Builds N5 billion dam to supply water to ABUAD farm
The Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Ekiti State, Afe Babalola, has appealed to the Federal Government to revive the old farm settlements built by the late sage, Obafemi Awolowo, in the Western Region.

The legal icon lamented that leaders after Awolowo only celebrate ideas without any realistic approach to making their ideas workable.

Babalola, who disclosed that he had personally built a N5 billion dam to supply water and electricity to his farm, said that successive administrations had been paying lip service to the development of agriculture and its value chain.

The ABUAD founder spoke, yesterday, in Ado-Ekiti, while briefing journalists on his selection as the 2024 African Man of the Year in Food Security by the Initiative for Green Sustainability (FIGS).

He said that the award given to him was in recognition of his verified records and diverse investment in agriculture and other spheres of human endeavours.

Babalola said that revamping the moribund farm settlements in the South-West and establishing new ones in different regions of the country would boost food security, agricultural production for local consumption and export.

Babalola recalled with nostalgia how the late Awolowo as Premier of the defunct Western Region made use of the farm settlements in the region to promote its economy.

He added that the establishment of the farm settlements brought development to the region as revenue generated from the project was used to build critical infrastructures and institutions that have continued to be the pride of the South-West.

The elder statesman said that the revival of the settlements should be passionately considered as a springboard to rediscover the country’s dying agricultural potential as the future of Nigeria lies in agriculture and not in crude oil.

He, however, lamented that governments at all levels were not doing enough in the agricultural sector, saying that Nigeria, which used to be one of the leading exporters of cocoa and palm oil has lost its place due to neglect of the sector.

Besides, he called for increased yearly budgetary allocations to the agriculture sector because it has the potential to take millions of Nigerians out of poverty and provide food security.

He, therefore, stressed that the government must, as a matter of urgency, implement sustainable policies and provide modern farm implements, improved seedlings and soft loans to make agriculture more attractive so that the youths could develop interest in it.