Akinwumi Adeshina, Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has showered encomiums on President Goodluck Jonathan for the unprecedented re-establishment of the agricultural sector of the economy.
Adeshina, who spoke to Forward Nigeria, gave kudos to President Jonathan for his rapid transformation of the Nigeria’s agriculture industry, especially with the introduction of the “dry season farming program”, the first of its kind in the history of Nigeria.
Recalling the flood of 2012 which saw critics and analysts predicting a possible famine in the country, Adeshina said President Jonathan, against the odds, refused to grant waivers to certain individuals who wanted to import food items into the country but instead rubbed minds with the Minister in finding a way out of the situation.
Recalling the scenario, Adeshina said: “The President that day, had on his desk, quite a lot of people who had sent him letters asking for waivers to flood the country with food.
“The President didn’t listen to them, he called his Minister of Agriculture, that’s a great leader, he said ‘can we survive, do you think we are going to survive’. I said ‘Yes, if you can help us to do dry season rice.’ I gave him the plan, he took his pen, he uses green pen and he cancelled every single one of those thing son his desk asking for waivers. He said Akin, go get the job done.”
He said the transformation work already done in the agricultural sector is not one to known discussed on social media platforms, tasking Nigerians and the media to visit the rural areas, stating that the migration to urban cities has reduced as people are now more motivated to stay back and farm especially the youth who have been given a new lease of life as farm jobs have hit a staggering 3.2 million.
Adeshina also besought the Nigerian electorate to re-elect President Jonathan as lot more still has to be offered.
He said: “He truly is the farmer’s president because he truly loves farmers and supports farmers and I believe the farmers are going to reward him, because the farmers don’t want to be naked again, they want the cloth on their body and they are not going to lose that to some empty promises from others. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is the farmer’s President and the farmers are for Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.”
