Niger State Governor, Farmer Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, says the only way to addressing insecurity and ensuring sustainable development in the Northern Region is a return to Agriculture.
Speaking during the 10th edition of the Annual Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Lecture held in Borno State, he said it was incumbent on those in authority to change the narrative by reverting back to the old days when agriculture was the employer of labour in the northern part of the country.
At the event organised by the Sir Ahmad Bello Memorial Foundation in collaboration with the Borno State Government, the governor also frowned at the over-dependence on the Federal Government monthly allocation.
Bago, who acknowledged the doggedness of Late Sir Ahmad Bello who was instrumental in making the Northern Region focus on Agriculture, he said, prior to the discovery of oil in Nigeria, the Northern Region was globally recognised as a giant in Agriculture
Bago, described as the Farmer Governor justified the resolve by Niger State government to lay emphasis on the Agricultural sector noting it was aimed at not o ly empowering the citizenry but ridding the state of the menace of kidnapping and banditry.
Bago also suggested the need to deploy technology and mechanisation to be in tuned with modernisation and reiterated that Government must create enabling environment for agriculture to thrive.
Speaking on education, Farmer Governor Umaru Bago said the North needs to sit down and chart a new course on what measures to take to improve on the sector.
Bago advised that School curriculum must be in tandem with what is obtainable globally to enable the teeming youth have skills as they cannot be productive without skills.
The 10th Annual Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Lectures has the theme, ” Creating Pathways for Peace: Tackling Banditry and Insurgency through Good Governance for Sustainable Development”.
