President Bola Tinubu has been asked to create a conducive environment for farmers in the country to produce enough food for Nigerians by flushing out criminals in our forests
The Human Rights, Liberty Access and Peace Foundation (HURIDE) and Campaign for Democracy (CD), in South East in joint statements in FCT Abuja State also asked President Tinubu to provide realistic incentives to farmers in the country.
The Executive Director, HURIDE who is also the Chairman, of CD in South East High Chief Dede Uzor A. Uzor, who endorsed the statement said the major problem militating food security in the country is the general insecurity in the country which has remained almost intractable to rout out.
The groups said the occupation of forests and farmlands by Boko Haram bandits and Fulani Herdsmen were major causes of food scarcity in the country.
"If the Federal Government is serious with food security, it should improve the security of the country by flushing out Boko Haram bandits and Fulani Herdsmen from our forests" said the rights groups.
They lamented that most farmers were chased away from their farmlands by these bandits and Herdsmen who destroyed, maimed, raped their women, kidnapped and even killed them, alleging that the Federal and some State Governments have not done enough to checkmate this intractable rising insecurity problem in the country.
The groups noted in particular that there is no data bank of the people using sim cards in the country, hence these criminals cash in on that to commit all these atrocities including kidnapping for ransom.
The rights groups asked the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency begin to provide incentives to farmers such as agricultural inputs, fertilizer, and access to loans, saying that these would boost agricultural production in the country.
Saying that Nigeria has vast arable land that can provide our teeming population with enough food, the groups said that only sincere and good policies can achieve that feat.
They warned that bursting or picketing good stores, and banning of movement of food items within the country as being done in Niger, Kano and other Northern States is retrogressive and counter-productive.
The groups argued that if other states in the country follow this pattern, then there would be a crisis because critical products like petrolatum products would not get to the Northern part of the country since they are not produced there.
The rights organizations contended that the action of some Northern Governors to seize the goods purchased by off-takers and businessmen defeats the efforts to ensure food security in the country and equally impoverishes the farmers.