Women in Ogun State on Wednesday held a peaceful protest to call the attention of the government to the growing insecurity which they said is at the heart of the acute food shortage in the country.

The women specifically called on the government to take more decisive action against some criminal herders destroying what some farmers have planted and even killing these farmers if they dare raise a voice.

The women who marched through the streets of Abeokuta were armed with placards bearing their pains and frustration over the catastrophic effects of the challenge of insecurity in the country.

Some of their placards read ?Stop destroying our farms?, ?Stop killing our farmers?, ?We want Fulani cow to stay out of our land?, ?Stop raping our children? among others.

Speaking to journalists at the state secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Oke Ilewo, Abeokuta, the leader of the women, Adeshola Kogbodoku, said that they decided to embark on the peaceful protest to call the attention of the government to the growing challenge of insecurity.

Kogbodoku disclosed that the problem of insecurity should be directly blamed for the country?s acute food shortage and poverty, saying that now is the time for the government to tackle this problem headlong.

She beckoned on Governor Dapo Abiodun and President Bola Tinubu to double up efforts to tackle the challenge of insecurity which has been making life so unbearable for the citizens.

Kogbodoku explained, ?It has been very difficult for people to go about their lawful business, our fathers and mothers can no longer go to their farms.

?These ruthless cattle herders are killing our people, using their cows to eat and destroy what the people have planted, and if the owners say anything, these herders will kill them and nothing will happen. Our mothers couldn?t go to the farms anymore, they either get kidnapped or raped. It is now becoming so hard for a family with three kids to eat three square meals.

?The food shortage that we are talking about is a result of this problem of insecurity. We can?t afford to buy Gaari again, the growing poverty is alarming, and all of these are a result of insecurity. Travelling from Abeokuta to Lagos is becoming a burden because you can get kidnapped on the road. We hereby call on President Bola Tinubu and Governor Dapo Abiodun to come to the aid of the people. The government should go after these criminals and smoke them out of their hideouts.

?We have the wherewithal, the government should stop treating these criminals with kid gloves. Insecurity is a major problem, if people can go to the farm and get their farming activities done without the disturbance of these criminals, then there will be more food in circulation, and people will be able to make good money for themselves from their farm produce and it will gradually be cutting down the growing poverty among the people.? (The PUNCH)

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