The backlash has already began to manifest in the North as several farmers are lamenting their losses arising from the perishing of large quantities of onions following the suspension of supply to the South.
The Onions Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria (OPMAN) had suspended supply of the farm produce to the Southeast over alleged insecurity in the region.
The OPMAN president, Mr. Aliyu Umar, in announcing the suspension, claimed that two truckloads of the produce were recently hijacked by the unknown gunmen who are also wreaking havoc in the region.
He accused members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of being responsible for the attack.
“If the government fails to adhere to the demands of the association, we are shutting down the supply of onions to the entire South by Monday, June 7, 2021,” he had said.
Following the suspension, major stakeholders in the agricultural sector urged the Federal government to intervene in the crisis to ensure that normalcy returned.
However, reports have it that as at Friday, over 50 trucks of onions had decayed at their farms and markets since the suspension of the supply of the produce to the South.