Mubashir Ojelade, the national president of the Anwar-Ul-Islam movement in Nigeria, has explained the urgent need for significant changes in the country’s agricultural policy to tackle food insecurity.
Speaking at the 10th Ramadan lecture organized by the Anwar-ul Islam Old Students Association (ACAOSA) in Lagos on Saturday, Mr Ojelade underscored the importance of federal and state governments implementing policies to make use of the vast hectares of unused land across the nation.
He noted that addressing unemployment and hunger, two critical challenges, requires immediate attention.
“We have serious challenges of hunger and unemployment in the country; we have unemployment on a massive scale, yet we have unused hectares of land in all states of the federation.
“When you travel anytime in Nigeria by air, just look through the window; you will see the amount of vast uncultivated land that we have,” he said.
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During the event, Lawal Pedro (SAN), the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State, described agriculture as the Islamic solution to the prevailing economic insecurity in Nigeria. He said that with many Nigerians unable to afford three meals a day, they face economic insecurity.
“We have discussed today, and the consensus of the speakers, which I also agree with, is that we need to go back to the soil where we all came from any way to ensure that we till the soil.
“We go back to economic agriculture; once we develop our agriculture sector, then surely the economy of the country will be restored to the path of growth.
“The problem we have is that we are not producing agriculture-wise, and we are not manufacturing anymore,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria remains a rich country considering its vast arable land and natural and human resources.
“The practical reality is that we actually fail because we have not maximised what God has given to us. Nigeria should not sleep; we need to work to feed ourselves,” he said.
He assured that President Bola Tinubu has made significant efforts towards addressing the challenges of hunger, unemployment, and enhancing the nation’s economy.
Mr Pedro appealed to state governors, regardless of their political affiliations, to work together with the president to achieve his goal of revitalizing Nigeria.
