Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago has asserted that the only way to address insecurity and ensure sustainable development in the Northern region is a return to agriculture.
Governor Bago who has the official title of “Farmer Governor” stated this at the 10th edition of the Annual Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Lecture held in Borno State, organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation in collaboration with the Borno State Government.
The 10th Annual Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Lectures has the theme, ” Creating Pathways for Peace: Tackling Banditry and Insurgency through Good Governance for Sustainable Development”.
The governor in a statement by his chief press secretary, Bologi Ibrahim, issued to journalists in Abuja, acknowledged the doggedness of Late Sir Ahmadu Bello who was instrumental in making the Northern Region focus on agriculture, and described it as phenomenal.
He said, prior to the discovery of oil in Nigeria, the Northern region was globally recognised as a giant in agriculture, insisting that there is the need to change the narrative by reverting back to the old days and reduce the dependence on the Federal Government monthly allocation.
The governor disclosed Niger State government’s plan to use all ungoverned spaces which are responsible for banditry activities for agricultural purpose, with huge resources already in place for clearing of land, preparatory for agricultural production.
Bago also suggested the need to deploy technology and mechanisation to be in tune with modernisation and reiterated that the government must create an enabling environment for agriculture to thrive.
On education, he said the North needs to sit down and chart a new course on what measures to take to improve on the sector.
He advised that school curriculum must be in tandem with what is obtainable globally to enable the teeming youths to have skills as they cannot be productive without skills.
