The presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has emphasised the need for the Federal Government to prioritise agricultural sector in order to address the economy and insecurity of Nigerians, which is alarming. Obi stated this when he visited Sokoto State where he provided a water facility for the Forestry and Crops Nursery of the Faculty of Agriculture, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), on Sunday.
The LP candidate who was also the former Governor of Anambra State, insisted on the need for Nigerian leaders to invest more in the northern agriculture sector as such will tremendously assist towards driving away poverty, insecurity challenges and boost economy of the region and the country as a whole . Obi was optimistic that with such investments in the agricultural sector, Nigeria will achieve significant success to solve forex crisis, security challenges, improved education, healthcare delivery and ensure food security, among others.
He said presently Nigeria ranks 109 out of 125 countries in the global index of hungry nations and 20 most hungry countries worldwide. The former governor also argued that Nigeria has the highest number of uncultivated land in the world. “Ukraine is supplying Nigeria with food because they have 60 per cent of their land cultivated, while Nigeria have 60 per cent of its land uncultivated, hence the need to address the lingering challenges. “The more poverty, the more you have criminality.
I have been to prison and interviewed some of the prisoners. The responses I got from them were that they were involved in operations where they will get N30k or N50k. If the same person had something that would fetch him that amount, he would not be engaging in such criminal acts,” he explained. In his remarks, the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Prof A. D. Isah, expressed immense gratitude over the project and explained how the project is going to be a solution to the water problem they are facing at the farm. He pleaded for aid from philanthropists to help by providing a vehicle that can convey students from the faculty to the various farms of the faculty.
