•no Northern state has 50% qualified teachers — Niger ex-gov
The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, has said that it is time to activate the potentials Nigeria has to address the growing hunger.
The Minister said Nigerians by now should be tired of saying the country has potential.
Speaking at the 22nd Daily Trust annual Dialogue and Presentation of Daily Trust Unsung Heroes (2024), the Minister said agriculture policies are expected to address the issue where people produce for only family consumption with little to sell.
The Minister further stressed the need to change the way things are done in the agricultural sector, for Nigeria to get a different outcome.
Maiha also lamented that food access has been affected by insecurity and other challenges.
He called for large-scale dry season farming, adding that is the only way to tackle the food shortage and affordability.
The Minister also called for efforts to tackle incessant farmers, and herders clashes, adding however that his ministry is working with stakeholders to resolve the issue in some states.
Also, the former Governor of Niger State, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, has said that no state in North Nigeria has 50 per cent qualified teachers.
Aliyu also questioned the wisdom behind border closure, stressing that despite the closure goods from Nigeria find their way to other ECOWAS nations.
He urged the Ministry of Livestock to partner with universities of education and agriculture to educate farmers.
He said, “What is the importance of closing borders? What is the importance of that while the population of Nigeria is almost the population of other ECOWAS members? And every market you go to in ECOWAS countries you will discover that more than half of the things in that market are from Nigeria.
“For example, in Niger, the cow is still cheaper than in Nigeria. Apart from the inflation, it has always been like that because we used to send people there on good days to get these cows either for slaughter or Sallah. Why is this so? Please, do what you have to do. Do also the education.
“The second thing I am pursuing is education. In the northern states, there is no state with 50% qualified teachers. Even those who are attending the schools now, let alone those who are not able to attend school. Use federal universities of Agriculture and universities of education to educate people. We need education to have people who are passionate about a particular thing.”
Speaking earlier, the chairman of Media Trust’s board of directors, Malam Kabiru Yusuf, said that statistics in Nigeria paint a grim picture of food security in the country.
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