Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said, political
leaders and not farmers should be blamed for the inability of the country to
attain self-sufficiency in food production.
Obasanjo stated this on Sunday at a lecture organised to
mark his 86th birthday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
The former President said, it was regrettable that, Nigeria
and Africa had failed to take advantage of advancement in science and
technology for the development of the agricultural sector.
Obasanjo said, Nigerians must blame the country leaders for lacking the political will to turn Nigeria into the food basket of Africa.
According to him, Nigeria was not created by God to be poor,
but the leaders of the country have Nigerians with poor policies.
Obasanjo said, “I believe that God has not created Nigeria
as a basket case. God has created Nigeria for a great purpose. At independence,
the world did not refer to Nigeria as giant in Africa, no, they referred to
Nigeria as giant in the sun, Nigeria was more than giant in Africa, it was
giant in the sun. But, not only have we not been giant in the sun, we have not
even been giant in Africa. Some people called us giant with clay feet.
“So, that is not what God has created Nigeria to be, that is
what we Nigerians have inadvertently or advertently made Nigeria to be.
“But, will Nigeria continue to be so, I believe no. So, we
must continue to hold ourselves together, pray and understand all the factors
and the elements that is making us to be not the giant, but the dwarf of Africa
and how we can get out of it and I believe and pray that we will get out of it.
“Food security is very important and for as long as we are
not reasonably self-sufficient in food and nutrition security in Africa, we are
of course not doing the right thing for ourselves.
“Until Ukraine war, I really did not realise how much we in
Africa, almost all of us in Africa depend on the Russians and the Ukrainians
for wheat. Wheat which is use to make bread is only carbohydrate, are there no carbohydrate
food stuff that can be produced in Africa that we can be self-sufficient in. I
know some of our countries cannot produce wheat and this is the sort of thing
that IITA have been doing.
“Science and technology have given us all that we need for
food and nutrition security in Africa what is left is political will and
political action.
“And if we fail not to have food and nutrition security we
cannot blame our scientists, we blame our politicians and our farmers, but more
of politicians than farmers because I have been at the two helms and I can tell
you that the farmers are ready if they are given all the incentives and the
encouragement that should be given by the politicians.”
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All evil vices happening to us are aused by politicians! Banditry, kidnapping, terrorism all caused by this Evil set called politicians
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