The Ndigbo Unity Forum (NUF) has urged state governors in the South-East geopolitical zone to return agriculture to its pride of place in the region.
NUF said the revamping of agriculture would solve socio-economic challenges in the zone.
The Forum’s chairman, Augustine Chukwudum, made these observations on Wednesday in an interaction with the News Agency of Nigeria in Enugu.
The pan-Igbo sociopolitical organisation also submitted that agriculture is capable of boosting the region’s economy and ensuring job availability for young people.
Chukwudum said the impacts of the economic benefits of agriculture from 1960 are still observable in the region today.
He explained, “NUF wishes to alert the people of the South-East on the danger of neglecting agriculture which was our economic base in the early 60s.
“Then, the zone generated so much money from agriculture, and they were used to develop the old Eastern Region – everybody is still seeing the impact until today.
“However, it is shameful that the governors are not doing anything for the past 21 years since the inception of this fourth Republic in May 1999, to September 2020, despite being blessed with arable land that can produce food in commercial quantity.
“We, through our governors, have abandoned the sector that can generate over 10 billion dollars yearly and create more than seven million jobs if well harnessed.
“But it had been abandoned because South-East governors from 1999 to date are all not having the vision and not thinking of the future of the region. That is why the South-East is very much backward.
“The most shameful part is that they travel to Europe, America and Asia and see how mechanised agriculture [their agriculture] is, and yet they fail to replicate the same here – even in developing countries that we are richer than.”
The forum head, therefore, called on the governors to “wake-up” to their responsibilities.
“Our leaders in various states in the zone should wake-up to make agriculture and agro-allied industry a goldmine worthy of engaging in by all on a large and commercial basis,” he added.
