Dozens of farmers at the Galambi Cattle Ranch in Bauchi State have cried out against eviction from farmlands they have been cultivating after they paid their annual dues.
The farmers alleged that government officials have seized their lands and reallocated to other powerful individuals and organisations despite collecting fees from them earlier.
Some of the affected farmers who spoke to WikkiTimes noted that they have been working on the land for more than two decades but were revoked without prior notice after they had already paid this year’s fees in preparation for the rainy season activities.
Zakari Ibrahim, a 76-year old farmer who said he has cultivated two hectares in the area for over 20 years, just heard that the farmland was revoked after he was asked earlier to pay annual dues.
“We do not have anywhere to go. We have nothing to do,” the 76-year-old man said.
Like Zakari, Yahuza Iliyasu and Muhammad Idris are among the several farmers displaced. “This will affect me seriously,” said Yahuza, who supports 16 family members through his peasant farming business.
For Muhammad Idris, who has been farming groundnuts and maize in Galambi for 24 years, “The government imposed a tax on everyone to pay. We paid. Now, 11 people depend on me, and they have taken it without any notification. The farming has already started. Where can we get land to cultivate and support our families? We are poor people. We cannot live without farming.”
According to the farmers, the land revocation came without notice, and payments were made earlier in the year with most of them neither acknowledged with receipts and none getting refunded.
“We know this place belongs to the government. But it would be good if we were notified earlier so we could search for another place,” Alhaji Husaini Musa, a father of six, added.
For the Bauchi State Government, they reallocated parts of the ranch to the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support (L-PRES) Project, a World Bank agricultural initiative with 204 hectares to develop the area. The National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) also gets 100 hectares, alongside some top civil servants.
The Problem Preceded my Administration
In an interview, Ahmad Mohammad, the General Manager (GM) of Galambi Ranch, admitted there were irregularities in the land leasing process. He said most of the current disputes stemmed from actions taken by his predecessor, who began collecting money from farmers as early as November, even though the official lease window begins in April/May.
“They collected 90% of the fees, and there were a lot of issues with the payment. I was also told some farmlands were revoked because some farmers do not pay their dues.”
He further revealed that some ranch workers have historically extorted farmers, issuing no receipts and underreporting actual land use.
Ahmed explained that although the company’s policy states that money paid is non-refundable, efforts are underway to identify genuine payers and either compensate or resettle them. “We requested 20 hectares from L-PRESS to share among some of those complaining.”
Empty Promises
The GM stated that L-PRESS, given over 200 hectares of land, is planning to build an abattoir, animal clinic, school, hospital, and housing estate on the site. But these promises ring empty for farmers whom most of whom are displaced by conflicts in the neighbouring areas, saying they are put aside without an alternative.
In 2023, the federal government renovated some of the abandoned structures in the ranch after an investigative report that revealed how the ranch was taken over by the loggers due to the Bauchi State government’s failure to sustain it.
When the then state commissioner for Agriculture, Professor Simon Yalams visited the ranch, said it would receive an agricultural boost to generate more revenue and employment opportunities for the state.
He added that Governor Bala Mohammed would invite investors to the sector and indicated that NALDA would provide entrepreneurial skills to the teeming unemployed youths in the communities around the ranch.
However, years later, the problem persists and no sign of immediate development can be seen to make the local farmers believe in the endless promises.
However, for Bala Mazo, a ranch staffer, the land was not permanently allocated to the farmers. “If we say something is government property, it can revoke it anytime it fits,” he said. He noted that some of the evicted farmers have been offered new plots, but admitted not all will get resettled.
WikkiTimes observed that absence of transparent tenancy documentation and consistent oversight, coupled with politically motivated land reallocations, has made farmers highly vulnerable to displacement.
The farmers reported paying dues for their land, some for years, without knowing that their tenure could be terminated without warning or compensation. Many have families who depend on the land for survival, and now are not only landless but also jobless, as the planting season progresses.
“Based on our terms, the land leasing to farmers is only for a year. But we will try to console them to have another place or to wait for the next time,” Ahmed Mohammed, the GM added.
