The Yoruba nation activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo (popularly known as Sunday Igboho) has said to tackle the insecurity and poverty presently ravaging the country, patience and careful planning would be required.
Igboho’s response came following a statement credited to the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar, regarding the rising insecurity and poverty in the country.
Abubakar, in his capacity as the chairman, Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council, had at the sixth executive meeting of the council in Kaduna on Wednesday, declared that Nigeria was sitting on a keg of gunpowder, considering poverty, hardship and insecurity plaguing the nation.
Sultan then charged the Federal Government to mitigate the suffering of the masses, who he said were hungry and angry about their condition.
Igboho, while reacting to Sultan’s statements in a press release he signed, admitted that Abubakar’s position on the state of the nation was not out of place but said the “Blame of bad economy, perennial insecurity problem, food inflation, unemployment and youth restiveness should not be heaped on Tinubu’s administration, which is just about eight months old.
“While we cannot gloss over the incessant attacks by rampaging herdsmen on farmlands across Nigeria, most especially during the immediate past regime of former President Muhammadu Buhari, thus forcing thousands of farmers to abandon farm settlements, it is thoughtful to say that the effect of farmers/herders clashes, leading to killings, destruction of farms has been devastating on food production and agriculture value chain.
“This worrisome development has been one of the major causes of food insecurity and increase in prices of food items and commodities. We need to allow the incumbent administration to explore all measures being deployed to address inflation, foreign exchange issues, and exorbitant foodstuff prices, which will soon yield results.
“The recent decision by the government to deploy troops for the protection of farmers against herders’ attacks, which are negatively affecting harvest and food productivity will further boost the confidence of peasant farmers and agric entrepreneurs to return to farms. Also, the plan to set up National Commodity Board will checkmate escalating food inflation”.
