By Umaru Ezekiel Esude
MANY people see successful farmers today and think the journey is always smooth.
They don’t know about the opportunities that were lost, not because of laziness or lack of knowledge, but because of insecurity.
A few years ago, I got the opportunity to manage a 25-hectare cassava project inside Ogene Forest. The deal was sweet.
We were going to produce cassava for supply to a major chemical company in Jamata ( Unicane chemical industry company limited)for dry peeled cassava processing.
My salary had already been agreed upon … N300,000 monthly.
Transportation? Sorted.
Medicals? Sorted.
Security? Sorted.
And as if that wasn’t enough, I was also entitled to 5% of the project’s profit.
For a young man passionate about agriculture, that was a life-changing opportunity.
We had already started preparations.
Herbicides had been purchased.
Plans had been drawn.
The land was being cleared.
Everything was moving according to schedule.
But there was one problem.
One notorious herdsman known as Ligah.
The moment news of the project reached him, the threats started.
At first, I believed dialogue could solve the problem.
I tried reaching him through the Paramount Ruler of the land, hoping peace could be brokered.
I couldn’t get access.
Then I tried reaching out through a friend who was a secretary in the MACBAN association. Still, it didn’t work.
The warnings continued.
Every day the atmosphere became more tense.
Then came the day that changed everything.
In the middle of the afternoon, my mother received a phone call.
The caller’s message was short but terrifying:
”Tell your big-headed son to stay away from Ogene Forest, or you will bury him.”
My mother called me immediately.
The moment she repeated those words, all the confidence I had vanished.
I sat quietly and asked myself:
What is the value of money if I’m not alive to enjoy it?
A salary of N300,000.
Medical benefits.
Transportation.
Security.
And 5% of the profit.
Yet none of it was worth more than my life.
That day, I made one of the hardest decisions of my career.
I aborted the mission.
The project died.
The opportunity died.
The dream died.
Not because we lacked capital.
Not because we lacked knowledge.
Not because the land was not fertile.
But because insecurity defeated investment.
This is the painful reality many young Nigerians face today.
People keep asking why youths are not rushing into agriculture.
The answer is simple.
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Many are willing to work hard.
Many are willing to take financial risks.
But very few are willing to risk being buried for trying to farm.
Every abandoned farm is a lost job.
Every frightened farmer is a threat to food security.
Every investor chased away by insecurity is a setback for rural development.
Nigeria can feed itself.
Nigeria can become an agricultural giant.
But no farm can thrive where fear is stronger than hope.
Looking back today, I feel the pain of what could have been.
But I also thank God for preserving my life.
Because sometimes, the greatest harvest is not the money you make.
It’s the life you still have.
Stonix News: Ogene Forest” generally refers to the Omo Forest Reserve (a well-known, 130,500-hectare rainforest situated in Ogun State, Nigeria.
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