George Moghalu: FG must invest in agriculture… Nigerians can’t survive on palliatives

George Moghalu, former national auditor of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says the federal government must adopt novel approaches and invest in agriculture to revitalise the economy.

Speaking on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television, on Tuesday, Moghalu bemoaned the sharp decline of Nigeria’s agricultural sector — once the mainstay of the nation’s economy.

While commending the President Bola Tinubu administration, the Labour Party (LP) chieftain noted that Nigerians cannot continue to survive on palliatives.

“I must commend the president for the courage he has shown in some of the decisions he has taken, but the truth about it is that something has to be done. The government must think outside of the box,” he said.

“They must re-engineer the economy to the extent that it can impact the general public. We cannot survive on palliatives. We must face the challenges as it is, and be able to address these challenges. We must invest aggressively in agriculture.

“I ask myself and I ask the people around me. Before the advent of oil, we had a strong agriculture-based economy.

“You talk about the pyramid in the north, you talk about palm produce in the south-east, you talk about cocoa in the south-west. Look at the investments that were made by our leaders then using agriculture. What has happened?”

Expressing dismay over security challenges in Anambra state, Moghalu said the government’s primary responsibility is protecting citizens and their property as enshrined in the constitution.

He added that honest questions need to be raised and that politics should be separated from security matters.

“The principal responsibility of any government, as provided in our constitution, as provided in our laws, is the protection of people and their property,” Moghalu said.

“That’s the primary responsibility of the government. So, no matter what investment you make in that sector, it can’t be justified unless you address the issue of insecurity. Every effort you are making about economic investment is phantom.

“There is no date that passes in my state that you don’t hear one negative story. It is either somebody has been kidnapped or somebody has been killed.

“A few weeks ago, a retired archbishop of the Anglican church was kidnapped and kept in detention for almost one month. A few days ago, two reverend sisters, principals of schools, were kidnapped.

“A few weeks ago, a lecturer in Awka was assassinated. A few weeks ago, as we speak now, a member of the house of assembly is still in the kidnappers’ den.

“We need to ask ourselves honest questions, we must remove politics from security.”