Saka Ibrahim
22 July 2008
Lagos — Over 1000 farmers in Argungu Emirate penultimate Thursday, attempted to lynch the Kebbi State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Aliyu and the Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Samaila Mera at the Emir's palace protesting the siting of the N18 billion Zauro Polder irrigation project in Argungu. Aliyu who is the chairman, technical advisory committee on the project, had to be bundled out of the palace with the aid of security men.
The irate farmers who blocked the entrance to the palace for about an hour were chanting " bamuso bamuso" meaning " we don't want Zauro Polder project", " it is a 419 project we don't want any Dam" an so on. The farmers did not allow the consultative meeting at the palace to hold while at the same time, they burnt tyres and stoned those who came for the meeting. They equally rained abuses on the former Governor of the State who they claimed engineered the committee of over N2 billion to the project.
THISDAY gathered that the farmers are against the project because the construction of a Dam will result in taking over of their lands, diversion of water will also affect the annual Argungu Fishing Festival and they will not have water for their irrigation while many of them will be rendered homeless.
Besides, the farmers argued in both Sokoto and Zamfara States where Goronyo and Bakolori Dams were constructed, the people of the two states were still buying rice and other grains from Kebbi State.
The state Police Commissioner, Alhaji Mukhtari Ibrahim who confirmed the incident to newsmen said nobody had been arrested. According to him, "so far we have not arrested anybody and nobody got injured. A group of farmers actually protested the citing of the project but they were chased away". The commissioner appealed to the people in the state to be law abiding and should endeavour to follow proper channel if they are aggrieved on any issue. "If they have any problem with the project, I think they are supposed to take proper channel to let the government know about their feeling" Alhaji Ibrahim stated.
The Zauro Polder irrigation project was initiated in 1967 by the Food Agricultural Organization (FAO) on the need to provide and expand Agricultural activities across the country. Recently, Kebbi State Government and the Federal Government signed a memorandum of understanding, where the state government shoulders 30 percent of the total cost which is N2 billion while the Federal Government will contribute 70 percent. Both Adamu Aliero and Saidu Dakingari governments have paid the N2 billion counterpart fund which came from the nine benefiting councils in the state.
The Zauro Polder Project covers areas located upstream Argungu and downstream Birnin Kebbi. This important project was conceived, following a study conducted by F.A.O in the Sokoto Rima Basin, sometimes in 1969, which led to the commissioning of a reputable firm in the name WUKUTI CONSULTANTS under the auspices of the Sokoto Rima River Basin Development Authority (SRRBDA) to produce a detailed design for the project.
The initial estimate for the project was N176 million, which rose to N481 million by 1987 yet, it was simply shelved and all efforts by successive administrations for its implementation failed. The situation had remained unchanged until the emergence of the present civilian administration in 1999.
Attracted by the underlying doors of opportunities open to the state in the field of agriculture and driven by a strong determination to tap those fortunes for the economic well-being of the people of Kebbi State, the Adamu Aliero government placed agriculture on the central stage of its development programme. In addition to the heavy investment in the various component units of agricultural development including sustenance of the National Fadama Development Scheme, the state government has strategically maintained an unbroken line of contact with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and water Resources, seeking for the resuscitation and full implementation of the abandoned irrigation projects in the state. Foremost of these are the Zauro polder project and the Gafara Irrigation Scheme. Already, development of Gafara Scheme has resumed being jointly funded by the Federal and Kebbi State governments.
When implementation of the Zauro polder project will .make available 50,000 hectares of irrigation land for cultivation of various crops all year round, it will also facilitate storage of water in Dams, protection of Fadama lands from seasonal flood, availability of water for livestock and enhancement of vegetational growth in the areas as remedial to desert encroachment.
The teeming peasant farmers in Argungu, Birnin Kebbi, Kalgo, Bunza and Suru Local Government areas are at a greater advantage for increased productivity and economic progress. More so, the state government is using this as a vantage ground for addressing the issue of unemployment, now school leavers and other categories of unemployed youths who are being encouraged to take up employment in the agricultural sector.
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