By Our Reporter
Governor of Niger State, Mohammed Umaru Bago, on Wednesday, said Nigerians need to go back to proper farming to enable the citizens feed themselves.
Governor Bago made the statement earlier in the week at the Leadership Award ceremony held at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
He was an awardee at the event.
He frowned at the gift of tonnes of grains to Nigeria by war ravaged Ukraine, described the gift as shameful.
He added that it would be pretty difficult for Nigeria to surmount the challenge of food crisis unless the people go back to farming.
”It is high time we Nigerians tell ourselves the basic truth. We need to feed ourselves. Nigeria needs to be productive. You cannot be out of poverty unless you start to produce. I am not an advocate of handouts and palliative. I don’t believe in it. The next award you will give me is the largest producer of food in Nigeria in 2024,” the governor assured organizer of the event.
Meanwhile, barely 24 hours after calling on Nigerians to rise up and be ready to farm so as to be able to feed themselves, Governor Bago appeared at the Lagos State House and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Produce -for-Lagos initiative with his Lagos counterpart, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The Produce-for-Lagos initiative is a long-term strategic partnership between Niger and Lagos States, where the former will produce food items such as tubers, paddy, legumes, grains, others, and Lagos will be the off-taker.
The core point of the agreement is that farmers in Niger State will have a ready market for their farm produce after harvest while residents in Lagos are assured of availability and price stability of food items.
The partnership between Lagos and Niger State on the Produce-for-Lagos initiative is a long-term strategic partnership between both states.
It is expected to create a ready supply of farm produce directly from the ongoing massive Lagos Food logistics hub in Ketu Ereyun, Epe.
The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms. Abiola Olusanya, said the partnership is an extension of the Federal Government’s initiative to ensure food security in the country.
