South-West Food Security Under Threat as Monarch Backs Afenifere Warning

​The Elerepamo of Pamo, Oba Ayobami Ogunmakinde, has thrown his weight behind the recent alarm raised by the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, regarding the wave of insecurity crippling agricultural activities in the region.

​Afenifere’s National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, recently pointed out that farmers across Yorubaland are increasingly deserting their farmlands. According to the group, this mass exodus is driven by three main factors:

• ​The persistent threat of kidnappings and violent attacks.

• ​Economic exploitation by middlemen (“Onibaranda”) that drastically undercuts profit margins.

• ​Unchecked open grazing and crop destruction by unscrupulous herders.

​Urgent Appeal for Security Upgrades

​Speaking from Ibadan, Oba Ogunmakinde stressed that heightened fears—compounded by recent kidnappings of students and teachers in the area—have made it nearly impossible for farmers to tend to their crops safely.

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​While acknowledging the efforts of local security operatives, the royal father made a passionate appeal to the Federal Government and the Inspector-General of Police:

• ​Upgrade the sole police post in Pamo to a full-fledged Divisional Police Headquarters.
• ​Establish additional military bases alongside a new Divisional Police Office in Ogbomoso to systematically suppress banditry and kidnapping rings.

​Stakeholders across the South-West continue to urge comprehensive multi-layered security reforms—including tighter border controls, the deployment of surveillance drones, and the empowerment of local security networks—to safeguard rural livelihoods and prevent a looming food crisis.