July 02, (THEWILL) – President Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday, said Nigeria has taken refuge in agriculture in the face of fluctuating prices of petroleum, adding that his administration decided to take the sector more seriously when it discovered that oil was no longer enough to sustain the economy.
The President disclosed this while hosting former Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, His Excellency Ato Hailemariam Dessalegn Boshe, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
President Buhari in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said that the focus on agriculture by his administration is paying off handsomely and Nigerians are not regretting it.
He said: “We needed to go back to the land, as petroleum could no longer sustain the country, particularly with fluctuating prices. Today, we eat what we grow, and we have stopped importation of many food products. There’s no foreign exchange to even waste again.
“Agriculture has also helped us to generate employment. We have embraced technology, and some people are even leaving the offices to go back to the land. And they are not regretting it. That is the feedback we get.”
The former Prime Minister congratulated President Buhari for achievements Nigeria has attained under him, especially in agriculture, and for successful management of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Saying he was in the country on the auspices of Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa, His Excellency Boshe noted that the organization was working in 16 countries in Africa, “and if we want to change anything in the continent, it must start with Nigeria.”
He stressed that Africa must emulate what is happening in other parts of the world as regards agriculture, and with Nigeria having achieved greatly, being able to stop rice importation, “we want to champion the Nigerian policy at the continental level. We should have a common African voice on food self-sufficiency. Africa can feed the globe.”
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