Earmark 15% of annual budget to boost agriculture, Gani Adams tells Southwest Governors

Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba land and founder of the Oodua Peoples’s Congress (OPC), Gani Adams has called on Southwest governors to earmark 15 per cent of their annual budget to boost agriculture in the region.

Adams made the call during a press conference in Lagos on Friday noting that investing in the agriculture sector will save the region from subsequent regional embarrassment caused by the blockade on supplies of foodstuff and Cattles to the Southwest.

He said, “As a matter of urgency, Southwest governors should encourage individual efforts towards boosting farm produce and also earmark 15 per cent of the State’s budget to agriculture.

Between 1954 and 1959, the Western Region didn’t depend on oil. The economy was largely agriculture dependent but it is unfortunate that present day governors in the region have deviated from that background causing us regional embarrassment.

We are appealing to the Southwest governors to do the needful and ensure such embarrassment does not recur.

A good example is Lagos State. Lagos State has over N1trn as budget for the year 2021. Just imagine Lagos State investing 15 per cent of the total budget into agriculture. We know Lagos has limited land but they can apply for land in any of the five Southwest States.

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Also, Ekiti State is one of the most fertile land in the country, if Ekiti invest 15 per cent of its budget in agriculture, all other Southwest States did same, you know what it means.

If they continue to say that the blockade did not mean anything that means we haven’t learnt any lesson from it.

There are bountiful benefits of investing in agriculture. When we invest in agriculture, many of our youth will be engaged productively and shun cultism. Lagos is currently congested. About 70 per cent of its youth are jobless but if reasonable per cent of the budget is channel to agriculture, they will go back to their various communities and earn a living.

The northerners are not to be blamed because when they were investing in agriculture, our politicians are building road and borehole. The northerners concentrate on agriculture and turn the Southwest to a lazy region.

This is psychological warfare. The blockade of supplies of foodstuff and Cattles to the South is a psychological war and it’s a wakeup call to all our leaders in the Southwest.

Although the blockade is to their disadvantage because the neighbouring countries they supplied have more than enough produce to supply the Southwest.

So, it is not necessary for any government to pay compensation to anybody. Any governor that tries such will be an enemy of Yoruba land.  The blockade of supplies of foodstuff and Cattles to the Southwest is unwarranted and uncalled for.

Ordinarily, we should be rearing Cattle in our region because when we quantify the amount the herders and those that trade in livestock and perishable goods are making daily from Yoruba land, it is to the tune of N8billion daily.

Between 13,000 and 15,000 cows are consumed in Lagos State every day. We are not talking of ram, goat and sheep. When we add perishable food items to these, definitely, we are consuming nothing less than N8billion daily.

We are potential economy to the so-called businessmen in the north. So for them to now decide to block the supply of these goods to the Southwest, it gives serious concern and at the same time, it is a wakeup call to the leaders, governors and other stakeholders in the region.

They have the prerogative to stop supply of their goods to the South. When I read about their decision to stop the blockade, I laughed because within one year, we will adjust. We will produce and even supply neighbouring countries.”

On his part, Spokesman of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin said rather than be talking about being compensated, the herders should be begging the Southwest for killing sons and daughters of the region.

He said, “Fulani herders should be begging us for killing our sons and daughters rather they are demanding to be compensated. They are not herders. They are bunch of criminals demanding billions of naira from the government upon the atrocities they have committed.

We cannot be intimidated by anybody or group on our land. We are ready to defend our land and secure our people which explain why all Yoruba leaders and leaders of Yoruba traditional security network collaborate with the Aare Onakakanfo to ensure that Yoruba land and its people are adequately protected.

We are not out to fight anybody or group but let nobody intimidate us on our land. We will do whatever is necessary within the constitution of Nigeria to defend our land and people. We must ensure that our people are free to go about their daily chores without fear.

The Fulani herders are determined to make our farms unreachable to our famers and once they have done this, they thereafter blocked supplies of Foodstuff and Cattles to the South.

The Southwest region can feed itself. Yoruba are not lazy people. When we were young, our fathers would send our mothers to the farm early in the morning to go and harvest yam, beans and other farm produce but nobody dares try that this days.

The herders have made life unbearable for our people and that is why the Yoruba Nation is fully behind the Security Stakeholders Group under the Aare Onakakanfo so that our people can go to their farms without any fear and intimidation or any untoward things happening to them in the hands of the Fulani herdsmen.”

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE