Beef up security around 500,000-hectare farmland, ex-military officers tell FG

Ex-military officers and a security expert have expressed concern over the 500,000-hectare farming scheme established by the Federal Government.

The scheme is part of measures by the FG to address food insecurity in the country.

President Bola Tinubu had in his New Year address stated that the government would cultivate about 500,000 hectares of farmlands to combat hunger nationwide.

A Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Temitope Ajayi, disclosed that the programme would enlist farmers in mostly northern states where agricultural activities were predominant.

However, some security experts, including a retired general and captain, have tasked the FG to address insecurity holistically if it wants the scheme to succeed.

According to the experts, insecurity poses serious threats to the farming scheme, saying that the farmers and their farms are exposed to danger.

They called on the Federal Government to have special security plan for the protection of forests, farms and the farmers.

A retired Brig.-Gen., Bashir Adewinbi, said the prevailing insecurity would mess up the programme if not critically addressed.

According to Adewinbi, the 500,000-hectare farming scheme will only achieve its purpose if the Federal Government nip the insecurity in the bud.

Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, Adewinbi said, “The FG has a laudable idea on the 500,000-hectare farming scheme, but there is a need for adequate security so that the effort will not go to waste.

“Either forest guard or any other security measures, the FG must address insecurity issues for the idea to develop and serve the intended purpose. Leaving insecurity unaddressed can make a mess of the idea.

“Besides, it is a wrong idea to concentrate the 500,000-hectare farming scheme in the North. It is not good enough. It will not solve the problem. Herders are not causing much havoc in the north compared to what we are experiencing in the \South”.

Commenting on the scheme, a security expert, Dickson Osajie, called for the establishment of a robust forest guard system to safeguard Nigeria’s forests and protect lives and property.

According to Osajie, the absence of dedicated forest guards leaves vast forest areas vulnerable to criminal activities and terrorism.

He said, “Any given nation that wants to succeed in the protection of lives and property must understand that forest guard is mandatory to protect our forests because most of these criminal elements take their shelter in the forest and our government spaces.

“If you have a wide landmass of forest, and there are no forest guards, then it is an invite for forest criminals and terrorists to come and occupy such territory.

“The only sense of forest guard is to protect even our vegetation, our trees and our forest from invasion or from arson or any incidents. That is why we have a forest guard to also protect the forest to look out for terrorists that seek refuge within that forest.”

Osajie also advocated that the forest guards should be armed with weapons to effectively counter the threats posed by terrorists and other aggressors.

Lending his voice to the matter, retired Group Captain Sadiq Shehu, said the farm project might fail if the Federal Government didn’t put security measures in place right from the planning stage.

According to Shehu, there is no need for the creation of forest guards, stating that the police and officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps would provide adequate security for the farms if they are trained.

He said, “There is a concept they called Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, every public project should have the CPTED concept.

“Nigeria likes to duplicate agencies and institutions. You don’t need to design any outfit and call it forest guards. It is just a new way of raising money to spend. Where is the special squad for school safety launched by the police?

“The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps also said it has a special squad for school safety but where are they? We don’t need any duplication in the name of forest guard. The police and civil defence can do the job if you train them.

“The people handling the farm project should consider safety and security from planning, right from the design stage.”

Speaking on the need to protect farmers in the South-West, the Commander for Osun Amotekun Corps, Mr Adekunle Omoyele, said the security network was committed to preventing any attack on the farmers.

Omoyele, a retired Chief Superintendent of Police, said the South-West forests needed to be guarded to prevent infiltration.

He said Osun Amotekun was working on intelligence gathering to guarantee safety of lives and property in the state.

Omoyele disclosed that the security outfit has mapped out some border areas exposed to infiltration that could lead to attack on the farmers.

“We have big forests in Osun, and the state shares borders with other states with forests as well. We have mapped out some areas in our forests that are exposed to infiltration to prevent invasion or any breach.

“We have set up mechanisms to prevent attacks on our farmers, we rely on intelligence and coordination.

“Our own Amotekun is a true system of community policing. Our officers are those who know the terrain and can track any suspect. They know the farmers and can detect intruders So, we are going to exploit that.”