Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
A 53-year-old farmer, Mrs. Felicia Nwokonte, from Umuana Ndume in Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State, is counting her losses after cows completely destroyed her farmland and every crop on it.
The farmland, according to the mother of four, is located near Obioma Quarters behind Timber Shed Market, Umuahia.
Narrating her ordeal to our correspondent in Umuahia, the peasant farmer said she almost missed her way to the farm as her fenced plot now looks like a playground.
She said the cows forcefully gained entry into the premises, probably after the herders broke the padlock she used to lock the gate.
“I could not recognize my farm again. All the cassava, yam, vegetables, and other crops that I planted were eaten up by cows. They turned the farmland into a football pitch. It’s like the Fulani boys rearing the cows are sleeping inside my farm.”
Describing the destruction of her farm as cruelty and the height of wickedness, the mother of four called on the Abia State Government to come to her aid.
Asked if she had tried to confront the herders, she said she was afraid they might attack her.
Attempts to get a reaction from the police were unsuccessful as neither the Police Public Relations Officer, Maureen Chinaka, nor the Commissioner of Police, Danladi Isa, picked calls put across to them.
Despite the enactment of the anti-open grazing law in Abia State, cows have continued to graze openly with impunity in parts of the state, including the capital.
Streets of Umuahia, the state capital, are sometimes littered with cow droppings as the herders continue to roam with their animals even at night, despite government warnings.
The Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA) recently threatened to arrest the cows, but the threat seems to have fallen on deaf ears.
Security agencies also appear to have turned a blind eye as the herders and their cows remain on the prowl.
The activities of criminal herdsmen have destabilized some agrarian communities in the country.
