The effect of herdsmen, banditry and kidnapping activities on Food Security in Nigeria
Creators: name: Beetseh, Kwaghga
name: Abubakar Sama'ila
name: Nongo, Markyaah
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021

description: <em>Herdsmen, banditry and kidnapping have become a major house hold name in Nigeria and any part of the world. Crisis in any part of the country tend affect food security by creating for shortage, which disrupt both gross domestic product (GDP) and net domestic product (NDP) of the country. Food crops cannot be planted, weeds or harvested in a crisis area where there are herdsmen attack. The herdsmen invade farm land belonging farmers there by creating scarcity of land for the cultivation of food crops which in turned threaten food security of the country. The constant crisis has threatened the security of the State, reduced its economic productivity, and deepened food crisis in Nigeria. While there have been several crises between the Fulani herdsmen and the farmers for more than two decades, the escalation reached another level in 2014 with the Fulani herdsmen killing 1,229 people in comparison with 63 deaths in 2013. With more than 500 deaths by July 2016 and January 2018 more than 73 persons were given mass burial in Benue State alone out the killing that were not knowing. The crisis is targeted to take over lands and Islamize the nation. The crisis has been commonly credited to Fulani herdsmen expanding from the traditional grazing routes into the agricultural land which in turn always results into crisis over access to pasture. The escalation of the crisis has made many Nigerians and international observers including the United States to consider Fulani herdsmen as the second most dangerous group in Nigeria after Boko-Haram group. Therefore, there is a need for the critical assessment of the underlying factors responsible for the escalation of crisis between the Fulani herdsmen and farmers to untangle the various important but crisis narratives that have been used in explaining the reason behind the recent escalation of the crisis. The paper seeks to explore ways of resolving crisis there by creating food security. The paper finally suggested that Farmers should be assisted with productive resources and training by extension services to reduce vulnerability and protracted crisis in the farming communities and government should adopt the modern way of cattle rearing which is ranching among other things, </em><em>the Nigerian Government shall come up with poverty alleviation programmes and employment opportunities, targeting youths who are mostly involved in abductions and kidnappings out of economic frustration, such as unemployment, poverty alleviation programmes should also be directed towards addressing high incidence of poverty among women and children who are vulnerable segment of the population mostly kidnapped by terrorists or insurgents and trapped by organised criminals, ending up in abduction for force labour, effectively combat kidnapping, the government shall also fight insurgency because the various insurgent groups in the northern and southern parts of the country are all resorting to kidnapping of innocent population in their efforts to further their causes, anti-terrorism programmes should be made side-by-side with anti-banditry and kidnapping programmes in Nigeria, foreign governments should also participate in the war on banditry and kidnapping in Nigeria because the activity is a transnational crime usually involving movement out of the country, non-governmental organisations should also be part of the war on banditry and kidnapping in Nigeria and neighbouring states, through awareness creation programmes, the law enforcement agents, such as the police as well as other agencies meant for anti-human trafficking shall also intensify surveillance on the fight against banditry and kidnapping. They shall be receiving special trainings on how to identify victims of banditry and kidnapping and be able to take them from the kidnappers without them being hurt and constitutionally, there is need for severe penalties against kidnappers. This might serve as deterrence for those already involved and those willing to be involved.</em>