Former Governor of Plateau State, Senator Joshua Dariye, has expressed satisfaction with the financial autonomy recently granted to the local government, saying it will bring the government much closer to the people and curb rural-urban migration.
This is just as the former governor has equally called for restraint in the August 1 planned national protest against bad governance in Nigeria.
Dariye, who spoke to journalists on the occasion of his 67th birthday celebration in his country home in Jos, Plateau State, said if there is strict discipline and compliance, there will be development at the grassroots.
“For a long time, the local government, ascribed to as the third tier of government, has been neglected, and this more than any other thing has led to urban migration and a further increase in the responsibility of states to the local governments. So with autonomy, urban migration will be drastically reduced.”
Senator Dariye implored Nigerians, irrespective of their status and discipline, to embrace farming as a way of getting out of the present food shortage in the country, adding that the federal government needs support in this regard.
“Yes, there is hunger. Again, over the years, there was this Operation Feed the Nation, where quite a lot of Nigerians then took to farming. Civil servants were encouraged to farm, but today people have forgotten where a farm is and where a hoe is. You cannot live on a salary.
“In our backyard, let’s set up a small farm. It might be small, but it will ameliorate the current hardship and, as well, reduce poverty and increase the GDP. So, that’s my personal appeal for people to go back to farming.”.
On the planned “bad governance protest” slated for August, Senator Dariye called for restraint and cautioned the youths, especially the organisers, to consider the likely implications.
“Though we all understood the situation on the ground and what Nigerians are going through at this moment, it called for caution so that unguided persons are not given the opportunity to unleash mayhem and destroy infrastructure.
“Well, I will use this birthday celebration as an occasion to make a passionate appeal that we should eschew violence. There are several ways of expressing discontent about any government policy.
“I don’t think a protest or strike is the solution. We should not allow fifth columnists, or hoodlums, to take over the stage and destroy properties. That will be a setback for our nation.
“To be fair and honest with President Tinubu, he has put up relative measures to cushion the effects of hunger. We should give time for the measures to go around.”
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