White Zimbabwean farmers in Nigeria: issues in ‘New Nigerian’ land deals and the implications for food and human security

In 2005 members of the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union came to Nigeria for business. These ‘New Nigerian’ farmers, as they came to be known, were granted leases of prime lands each to be developed into ‘state-of-the-art farmlands’. The whole idea was to kick-start commercial agriculture which will eventually pave the way for improvements in agricultural technology in Nigeria. However, one wonders why it is preferable to engage foreigners instead of developing the capacities of the locals for the same purposes and what this portends for both food and human security in Nigeria. This article interrogates the issues and cross-cutting issues of concern in the concrete experiences of the ‘New Nigerian’ land deals. It notes that while many praise the arrangement and its seeming quick gains, the usual privileging of foreigners at the expense of the development of local capacity has constituted a significant downturn and snag with serious developmental consequences. It is further argued that the implications of all this, especially over land rights – a vital source of violent conflicts in the country – could be dire, as history has shown. This would ultimately impact on both food and human security in a country struggling to come to terms with food crisis and security