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Former President Goodluck Jonathan has called on Nigerians to remain hopeful and resilient in the face of the nation’s daunting challenges, expressing confidence that the country can overcome its difficulties.
Speaking over the weekend in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, Jonathan made the remarks during the commissioning of the Soybean Plant and Refinery of the CSS Group.
The event coincided with the birthday celebration of Prof. John Kennedy Opara, the former Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC).
The former president emphasized the importance of collective efforts in nation-building and cautioned against the rising trend of emigration, popularly referred to as “Japa.”
The event attracted a host of notable figures, including the former President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma; Bayelsa State Governor, Duoye Diri; former Governor of Cross River State, Prof. Ben Ayade; and former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen. Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, was also represented by his deputy.
He said, “You don’t need to Japa. Those countries you are running to were built by people. We must build this country together, and invest in it so that the youths can get jobs. We must not run away from our responsibilities. This country belongs to all of us, and we must not abandon it.”
Similarly, Bayelsa State governor, Duoye Diri, said, “There is hope in Nigeria. So those who want to Japa, please, don’t Japa. Nigeria is a blessed country. If we all key into what the private sector is doing, no one will Japa.”
In his remarks, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, however, said, “The level of hunger in Nigeria is too high due to very high food price inflation”, stressing that the federal government must take urgent steps to nip the situation in the bud.”
He said, “Accelerated efforts are needed to expand food production, lower the price of food commodities, eliminate food import dependency, and support local farmers in Nigeria, to feed Nigeria.
“There is no doubt that Nigerian farmers can feed Nigeria. They did when I was Minister of Agriculture under President Jonathan. The price of rice at the time was ₦8,000 per bag; today it is over ₦100,000 per bag.
“Nigeria should have bold programmes and policy support for its farmers. It should also provide incentives for agribusinesses to support agricultural value chains, from food production to processing, value addition, packaging and market supply.”
Adesina disclosed that the African Development Bank and its partners were supporting the federal government of Nigeria and implementing a $538 million programme for the development of special agroindustrial processing zones in 8 states in the country – Cross Rivers, Imo, Oyo, Ogun, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara and the FCT.
“The second phase of the special agro-Industrial processing zones will cover all remaining 28 states in Nigeria. The SAPZ-Phase II is planned with a financing target of $1 billion, from the African Development Bank, the Arab Bank for African Economic Development and the private sector,” he added.
On his part, Koroma said, “If positive things happen in Nigeria, we are happy because Africa can only get it right when Nigeria gets it right.”
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