NDLEA says Edo’s cannabis farms are no longer just “agriculture” but a full rural value chain of crime, leaving confused farmers to ask when exactly cassava lost the business plan. Experts recommend alternative livelihoods before every forest in Nigeria becomes an unregistered startup hub.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has raised the alarm over the growing cultivation of cannabis in Edo State, warning that the expanding illicit trade is contributing to kidnapping, cultism, arms proliferation and the exploitation of young people.
The announcement has reportedly shocked Nigerians, particularly those who had assumed that anything growing successfully in a Nigerian forest was either agriculture, government property or a future estate development.
According to the NDLEA, cannabis cultivation has expanded from hidden plots into large-scale farms, with some legitimate farmers reportedly abandoning their fields because of insecurity. The agency says the problem has created a violent ecosystem in which drug production and criminal activity increasingly overlap.
Residents have expressed concern, although some admitted they were beginning to understand why certain farmers had suddenly upgraded from asking for fertiliser to asking for armed security.
"We thought they were farming," one villager reportedly said. "We didn't know they had entered the pharmaceutical department."
Agricultural experts are now facing the difficult task of explaining to young Nigerians that farming can involve tomatoes, maize and cassava, rather than a crop whose biggest customer is reportedly someone who has never attended an agricultural extension workshop.
Meanwhile, the government has been encouraged to provide alternative livelihoods for communities affected by illicit cultivation, with the NDLEA already promoting alternative-development programmes aimed at reducing cannabis cultivation while strengthening rural economies and food production.
Youth groups have reportedly welcomed the idea, particularly those whose current career options are content creation, crypto, relocation or waiting for someone to "connect them."
Security analysts say tackling the problem will require more than destroying farms, because destroying the crop without addressing the economic conditions that make illicit cultivation attractive could simply result in the farmers moving their agriculture to another forest.
At press time, NDLEA officials were reportedly continuing their crackdown, while Edo's forests were being advised to choose their crops carefully.
After all, in Nigeria, even the plants are apparently expected to contribute to the economy, but some have unfortunately chosen crime and entrepreneurship at the same time.
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