Neglecting Agriculture Sparks Protests, Soludo Claims

The Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has blamed the cause of the #EndBadGovernanceinNigeria protest on the country’s neglect of agriculture, saying that the people must return to farming if hunger must end.

Soludo stated this in Awka, on Saturday, during the flagging off of the state’s ‘Operation Farm to Feed Campaign’.

He described the campaign as a collective citizen action in partnership with the government to eradicate hunger once and for all in the country.

The governor added that the youths in the state have become resolute in taking their destinies into their own hands by finding solutions, rather than embarking on mass protests

He further explained that Anambra did not participate in the ongoing nationwide protests because the state believes in converting challenges into opportunities.

He said, “Some people are protesting in parts of Nigeria, but Anambra State is not protesting, and I want to thank Anambra youths who have maintained peace and gone about their businesses. All the markets in Anambra State are open.

“The youths have resolved that they want to take their destinies into their own hands to take positive steps to move their state and their country forward.

“They are not protesting not because they don’t feel the pain but because they want to be part of the solution.”

During the ceremony, Soludo spoke passionately about the need for people, irrespective of their status, to embrace farming as a measure against hunger, saying that it will help to ensure food security in the country.

The governor, who encouraged civil and public servants to embrace farming, said that he had been inspired to partake actively in farming activities by his wife, Nonye, who herself runs some farms in Awka, the state capital.

While recalling one of the hit tracks of the late Sunny Okosun titled, “Which Way Nigeria”, Soludo lamented that decades after the song was released, Nigerians are still lamenting.

“The song sang by the legendary Sunny Okosun in 1984 about Nigeria makes it seem as though it was sung yesterday, and it simply tells us that Nigeria has been singing songs of lamentation for decades, and it did not start today.

“The fact is that we neglected agriculture, we neglected ‘Operation Feed the Nation’, and the ‘Green Revolution’, and that was our doom.

“Today, what we have come to launch is an issue of collective citizen action in partnership with the government to eradicate hunger once and for all in Nigeria.

“It is now time to do something, and today we want to launch an initiative to turn our challenges into opportunities.”

He said “We fought the Civil War here in this part of Nigeria, and there was nothing to eat and people were dying of kwashiorkor, but we survived. And this time again, they say hunger is in the land, and we say we will not only survive, we will help to feed the rest of the country.

“I thank Ndi Anambra particularly the youths for choosing to farm instead of joining protests going on in various parts of the country. We have come here to say that it’s time for action,” he added.