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….Says forest must be secured to achieve food security
By Sunday Ani
The Deputy Commander General of the Nigerian Hunters and Forests Security Service (NHFSS) in charge of Technical Services, John Metchie, has commended President Bola Tinubu for declaring a state of emergency on food security, stressing that the forests must be secured to achieve the objective.
President had on Thursday, declared a state of emergency on food security and approved that all matters pertaining to food and water availability and affordability, as essential livelihood items, should be within the purview of the National Security Council.
This was disclosed by the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Dele Alake, while briefing the State House Correspondents He said the President has directed for an immediate release of fertilizers and grains to farmers and households to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal.
He said: “We will immediately release fertilizers and grains to farmers and households to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal. There will be an organic synergy between the Ministry of Agriculture and the use of water resources to ensure adequate irrigation of farmlands and to guarantee that food is available all year round.”
A statement today by Metchie, who is also the African Director, International Association of World Peace Advocates (IAWPA), noted that President Tinubu has shown through his policies and declarations that he is a grassroots leader who is in tune with the basic needs of the people.
He stated that one of the greatest challenges facing Nigerians at present is shortage of food, caused partly by the insecurity in the farms and forests. He added that the President’s intervention in the sector, barely two months into his administration, showed that he is serious with his promises to bring relief to the lives of the people.
He particularly hailed the President for saying that Nigeria must do away with seasonal farming, stressing that a country with more than 200 million people could not afford to rely only on seasonal farming but also on mechanised farming, which is all-year round.
Metchie also stressed the need to secure forests and farms across the country so that the plans of the President to map out hectares of land for farming and grazing would be realized.
He said: “I was delighted when the President’s spokesman, Chief Dele Alake said that the President’s mandate is to create jobs for the teeming youth population and to achieve between five to 10 million more jobs within the value chain, working with the current 500,000 hectares of arable land and the several hundreds of thousands more farmlands to be developed in the medium term.
“I was also pleased when he said that President Tinubu’s administration understands that food and water are the bedrock of survival, and therefore, is calling on all Nigerians to partner with the government to ensure the success of this strategic intervention.
“For me, one of the most strategic contributions we can make towards the success of the President’s initiatives on food security is to say that Nigeria needs to do more to secure farmlands, so that farmers can move freely to and from their farms without molestation. This is where the Nigerian Hunters and Forest Security Service (NHFSS) come in handy.
“It is gratifying that the two chambers of the National Assembly have passed the Bill for the Service. What remains is for the President to give his presidential assent to the Bill, so that it can become law. Already, there are thousands of officers and men of the NHFSS working with the Police, and other security agencies in the area of surveillance, information and intelligence gathering, as well as apprehension of criminals within farms and forests across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
“Many states have recognised and integrated the NHFSS into their security system and the testimonies to the great exploits of NHFSS officers and men are gladdening.
“The signing of the Bill by the President into law would legally empower operatives of the Service to become more emboldened to confront all forms of crimes and criminalities that are carried out within the forests, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and insurgency, among others.”
