Food scarcity worsens in Madagali as security improves

The council chairman of Madagali Local Government Council, Muhammad Yusuf has raised an alarm over worsening food scarcity in his domain, calling on federal government to immediately send food supply to the area. In an exclusive interview with Daily Trust, Yusuf said most of the residents could not work on their farms in the last […]

The council chairman of Madagali Local Government Council, Muhammad Yusuf has raised an alarm over worsening food scarcity in his domain, calling on federal government to immediately send food supply to the area.

In an exclusive interview with Daily Trust, Yusuf said most of the residents could not work on their farms in the last three years due to insecurity as farmers were attacked on their farmlands in the bush, a situation led to food shortage in the communities.

Madagali area which borders Borno, the epicenter of Boko Haram insurgency, as well Cameroon Republic suffered from frequent insurgency attacks since its liberation from the militants by the Nigerian army in 2015 with farming activities being limited to areas near villages and towns.

The council chairman who commended the Nigerian military for restoring peace in the area appealed for food assistance from federal authorities, state government, non-governmental donors as well as wealthy individuals to help the needy especially women and children.

There is large concentration of widows and orphans in the area which had been  under Boko Haram control for about a year between 2014 to 2015 with many residents slaughtered by the insurgents.

“The security situation has improved as we have not recorded any attack in the last one month but there is food crisis, our people in Madagali are in dire need of food assistance. The fact that most of the people did not farm in the last three years since they returned to their homes, means there is no enough food.

“Our villages used to supply markets across Adamawa and in neighboring states, now   that farmer If you bring one mudu (measure), you will see how people will rush to you, the situation is bad, women and children finding it difficult to get food. We therefore call on President Buhari to direct relevant authorities to assist the people of Madagali,” he stated.

 

He noted that his local council lacked funds to make any impact as the council used part of its running cost for servicing of water boreholes and distribution of monthly financial assistance to vulnerable families in the communities.

“At the local government level, we have no funds. What we do is basic services which include servicing boreholes and monthly assistance to people whch ranges between N5,000 to N20,000 per person in which we spend a total of N1.5 million monthly,” he added.

Yusuf also thanked Adamawa State government for paying the allowances of many hunters and vigilantes members assisting with security in the liberated territory, calling on federal government to deploy additional personnel to the areas to fish out remnants of Boko Haram insurgents hiding in the surrounding bushes.

A resident, Zainab interviewed by Daily Trust said many children died of malnutrition as many people depend on fruits and leaves they gathered from surrounding bushes.

She noted that she and her two years old son often slept without eating dinner because she could not access her farm which was located more than five kilometers from her village for fear  of attack.