Segun Akanni, Toronto, Canada
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday admitted that Nigeria’s journey in the last three years had been turbulent.Buhari said this in his address at the inauguration of the National Food Security Council at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.The President chairs the council that has some state governors and ministers as members.“Nigeria’s journey in the last three years, has been a very turbulent one. The country’s need for critical job creating sectors which has been ignored for decades is now beginning to yield results,” Buhari said before the council held its inaugural meeting.The President listed some of the programmes that had been introduced in the first three years of his administration, noting that the full results of the programmes would not be felt overnight.He said if sustained, the programmes were capable of transforming the lives of millions of Nigerians.Buhari said it was therefore the responsibility of all to ensure that they were sustained and improved upon.He added, “These programmes and many more have started yielding results and if sustained, will transform the lives of millions of Nigerians across the country.“We are well aware that the full results will not be felt or seen overnight. The journey is long.“It is therefore our collective duty to ensure that the actual and potential positive impacts of these programmes are sustained, improved and expanded.”
He listed some of the programmes to include the National Social Investment Programmes that target poor Nigerians and agricultural programmes that focus on import substitution, job creation and rural development.He added that the government started the Pollution Remediation Projects in the Niger Delta that would lead to the resumption of fishing and farming in the affected areas while also intensifying participation in the Lake Chad Basin Commission with the goal of reversing the shrinkage of the lake.According to him, his administration also issued the first green bond that would act as a catalyst for investments in renewable energy and afforestation projects “as we have established the Agro Rangers Unit within the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to protect the investments recorded in agricultural sector across the country.”Buhari added that his administration had continued to equip the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency to fight pirates and sea robbers “who adversely impact offshore and inland fishing activities in our waters.”He said the government would also not lose sight of the other issues that would impact on the country’s food production ambition.Buhari listed the issues to include population growth, urbanisation, industrialisation, rural infrastructure development and climate change.The President described the council, which includes governors representing the six geopolitical zones, as a platform to further enhance the collaboration between the federal and the state governments.The council’s vice-chairman, who is also the Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu, later told State House correspondents that the council would strengthen all existing policies on food security including policies on trade, agronomy, national planning and national security.The Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, said in the last few years, a lot had been done on rice production which he said had reduced the amount of money hitherto spent on rice importation.The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin, said the military was aware of the security challenges facing the nation.These, he said, included farmers-herders’ clashes and militancy, which he said had direct effects on the food value chain.He said the job of the military was to work hard to eliminate these challenges.In his own submission, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, said the newly-inaugurated council would look at all dimensions of food security including the amount of money invested in food production and the industry value chain.
