Vice President Kashim Shettima has traced the nation’s food insecurity to the heavy reliance on oil since the 1970s, which led to the neglect of the agriculture sector.

Shettima stated this during his lecture at the 13th convocation of Al-Hikmah University in Ilorin, Kwara State, at the weekend.

The VP was received by Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara and his deputy, alongside state and federal lawmakers, at the Tunde Idiagbon Airport.

On his arrival at the airport about 3.00p.m., accompanied by his Special Assistant on Political Matters, Dr Hakeem Baba Ahmed, Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe and APC chieftain, Dr Isia’q Kawu, among others, the former Borno governor headed for the Al-Hikmah University, where he launched the institution’s Nursing Science Complex named after him.

The lecture, themed: ‘Addressing Nigeria’s Food Security Challenges Through Hi-Tech Approach: The Role of Nigerian Universities’, addressed food insecurity, which, he lamented, assumed disturbing proportion as a result of policy inconsistencies, resource mismanagement, corruption, climate change, insurgencies, and natural disasters, among others.

He noted: “It is only when Nigeria, as a nation, begins to think boldly about revolutionising production, processing and guaranteeing sustained food security that it can identify sectors of the nation’s agriculture assets that are most likely to benefit from the application of technology.”

The VP suggested that Nigeria’s future can only be secured by agriculture revolution “through imaginative and bold leadership, a secure and peaceful environment, and a sound education system that does not reduce the limit of the citizens to only the sky.

He argued that no appreciable progress could be made in agricultural production without mechanisation, calling for increased and efficient use of modern technology to maximise yield.

Describing AbdulRazaq as a prudent leader, he commended him for various agricultural initiatives the administration has introduced to boost food production in the state.