When will our leaders emulate Awo?

THE  sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, has come and gone. But by investing in agriculture, he made it clear that  our natural resources could serve as national incomes.

He served the country wholeheartedly and the people who were under him never for a second met disappointment in him.

He was a good leader who was very passionate about the development of this country. He was a visionary leader who made this country of ours the first of its all kind during his life time.

He made Nigeria rich from its own soil that was full of natural resources. Awolowo invested in cocoa and major cash crops that served as a foreign exchange income earners before crude oil was discovered.

Cocoa was the major crop that Awolowo saw  could bail Nigerians in the South-West out of hunger.

He made good monetary policies and the money being made by his government was invested in capital projects. As the boom lasted, the people of South-West, reputed for cocoa farming, enjoyed all the benefits that came with it.

However, Awo used the money in creating free education, employment and construction of buildings, including Cocoa House which served as a monument of integrity.

A former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Lamido Sanusi, once stated that billions of naira were being spent on Agriculture, yet we still needed to import food and raw material into the country. ‘Who is going to save us from the crisis we are into? Where are Awo’s legacies of life abundant and self sufficiency?

• Olarogba Abiola,

The Polytechnic, Ibadan