“Everything Was Eaten Up”: Ogun Farmers Lament As Herdsmen’s Cows Ravage Farmlands—Fear of Retaliation Silences Victims
In a harrowing tale of destruction and despair, farmers in Ogun State are raising an alarm over a surge in herdsmen-led invasions that are decimating their farmlands and threatening their very existence. One such victim, Olugbenga Toki, is left counting his losses after cows, allegedly herded by nomadic cattlemen, invaded his one-acre farm in Arugbokosun village near Idera and consumed every crop in sight.
What was once a thriving field of maize, cultivated with months of sweat and over ₦100,000 in investment, has now been reduced to barren soil and scattered cow dung.
“I planted the maize in April, spent so much on seedlings, land clearing, and labour. When I returned to the farm in May after a day of weeding, everything was gone. Everything I worked for was eaten up,” Toki told SaharaReporters, his voice heavy with anguish.
As he walked across his ruined field, the signs of intrusion were unmistakable—hooves imprinted in the soil, dung littering the ground, and a crushing silence where crops once danced in the breeze.
“This isn’t just about crops. It’s about our future. It’s about survival. We are being destroyed silently,” he said.
Toki is not alone. Dozens of farmers across Ogun State have reported similar attacks. However, many are too afraid to speak out, fearing reprisals from the herdsmen.
“They strike in the afternoons when no one is around,” Toki explained. “By the time we return, the destruction is already complete. My family is begging me not to return to the farm. They’re scared. I’m scared. The bush is already taking over because I can’t go back. If I die there, what would be the point?”
Another farmer, Mr. Biodun, who cultivates cassava along Ajebo Road near Mile 6, shared a similarly heartbreaking account.
“In June, they came again—their cows devoured everything. This was the second time. After spending heavily, they left me with nothing but despair,” he lamented.
Residents say these attacks have continued unchecked, despite repeated calls for government intervention. Fear, silence, and helplessness have become the new normal for rural farmers who feel abandoned in their own land.
Back in January, a group of women from the Araromi-Ibese community in Yewa North Local Government Area had made a desperate appeal to the Ogun State Government and security agencies. Their plea: stop the destruction of their farms and protect their right to farm in peace. But months later, the situation has only worsened.
In August 2024, tensions boiled over in Iwoye-Ketu, Imeko-Afon LGA, when a deadly clash between local hunters and herdsmen left one person dead. The incident served as a grim warning of what could happen when farmers are pushed too far.
Despite multiple assurances from government officials, little has changed on the ground. Farmers continue to lose crops. Communities continue to live in fear. And the silence from authorities has become deafening.
“The silence is killing us more than the cows,” a resident quipped grimly. “We’re shouting, but nobody is hearing. We are not just losing crops—we are losing hope.”
Now, farmers are calling for urgent, concrete action from the Ogun State Government and federal authorities to address the ongoing crisis before it spirals further out of control.
“We cannot grow food with machetes at our throats,” Toki said, his voice cracking. “We need protection, not promises. We need action, not condolences.”
As Nigeria battles food insecurity and rising inflation, the destruction of farmlands in the hands of rampaging cattle only deepens the crisis. For the farmers of Ogun, the time for silence is over. Their survival depends on it.
PIONEER NEWS 