A member of the House of Representatives, Honourable Fatoba Olusola Steve, has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to announce and enforce an outright ban on those trading in currencies along the road in the country.
The lawmaker, who expressed worry over the trend of events relating to the nation’s foreign exchange system and the high cost of commodities, added that the apex bank must do everything possible to stabilise the naira in the interest of the economy.
Fatoba, who represents Ado Ekiti-Irepodun/Ifelodun Ekiti Central Federal Constituency 1 in the green chamber, said the nation is currently finding it difficult to feed its population because the people and the authorities are not seeing farming as a business and lucrative source of income.
He said, “During the appropriation, with the executive, it was N800 to a US dollar, but it was jerked up to N850. Despite that, the exchange rate has moved up to more than double. Whatever we are seeing now is caused by us Nigerians, and no external factor is responsible for it.
“The problem is caused by our people. It is corruption fighting the system. The only solution to the problem is for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which is the regulator of the sector, to ban roadside foreign currency hawkers. Such things don’t happen in other countries I had the privilege of travelling to.”
The Chairman, House Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics, and Values, who spoke with the newsmen in Ado-Ekiti at the weekend, called on state governments to invest heavily in agriculture to get the youths engaged and take them off the streets.
The federal lawmaker posited that the nation is supposed not to be struggling to feed its people because God has blessed the country in terms of geographical location, good weather, and arable land.
He said, “Nigeria should be able to feed her population. There is a popular Yoruba adage that says, “When hunger, being a major part of poverty, is addressed, the challenge of poverty in itself is solved.
“Some countries that don’t have the kind of fertile soil we have here are feeding themselves with their agricultural produce and have enough to export to earn foreign exchange. Even a country like Ukraine, despite being at war with Russia, is still exporting wheat. We too can grow wheat in Nigeria; there is no crop that cannot grow on our soil. But it all depends on the willingness on the part of the people and the government.
“State governments, especially, should see agriculture or farming as a serious business. By doing so, they will be able to invest heavily in the agricultural sector. They can engage the interested youths by clearing the farmlands, and giving them seedlings, fertilisers, and agricultural implements like tractors, power tillers, and the rest. These will help us grow our foods and, at the same time, export them to foreign countries. So we can feed ourselves. ”
Identifying insecurity as another factor militating against food production in Nigeria, he said the issue of bandits killing farmers has to be tackled.
“Siting at police posts and engaging forest rangers and guards who are empowered and armed to protect and secure farmers while on their farms will restore the confidence of farmers who are running away from their farms because of insecurity,” he said.
The lawmaker, who recently donated a power tiller to a group of young farmers known as the Ekiti Ireakari Youth Farmers Cooperative in Ado-Ekiti, said the gesture is to complement the federal and Ekiti state governments efforts in agriculture and to support the group’s farming activities.
The leader of the group, who is also a Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Ekiti State Governor on Agric Extension, Dr Sikiru Olowoyo, appreciated the federal lawmaker for his swift response to their demand and words of encouragement as they embarked on their agricultural journey.
ALSO READ THESE TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
