Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has stressed the need for providing gainful employment for Nigerian youths as a means of bringing an end to insecurity in the country, News About Nigeria reports.
He made this known at the 9th International Trade Exhibition & Conference on Agrofood, Plastics, Printing, and Packaging in Lagos on Tuesday.
He noted that providing employment will minimise the number of people getting involved in banditry, kidnapping, and various other criminal activities.
He maintained that the importance of agriculture cannot be overemphasised, adding that there is a need to promote agribusiness for food security, nutrition security, employment, wealth creation, poverty elimination, and income generation, particularly, foreign exchange.
“If we are able to give them employment, there will be less of them getting involved in banditry, in kidnapping, and in doing various other criminal activities that they get involved in.
“Food security starts with availability. We must be able to produce enough. Then there is affordability. We must be able to get everybody who needs food to be able to get the food that they need. Then there is accessibility. We must get food to where it is needed.
“Almost 40 percent of our food goes to waste after cultivation. So, food security and nutrition security make agribusiness important.” He stated.
He, however, lamented that Nigerian youths often prefer to explore opportunities in the entertainment industry, which underscores the need to make agriculture more glamorous.
The former president, therefore, called on policymakers at all levels to ensure policy consistency that would allow farmers to set short- and long-term targets without worrying about possible policy somersaults that may topple their plans.
