Zamfara State farmers are bandits in the state to meet for negotiation on protection and allowance to cultivate their farmland.
The farmers under the aegis of All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Zamfara State chapter, told The Punch that they are meeting with the bandits today (Saturday).
Recall that some farmers and residents of some northern communities disclosed paying levies and taxies to suspected bandits in order to avoid being attacked by the hoodlums.
Public Relations Officer of the AFAN, Abdulhafiz Alkali, lamented abandonment by the Federal Government, as they have jettisoned any idea of providing security to the farmers.
He said, “What I know about protection with the farmers is just the negotiation between the bandits and the farmers. I am living in Zamfara State now. I know that there will be a meeting by this coming Saturday between the farmers and the bandits.
“We lost a lot of things in Zamfara State. We sent letters to the Federal Government to secure us five years ago after complaining that the bandits were disturbing us.
“We needed the intervention of the Federal Government but it never came. What we lost in the past seven to six years is between N30bn to N50bn on commodities only.
“Many people from different countries and states used to come to the Dansadua axis to buy commodities to the tune of over N50b in a year, but now, in a year, we get less than N2bn to N3bn.
“In Zamfara State, the commodities business was worth over N200bn to N300bn, but these bandits interrupted the business. We wrote letters, we complained, but up till now, no response from the Federal Government.”
