By Flowerbudnews
The Ndigbo Unity Forum (NUF) has
called on the Ohanaeze Ndigbo and governors in the South-East to start immediate improvement of agricultural potentials in the zone.
The President of NUF, Mr
Augustine Chukwudum, made the call while speaking to newsmen in Enugu on Tuesday on the exorbitant prices of food stuffs in local markets within the zone.
According to Chukwudum, NUF is raise this alarm because of higher cost of transportation and outrageous taxes involved in moving food from North to the southern parts of Nigeria.
“It is regrettable that we raised this issue in 2020 during COVID-19 but four years down the line, South-East governors have not done anything to harness our agriculture sector which has been abandoned for the past 50 years.
“We all know that in the early 60s agriculture was our major revenue earner; that is what Chief M.I. Opara, then Premier of Eastern Region, used in developing Old Easterner region that is made up of the current nine states today.
“It is very shameful that our immediate past and present governors of South-East are not doing anything to improve agriculture in the region for the past 24 years of civilian governance (from 1999 to date).
“South-East has so much arable land that can produce all kinds crops because we have the best weather in the world,” he said.
The NUF boss also alleged that
from recent findings, the region loses over N5 billion yearly because of its negligence in agriculture.
He said that the call to return back the farm in a massive and hughly intentional manner was to reduce these collective and personal huge loses.
“South-East governors should start engaging large farmers in mechanised farming where tractors and other modern equipment will be used in producing larger quantities of food.
“This will alliviate hunger, poverty and crime to the barest minimum. As it is clear that an idle hand is the devils workshop; while if the youths are properly engaged they will not be involved in crime,” he added. (Flowerbudnews)
