acting Chairman and the Executive Director of the Vision Center for Communication and Development Advocacy (VICCDA), the conveners of the meeting, read partly: “It is a matter of concern to participants that banditry is fast becoming part of the daily life of the populations, giving the country the notoriety of being one of the members of the club of 10 top kidnapping countries in the world and a leading one in Africa. In addition to displacement, insecurity has hampered agricultural activities and heightened the risk of acute food uncertainty in the country. It is worth noting that the effects of this on Nigeria’s sustainable development in the light of public safety, capital and investment flights, as well as its negative consequences on trade, tourism and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), is enormous. While appreciating the fact that national politics can form an important framework in the fight against insecurity, stakeholders call on Nigerians to unite to defeat terror rather than doing anything that could promote it.The Forum believes that the war against terror is everybody’s war and thus there should be adequate synergy between the Military, the Media and other Stakeholders. In this connection, however, Forum advises government not to allow the public to lose confidence in its ability to deal with the situation. Participants resolved that the government should adopt new approaches that will address the specific political, economic, and social challenges that encourage banditry or terrorism in general, and the potential solutions that reduce them as the most reliable way forward.

“It is noted, however, with regret that despite several official reassurances of responsiveness in rising to the occasion, the state of insecurity is being heightened by the day, thus bringing infamy to the country. The Forum acknowledges the fact that the fight against terrorism and banditry are most daunting and challenging tasks but expresses the belief that with political will and commitment by our leaders in creating an enabling environment for independent and free press to thrive, the media could influence the right attitude by most Nigerians and this will ensure that conflicts are minimized. The situation calls for caution and the need to support the government to do more in finding lasting solutions to the intractable problems and to warn against making any capital out of it. It is a moment for united action to defeat terror and not to do anything that could embolden the perpetrators.”

It is imperative for the Government to begin strong advocacy against banditry and terrorism by giving the populace who are directly impacted by the scar of insecurity menace, a sense of responsibility to show the needed support to forcefully drive the train in the war against terror in the Country. It is saddening that the apparent silent posture of the Federal Government over the issues of banditry have been permitted too long to heighten the menace to the point of high profile operations which have constituted strongholds against peace and security in the Country. The manifestations of the clusters of effects have been distasteful to the definition of meaningful social life in the Country. It is essential for the Presidency as the first point of contact in the Federation to awake to the responsibility of leading the course against banditry and terrorism, with charismatic force that is needed to drive the entire populace. This is significantly important to give them a sense of courage and confidence in the Government. The silence posture of the Presidency has far long increasingly engendered sensations of loss of confidence in the Government by the populace. Addressing the matters of the prevailing wanton expansion of banditry among other security threats, requires responses of all well meaning citizens of the Federation driven by the manifest-show of courage and forceful impetus from the custodians of political and state power.