Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, the Governor of Delta State in Nigeria, declared that for the country to effectively address the challenges of youth unemployment and restiveness, governments at all levels, individuals, and other stakeholders must make a concerted effort to restore agriculture to its rightful place. This qualifies him as a leader.
The governor, speaking at the 2021 International Youth Day Celebration, said that while some natural resources, such as oil and gas, are finite, agriculture is as old as man and would outlast him, adding that its role in providing work and sustenance for man cannot be overstated. Indeed, there are reasons to believe that Okowa’s perspective is consistent with the worldwide view of agriculture’s role in assisting nations in achieving sustainable development.
What Do Critics Say?
- Nigerians with critical views have expressed concern at various times and locations that it is not right for Nigerian federal governments to form entities that distribute money to Nigerian youngsters with the goal of alleviating poverty.
- Such vast resources are not economically valuable. Instead, such funds should be utilized to construct manufacturing industries and factories.
- Others believe that less emphasis should be placed on university education. Technical and commercial colleges should be founded and sponsored in order to produce technically qualified graduates.
- To the rest, cooperative groups and entrepreneurs should engage in home and industrial product production.
In terms of security, the big unemployed youth population poses a threat to the few working. Any reform that does not prioritize job creation will fail to achieve its goal. And the agricultural industry has the capacity to absorb the country’s growing number of unemployed youth. Aside from job creation, another incentive to embrace agriculture is to avoid hunger, which is a severe setback to any nation’s socio-economic growth.
Author’s Note
Agriculture is viewed as a mechanism for guaranteeing food security and a long-term socioeconomic sector all over the world. Only in an atmosphere where the majority of people are exposed to a balanced diet, not just food, can sustainable growth be achieved. In Nigeria, an estimated 2.5 million children under the age of five suffer from severe acute malnutrition each year, exposing over 420,000 children in that age group to common childhood illnesses including diarrhea, pneumonia, and malaria, which can lead to early death.
Importantly, the government must establish a rail system with inexpensive fares and connections between large economic towns and landlocked cities to facilitate the distribution of food and other economic products from affluent to impoverished places. Evidence abounds that disadvantaged towns/cities frequently control domestic trade and commodity market prices.