Obasanjo: If agriculture is taken seriously, it will eradicate poverty

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says agriculture is capable of eradicating poverty.

Speaking when he visited the Adamawa state government house in Yola, the former president said the sector could bring industrialisation to the state.

He promised to encourage investors interested in agricbusiness to visit Adamawa.

“Your emphasis on agriculture gave me pleasure and if agriculture is taken serious in this state, it will eradicate poverty,” he said.

“If you can provide a conducive atmosphere, people will want to come and invest in agribusiness.

“We will encourage those who are interested to invest in agribusiness to come to Adamawa and invest.

“Agriculture will not only be useful as a security too but as part of the industrialisation of the state, and as such will make the economy of this state more viable.”

He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for showing understanding about the situation in the north-east.

“To us, the issue of the north-east is special even when Mr President and I are discussing, it always form the centre of our discussion,” he said.

“I must commend the unique leadership vision of the governor especially as he did not only focus on Adamawa but extent his vision to the entire north-east geopolitical region.”

Jibrilla Bindow, governor of the state, had sought the assistance of the former president in addressing the challenges in Adamawa.

He said the state had faced the challenge of insecurity in the past, which had ravaged the socioeconomic fortunes of the state.

He commended Buhari for giving special focus on security, which had made the state to be peaceful now.

Bindow said his administration had completed 47 road projects in the face of all the challenges.

He said the team work adopted by his administration had yielded the positive result, adding that his administration would emulate the work supervision strategy of Obasanjo.