Nigeria deserves separate Ministry for fisheries, marine resources — Don

A Professor of Fisheries and Dean of the Faculty of Science, Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, Shehu Akintola, has called on the Federal Government to establish the Ministry of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Marine Resources as a separate entity, rather than remaining as a department under the Ministry of Agriculture, as it has been all along. He believes that this move is long overdue for the country.

Professor Akintola, who is also a country coordinator of the Vulnerability to Viability Global Partnership, explained in an interview with the Nigerian Tribune that the establishment of a separate ministry would enable Nigeria to tap into the vast economic potentials of the coastal areas, freshwater zones, and creeks, thereby boosting the country’s revenue base and generating employment.

He expressed that the current arrangement of having Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Marine Resources under the Ministry of Agriculture as a department does not allow for meaningful growth and development of the sub-sector. According to him, successive governments have not given the necessary attention and priority to this sub-sector, let alone investing significantly in it.

While pointing out that some Sub-Saharan African countries such as Ghana and Senegal are performing well in fisheries and aquaculture, the professor questioned why Nigeria, with even greater potential, a larger population, and a bigger market, has not achieved the same level of success.

He emphasized that if the sub-sector is well developed, Nigeria will substantially reduce poverty and unemployment, increase its fish production to meet local consumption, export the excess, and earn foreign exchange.

Akintola stated, “Doing this will also drive us as a country to a blue economy, which refers to the sustainable utilization of ocean and coastal resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and job creation, with good health of marine ecosystems being preserved. So, what is required is a national priority to make the sub-sector flourish. We must recognize that food security is not only about cash crops and livestock. Fisheries and other water products are equally important.”

“The potential is vast. The nine coastline states such as Lagos, Ogun, Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross River, Ondo, Akwa-Ibom, as well as Lake Chad and states with a network of Fresh Water such as Niger and Benue, among others, are all endowed with resources that, if well harnessed, can substantially boost Nigeria’s GDP and foreign exchange earnings. So, the federal government should create a separate ministry to drive the subsector,” he concluded.

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

Full text: See Obi’s written address to Tinubu

Labour Party legal team, led by Livy Uzoukwu (SAN), on Thursday, filed their final written address in response to…

46-year-old Nigerian ‘mysteriously’ dies in Scotland 

Security and health experts in Glasgow, Scotland are battling to unravel the mystery surrounding the sudden death of…

PHOTOS: ‘I’ll never be broke in life’, reactions as Wizkid attends Tony Elumelu daughter’s graduation party

Nigerian billionaire businessman Tony Elumelu invited Wizkid as he organises a ‘sip and paint’ to celebrate his…

Subsidy: 10 ways to reduce fuel consumption

Amidst the early days of President Bola Tinubu’s administration in Nigeria, the nation has been grappling with a staggering increase in…

Messi scores on debut as Inter Miami wins league cup match 

Argentine Superstar Lionel Messi scored on his debut for Major League Soccer side Inter Miami as they secured a victory over…

The spread of diphtheria

RECENTLY, Nigeria has been facing an unprecedented scourge of diphtheria, and so soon after the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been found in…