By Garba Abdullahi Bagwai
No fewer than 116 farmers in Bagwai Local Government Area of Kano State have threatened to withhold their votes from Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, in the forthcoming elections unless he settles their outstanding land compensation claims.
The farmers made their position known on Wednesday at a press conference addressed by the Chairman of the Affected Farmers Committee, Alhaji Shuaibu Dan Nako’ina, who expressed concern over what he described as the senator’s failure to expedite payment of their compensation.
Dan Nako’ina said the affected farmers re-submitted their personal details and bank account numbers in last September but had yet to receive payment or any concrete assurance that their claims would be settled.
According to him, the farmers have spent about five years seeking compensation for their farmlands acquired for constituency projects initiated by Senator Barau, without any tangible progress towards resolving the matter.
He recalled that Citizenship Daily reported the farmers’ grievances about two months ago, prompting the Deputy President of the Senate to send a delegation to Bagwai Local Government Area with intention to address the issue.
The delegation reportedly met with the local government chairman and some of the affected farmers to discuss the outstanding compensation.
However, Dan Nako’ina expressed disappointment that the intervention had yet to produce any tangible results, alleging that the farmers were being subjected to political deception.
“We are 116 in number, and the total amount required to settle our compensation claims is getting to N300.667 million. For about five years, we have not seen anything tangible from Senator Barau Jibrin to indicate that we will be paid soon,” he said.
The committee chairman also rejected any attempt to transfer responsibility for settling the compensation claims to the Kano State Government.
He argued that Senator Barau should pay the affected farmers directly, as he allegedly did in previous constituency projects, including the construction of a hospital in Bagwai, where farmland was acquired and compensation was reportedly paid to the affected landowners.
“We want the Deputy President of the Senate to settle us directly, as he did for those whose farmlands were used to construct a hospital in Bagwai and for other projects, without seeking the intervention of the state government,” he said.
Dan Nako’ina appealed to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and other prominent All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders in Kano State to intervene and ensure that the senator fulfils his compensation obligations.
He warned that the affected farmers and their families would not support Senator Barau at the polls unless their outstanding claims were settled.
“Do not expect our votes unless you pay our land compensation. We have the voting strength of more than 1,000 families,” he added.
The committee chairman said the farmers had given the Deputy President of the Senate a two-week ultimatum to resolve the dispute, warning that failure to meet their demand would compel them to embark on peaceful protests across the 10 wards of Bagwai Local Government Area.
He added that the planned protests would continue until an agreement was reached guaranteeing payment of their legitimate compensation claims within the following four weeks.
The dispute arose from a proposed town hall and recreational park project initiated by Senator Barau near Bagwai Dam, which required the acquisition of several hectares of farmland.
Although the project is reportedly less than 40 per cent complete, the affected farmers said they had been unable to cultivate their lands for the past three years after the areas were measured and earmarked for the project.
Efforts to obtain comments from Shitu Madaki Kunchi, the Deputy President of the Senate’s Special Adviser on Media, and the Chairman of Bagwai Local Government Area Haruna Garba, were unsuccessful, as neither responded to phone calls or text messages seeking their reactions.