MNJTF officer calls on locals to join hands with security operatives and to do their bit to bring about sustainable peace and stability in a region racked by conflict and discord.

A multinational joint task force officer has called on farmers to provide intelligence on the movements and actions of insurgents in the Lake Chad region.

In an exclusive interview, Lieutenant Colonel Abubakar Abdullahi, the public relations officer of the MNJTF, told RNI that the only way to achieve sustainable peace and stability was for locals to support troops by becoming informants.

Farmers and herders – through their everyday dealings with insurgents – had insider information that could be extremely useful in counterinsurgency operations.

The MNJTF is a combined formation, comprising units – mostly military – from Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Benin and Cameroon.

Abdullahi said MNJTF troops, which carry out counterinsurgency operations throughout the Lake Chad region, were well aware of the terror farmers and herders faced.

“We know insurgents force farmers to comply with their demands. The only way farmers and herders can survive in the bushes – where their lands are and where their livestock can feed – is to do what the insurgents order. They don’t have a choice. They either live in relative peace with insurgents lording it over them – or die. If they want to continue farming, they need to come to some sort of agreement with the fighters.

“Our troops are committed. We will always do whatever it takes to protect innocent lives. Our aim is put an end to the conflict and to ensure the safety of people in the region.”

Abdullahi urged farmers and herders to support the MNJTF by providing comprehensive intelligence on the movements and actions of the insurgents.

“We are appealing to everyone – particularly farmers and herders – to report encounters with insurgents. If they hear of suspicious comings or goings, if they have any intelligence, any information, we want them to tell us.

“Because they are in frequent contact with the fighters, they hear things that we don’t hear. They know things we don’t know. To enable us to conduct effective counterinsurgency operations, we need to know what is going on. Even if people don’t think the information is important, they must report it because it could be useful.

“The message I would like to get across to everyone in the region is that MNJTF troops will always do their utmost to ensure the safety of civilians and protect people from security threats.

“It’s important for everyone to know that we will never disclose the identity of anyone who gives us information. We urge everyone in the region to join hands with security operatives and to work with us. By providing intelligence, people will help us to fight all security threats – and that’s the only way we will achieve sustainable peace and stability in the Lake Chad region.”

As the rainy season approaches, starving farmers in the region are eager to begin seasonal farming – but they are deeply concerned about their safety.

In recent months, there has been an escalation in the number of reports of abductions – mostly of women and children – and vicious attacks on farmers on their lands by members of the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’way Wa’l-Jihād (JAS), more commonly referred to as Boko Haram, and the even more deadly insurgent group, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

A number of women and girls have been raped.

The violence has terrified farmers to such an extent that they are scared to go to their lands.

But, despite their fear, more farmers are expected to return to their lands this year, forced by the ever-deteriorating humanitarian crisis that has resulted in extreme hunger. Many vulnerable people go to bed with empty bellies. They need to farm so that they can feed their families. The conflict and dire economic situation in northeastern Nigeria are added challenges.

Traditionally, farmers whose fields are far from their communities settle on their lands for the duration of the rainy season, which typically runs from May to September.

However, many farmers have abandoned this practice because of the conflict. They say the bushes are not safe and they can no longer stay for extended periods.

Those who choose to settle in the bushes do so on the understanding that they have to be prepared to compromise and agree to the demands of insurgents. Some even choose to collude with the fighters just to ensure their safety.

Modu Kura (not his real name), a farmer from Gudumbali town in the Guzamala Local Government Area of Borno State, told RNI that farmers in the rural areas were extremely concerned about their safety.

“Heavily armed insurgents make contact with us while we are on our lands. They tell us that if we cooperate, work with them and obey their commands we will be safe. But if we refuse, they will kill us.

“Most of us have already started clearing our lands in preparation for this year’s seasonal farming. But we live in constant terror.

“The insurgents don’t harm us if we agree to pay what they call ‘taxes’. Basically it’s theft. They demand money from us and take our produce. In return, we are allowed to continue farming and they don’t attack us. If we don’t pay up, they will kill us.

“It’s a challenge but it has become a way of life. Insurgents don’t care if it’s a good or bad harvest, they just take what they want. We are left with very little, not even enough to feed a family properly and certainly not enough for us to sell any produce at the market.

“Farmers who have refused to hand over cash have been attacked. Many have lost their lives. Our women and girls have been raped. The fighters have no scruples. They don’t care if you’re a man, woman or child – they will abduct you for ransom. And if the money is not paid, they have no compunction, they kill.”

Makinta Bura (also not his real name), a farmer from the Gubio Local Government Area, said: “We come across heavily armed insurgents almost every time we go into the forest to farm. They monitor our movements throughout the season. They know that we set up camp on our lands and, because they control the area, they force us to pay taxes – in cash and crops. That’s the cost of keeping alive.

“We don’t want to associate or interact with fighters. But, if we want to farm, we are forced to make deals with them. And we need to farm because our families are starving. There really isn’t a choice.”

SHETTIMA LAWAN MONGUNO