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From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
A former military intelligence officer and current Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Arewa Consultative Forum in Kano, Halliru Akilu has lamented the incidence of poverty and food insecurity in the North.
The BOT Chairman, who is a retired Brigadier- General was speaking on the benefits of the interactive session recently hosted by the President of the African Development Bank(ADB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina for governors of the the North – West Zone.
The participating governors, which included the Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda and the deputy governors of Jigawa, Kebbi, Zamfara, Kano, Sokoto and Kaduna States were briefed on the Special Agro- Industrial Processing Zones of the African Development Bank.
The session was aimed to advance food self- sufficiency, create jobs, and boost economic growth through the processing of raw agricultural commodities in areas with high agric potentials.
Akilu , in his remarks, lauded the engagement as positive, saying it was a timely initiative that would lift communities in the region out of their present poverty and impoverishment.
He regretted that the absence of elite consensus was one of the key impediments to social, economic and political development of the region.
The elder statesman insisted that the North must tap into the AfDB’s proposals with a view to eliminating its weak, limited value addition and poor integration in the domestic, regional and international markets.
“The opportunities (offered by the bank) would enable the North West to focus on food production, nutrition, security improvement, as well provide innovative ways for the zone to unleash its agricultural potentials.
“North West is mainly Nigeria’s food basket, with an estimated population of over 60 million, about 30% of the country’s population. The zone is also home to 10 million of Nigeria’s 22 million herds of cattle” he revealed.
