A Nigerian scholar and playwright, Yinka Folahan, has cautioned the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu against socio-economic policies that could replicate the conditions that sparked the 1967 Agbekoya farmers’ uprising in the country’s old Western Region.
Folahan, author of the historical stage play Agbekoya, stated on Friday that the historical revolt serves as a precedent showing how persistent state neglect, economic hardship, and a lack of rural security can lead to mass civil resistance and localised self-defence movements.
According to Folahan, the contemporary challenges of banditry, kidnapping, and inflation mirror the systemic vulnerabilities that triggered agrarian unrest nearly six decades ago.
The Agbekoya revolt remains a stark historical mirror and a warning that when governments ignore the welfare and security of the people, citizens may eventually resort to self-help measures,” Folahan said.
Economic Impact on Agricultural Communities
The original Agbekoya movement was an armed uprising by peasant farmers who resisted excessive taxation, high-handedness by local authorities, and the perceived indifference of the regional government to their economic survival during the Nigerian Civil War era.
Folahan argued that current weaknesses in Nigeria’s security architecture have left agrarian communities vulnerable to criminal syndicates. This situation has led to a significant contraction in local food production as smallholders abandon their fields.
“The farmers of Akanran revolted because systemic neglect threatened their survival and deprived them of their means of livelihood,” Folahan stated. “Today, banditry and kidnapping continue to thrive in ungoverned rural spaces and forests, forcing many farmers off their lands.”
He noted that the collapse of these rural economies directly correlates with rising youth unemployment, creating an environment that further feeds regional criminality.
The Rise of Local Security Alternatives
As formal state security apparatuses struggle to secure remote territories, community-led initiatives and regional security networks have expanded across the country. Folahan stated that while local policing serves an immediate defensive purpose, an over-reliance on non-state armed actors introduces governance risks.
“Driven to the wall by insecurity and state failure, the original Agbekoya movement organised itself to resist oppression. Today, regional security initiatives and community-based groups are increasingly being called upon to complement formal security efforts,” he said.
However, he added a caution regarding the proliferation of small arms and independent militias: “When people are compelled to arm themselves for survival, the boundary between organised community defence and uncontrolled non-state actors becomes dangerously thin.”
Calls for Institutional Reform
The statement concluded with an appeal to federal and state authorities to prioritise agricultural security, infrastructural development, and economic stabilisation in rural districts before civic frustration escalates into broader instability.
Folahan maintained that structural peace depends entirely on administrative accountability, equitable economic opportunities, and visible judicial frameworks.
“History teaches that peace cannot endure where insecurity and injustice are tolerated. If government institutions fail to respond decisively to the needs of the people, the conditions that produced past uprisings may re-emerge in new forms,” Folahan warned.
