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• Says Nigeria is worth saving, serving and believing in
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye and Francis Onyedikachukwu, Abuja
A 100-year-old former university don and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International (FGBMFI), Nigeria, Dr Olusola Ajolore, has called on the Federal Government to urgently strengthen security around farming communities and protect farmers from attacks, warning that the country’s food security cannot be guaranteed without agricultural security.
Ajolore made the call at a centenary media engagement to mark his 100th birthday, where he reflected on Nigeria’s security challenges, agriculture, education, youth development and the responsibilities of leaders and citizens in nation-building.
Drawing from his experience as a farmer and educationist, the centenarian argued that insecurity should not be treated merely as a military or policing challenge, but as an issue with serious implications for food production and the economy.
“A farmer who cannot safely reach his farm cannot produce effectively,” Ajolore said.
He added: “A business that cannot operate securely cannot create employment. A community that lives in fear cannot develop normally.”
The centenarian urged the government to adopt a comprehensive approach to insecurity involving effective security institutions, reliable intelligence, justice, community cooperation and accountability.
He said those financing, facilitating or profiting from violence must be identified and brought to justice through lawful processes.
Ajolore said protecting farmers must be treated as a critical component of Nigeria’s national security strategy, warning that failure to secure agricultural communities would continue to undermine food production.
“I would therefore say very simply: Agricultural security is part of national security,” he declared.
According to him, securing farmers and strengthening the agricultural value chain would not only improve food security but also create employment and strengthen the Nigerian economy.
He called for improved security on farms and in rural communities, alongside better access to finance, technology, infrastructure, storage, processing facilities and markets.
“Farmers need security, finance, technology, infrastructure, storage, processing and access to markets,” he said.
Ajolore also urged the government to change the perception of agriculture as merely a traditional occupation, saying it should be developed into a modern and profitable economic sector capable of attracting young Nigerians.
“Agriculture should be treated as a modern economic sector and a serious business opportunity,” he said.
The centenarian further linked Nigeria’s security challenges to the lack of education, skills and legitimate economic opportunities available to young people.
He argued that tackling insecurity would require more than military operations, stressing the need to address the conditions that make communities vulnerable to criminality.
According to him, young Nigerians must be equipped with skills and opportunities that enable them to contribute productively to the economy.
His position was also reflected in his call for reforms in the education sector.
“Education must produce competence and character,” Ajolore said.
He advocated stronger connections between education and technology, entrepreneurship, technical and vocational training, agriculture, manufacturing and other productive sectors.
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He described education as one of Nigeria’s strongest long-term security strategies because it could provide young people with alternatives to crime, hopelessness and dependency.
“We must give our young people not just encouragement, but opportunity,” he said.
Reflecting on his century-long journey through colonial Nigeria, independence, the Civil War, military rule and successive democratic administrations, Ajolore said Nigeria remained a country of enormous potential.
He, however, said the country had not always converted its resources and human capacity into the level of development its potential warranted.
“Government has a responsibility. Leaders have a responsibility. Businesses, communities and citizens also have responsibilities,” he said.
“We cannot continue to ask only what Nigeria can do for us. We must also ask: What are we doing to make Nigeria better?”
Ajolore also challenged older Nigerians to stop merely criticising the younger generation and instead examine the opportunities being created for them.
“Let us not simply criticise young Nigerians. Let us ask ourselves what kind of country we are handing over to them,” he said.
“Have we created enough opportunities? Have we given them quality education? Have we provided a secure environment? Have we demonstrated the integrity we expect from them?”
He urged Nigerians to recover a sense of collective national purpose, stressing that nation-building required responsibility from every generation.
“If I could leave one message with Nigeria at this stage of my life, it would be this: Nigeria has enormous potential, but potential will not build a nation. People must,” he said.
Ajolore said his greatest hope was to see a Nigeria where farmers could work without fear, young people could access quality education and productive opportunities, businesses could operate securely and citizens could live with dignity and hope.
“Nigeria is worth saving. Nigeria is worth serving. And Nigeria is worth believing in,” he declared.
Also speaking, National President of FGBMFI Nigeria, Isaac Okpanachi, paid tribute to Ajolore, describing his decades of service to the fellowship as a story of sacrifice and commitment.
He recalled that Ajolore became a chapter president in 1986, after the first chapter of the fellowship in Nigeria was launched by its pioneer Nigerian president, late Samuel Umata.
He later became a field representative in 1988, supervising chapters across Kwara State, the United States and the Federal Capital Territory, before becoming National Director in 1990.
By 1995, he had become a member of the Board of Trustees and, following the death of the then chairman in 2020, assumed the position of Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
“In all these years, one word that describes the life of this man is the word sacrifice,” Okpanachi said.
He recalled Ajolore’s extensive travels to supervise fellowship chapters, often covering difficult and distant routes across northern Nigeria.
“For this old soldier, for a long period of time, long-distance travelling to supervise our chapters, flung and scattered all over the North,” Okpanachi said.
He described the centenarian as a man whose life had been devoted to the service of God, education, the fellowship and humanity.
