‘Farming Has Become a Death Sentence’: Due to insecurity and kidnappings, farmers in Kwara are resorting to motorcycle riding for their livelihood
Fear has overwhelmed agricultural areas in parts of Kwara State, leading many local farmers to abandon their lifelong profession and instead take up commercial motorcycle riding, commonly referred to as okada, in a desperate effort to survive.
The local government areas of Patigi and Ifelodun, which were once prosperous farming communities, are now filled with abandoned fields, unkempt crops, and accounts of terror that residents claim the government has failed to address.
Numerous farmers who spoke with SaharaReporters recounted how ongoing attacks, kidnappings, and ransom demands have completely driven them away from farming.
For many, the tipping point was being abducted on their own land.
“I am no longer a farmer by choice. Fear drove me away,” stated Sadiku, a middle-aged farmer from Patigi who has now joined the growing number of okada riders in Ilorin.
“The last time I was kidnapped, it happened right on my farm. They knew where to find me because they had been watching us,” he continued.
Sadiku mentioned that his family had to sell his farmland to gather ransom money after he was held captive for several days in the forest.
“They beat me and insisted I call my family. We sold the land my father left me just to get me back alive. How can you return to that same farm?” he questioned.
Another farmer from Ifelodun told SaharaReporters that farming has turned into a “death sentence” in rural Kwara, as armed men now operate freely around farmlands, especially during planting and harvesting times.
“We used to leave home early and come back late from the farm,” he recounted.
“Now, if you go there, you will encounter kidnappers instead of crops. They come armed. Sometimes they wear charms. Other times they directly tell you that if you don’t pay, you won’t leave the forest alive.”
He added that after his kidnapping, his family sold his cassava and maize farm to pay the ransom, leaving him with nothing to return to.
“I lost my freedom, my land, and my dignity,” he said softly. “Now, I ride okada in Ilorin. This is not the life I envisioned.”
A third farmer expressed that the choice to leave farming was not about making money but about survival.
“I would prefer to struggle on a motorcycle in town than to die on my farm,” he stated. “At least on an okada, if you sense danger, you can turn back. On the farm, you are trapped.”
Residents report that insecurity in Patigi and Ifelodun has escalated over the years, with little noticeable action from security forces. Farmers claim that kidnappers now view rural communities as easy targets, knowing that the authorities’ response is slow or non-existent.
“When you call for help, no one comes,” one farmer lamented. “By the time soldiers or police arrive, they will say they are unfamiliar with the forest. But the kidnappers know every inch of it.”
The transition from farming to okada riding is already causing significant consequences. Local food production has sharply declined, residents say, exacerbating food shortages and increasing prices in local markets.
Young men who once grew rice, maize, and yam now gather at motor parks, risking accidents and police harassment just to make a living.
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