The Etsu Nupe and chairman, Niger State Council of Traditional Rulers
Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, has decried imminent droughts in this year’s farming season and sought for prayers to reverse the situation.
LEADERSHIP report that farmers in Niger State have been expressing fears over the lack of rain in the month of August and its attendant effects on crops.
Some of the farmers have complained about the effect on crops like rice and maize predominantly cultivated in the state.
Mohammed Baba, a farmer told LEADERSHIP that the crops are drying as a result of the shortage of rainfall, an experience, he said is novel to the state.
“We heard of the problem of drought in history, but that is what we are likely to experience this year; it is real. By this August, we are supposed not to complain of rain”, he said.
In the same vein, Farouk Haruna said that with the high cost of food items this year and what they are experiencing in their farms, it is a disaster waiting for them.
The Etsu Nupe reacting to outcry from his subject said there was the need to seek divine intervention in the face of the imminent drought.
He said a serious crisis may befall some parts of Nigeria, if bumper harvests were not recorded as a result of the shortage of rainfall.
The royal father said the situation would aggravate the hardship currently faced by the people, positing that “We have no option but to seek divine intervention for us to have abundant rainfall this year so that there will be plenty of food to feed ourselves.”
