BY EZEOCHA NZEH
As prices of food products continue to bite harder in the country, president Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the conversion of the vast land acquired by the nation’s military across the country into farm lands
The president directed the nation’s military high command to convert their vast expanse of land across the country into an agricultural hub as part of efforts to address the growing food shortage and insecurity in the country.
This was disclosed on Tuesday by the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Defence, Hon. Babajimi Benson (APC, Lagos), who described the directive as part of efforts to ensure that no land is left un accessed across the country in the federal governments quest to tackle the rising food security and provision food for Nigerians.
The Lagos state lawmaker said President Tinubu’s mandate to the nation’s Armed Forces to put farming on the front burner would ensure that all the military lands across the country are cultivated for farming, adding that the directive would help reduce the biting food insecurity in the country
He further disclosed that the House Committee on Defence would be engaging with the Chief of Defence Staff and another service chief on Monday to discuss how they intend to carry out the President’s directive.
He said: “We are taking the initiative by next week. We are going to call the Minister of Defence and the Chief of Defence Staff to come and explain to us how they want to transform Mr President’s directives into reality. Let the armed forces who protect us and have vast land go and cultivate them”.
“If there is food security, insecurity will go down. So, the Army should take possession of their land. Let’s say they have one million hectares somewhere. There is not going to be insecurity in that area because it is going to be manned by the military.
“We are taking the initiative on Monday, next week. We are going to call the Minister of Defence, Chief of Defence Staff, to come and explain to us how they want to transform Mr. President’s directives into reality. Let the armed forces who protect us be involved in this. Let them cultivate the vast land before them.”
“This will help in addressing insecurity in the country as security starts from the grassroots and with the autonomy, local government council chairmen will have more funds to develop their areas and secure lives as well as properties. Financial autonomy granted to local governments would spur development and close ungoverned spaces, which induced insecurity.
“I give super kudos to the President of Nigeria for ensuring that there is local government autonomy because security starts from the grassroots. So, if you empower a local government to have full receipt of their monthly applications, they don’t have immunity like the governors, and people are aware that now, the shackles are broken. I don’t think there will be any stretch or space in Nigeria that will not be governable.
“When I received reports from my military people, they told us that there are a lot of ungovernable spaces, areas where no single government presence exists