Veteran Yoruba actor, Lere Paimo, has called on governors from the South-West region to control the activities of herdsmen which has affected the activities of farmers in the state.
He stated that most farmers cannot access their ancestral farms due to the worsening insecurity.
Paimo, who is widely recognized as Eda Onile Ola, said the people are suffering, and there is much hunger in the land because peasant farmers are unable to carry out their usual farming due to fear of destruction by herders.
The renowned actor expressed his belief that with proper security, infrastructure, and encouragement for agriculturalists, the South-West region could provide for its population and the whole country.
In an interview held on Tuesday in Lagos, Lere Paimo shared his insights on how to address the current socio-economic challenges, inflation, and food shortage issues facing the nation.
He suggested that the governors of South-West states need to work together and implement strategies to curb the activities of violent herders to guarantee food availability in the area.
Furthermore, he emphasized that by ensuring security, improving infrastructure, and offering support to farmers, the South-West could sustainably feed its citizens and the entire nation.
The veteran said: “Let every South-West governor control the activities of herders, who always clash with farmers. This has sent many away from their ancestral farms, and the attendant hunger is staring us in the face.
“The herders have brought a lot of losses to many farmers by making their cattle to feed on farms while some farmers have also lost their lives in the process. Many have left their farms over this.
“This is very bad. Each governor has the authority and power in their various states to ensure that herders are tamed for people to have the confidence to go back to farm without fear of any loss.
“People are suffering and hungry because many people have deserted farms because of security. If we want food security like before, we need to do something in that direction.
“Let each governor in the region take it as a personal responsibility to ensure stiff penalties for any herder who leads his flock to feed on people’s farms.”
Lere Paimo advocated ranches for herders as part of efforts to turnaround the current food crisis in the country.
He added: “We must take actions now to ensure security in the region, especially for farmers to enhance food security.
“South-West has enough arable land to growth its food and also feed the entire nation.
“The herder-farmer clashes is creating a lot of fears for the farmers in the region and our leaders must take urgent action before it will be too late.”
He mentioned that because raising cattle is a personal venture for individuals or collectives, it’s important for the government to step in and protect farmers from any negative impacts.
He argued that it’s the responsibility of the government to allocate a designated area for herders to graze their livestock within every state or municipality.
