With bitterness, residents of 10 communities in Ovia North -East Local Government Area of Edo State on Wednesday caused a gridlock on the Lagos-Benin Highway on protesting incessant attacks by herdsmen, leading to loss of lives, destruction of farmlands, and forceful eviction from ancestral abodes.
The menace of rampaging herdsmen and Fulani militants is a recurring decimal nationwide.
Coupled with terrorism and banditry, the federal government has come under pressure and vilification from angry citizens for being unable to stem the ugly trends.
But in Edo State, civil society organisations joined in the protest which lasted for several hours.
From communities like Odiguetue, Ofintebe, Igolo, Okokuo, Abumwenre I and Abumwenre II, Obarenren, Uhiere, Uyimo I and Uyimo II men, women, and children joined in the bitter complaints.
A community leader and spokesman, Mr. Osagie Obayuwana, said they were worried about a looming crisis brewing in the various communities and orchestrated by armed herdsmen.
He said urgent steps were needed to curtail the activities of the herders before it snowballs into a full blown crisis in the state.
“We want the whole world to know the experiences our people have been made to go through for quite some time now. We are zeroing in on Ovia North- East communities; about 10 communities have been under siege for some time now.
“Farmers have been prevented from going to their farms; another planting season is running out; they have been sentenced to hunger, farmers and their families and this has an implication for the larger society.
“It is one of the reasons the price of food is rising beyond the reach of even those in the middle class. So far, we have not seen any serious efforts to address this issue.
“Our people have gone to various relevant government offices to complain, but there had not been any response.
“Right now, the matter is degenerating to an extent that people are being driven out of their villages.
“We don’t want the Benue and Plateau States experience where armed herdsmen drive people away from their communities, change the names of the communities and start to occupy the houses to be replicated in Edo State. We don’t want that,’’ he said.
A spokesman for the CSOs, Mr Osazee Edigin, said, “We are here to support these communities that have been ravaged and sacked by herdsmen.
“We have seen the high level of insecurity in the state, and we want the state government and law enforcement agencies to rescue the people.
“We are here to amplify the voices of these locals so that the state government can intervene in this. If we don’t do it, we are going to have scarcity of food and more victims.
“We urge the government to rise to the occasion and protect lives and property. The government should step in.
“When there is no peace in the land, life will not flourish and the economy will go down.”