President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has justified the increase in number of Universities of Agriculture in Nigeria, saying that these specialised institutions were critical to the nation’s quest to attain food security.
He stated this on Saturday, November 30 in his address at the 12th Convocation ceremony of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike (MOUAU), Abia State during which various categories of degree certificates and prizes were awarded to the graduands.
President Tinubu, whose address was delivered by the Director of Extension in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr Deola-Tayo Lordbanjou, said the policy of establishing Universities of Agriculture was “well thought-out and properly planned to make our country self-sufficient in food production”.
“As a nation, we are looking up to the universities to innovatively drive the transformation of our agricultural sector to achieve food security, diversify the economy and broaden the base for industrialization,” he said.
According to him, “agriculture remains a strategic sector for diversifying our economy” and drastically reduce Nigeria’s disproportionate dependence on oil as main source of revenue.
He said: “Nigeria certainly needs the solid support of her agricultural scientists and experts as strategic game changers to end hunger in this country.
“Consequently, the Government increased the number of agricultural universities in the country. Your technical skills and expertise will continue to be required until we reach the Promised Land of food security”.
Mr. President described Nigeria’s potential for agricultural investments as “excellent, considering the diversity of our soils, crops, livestock and climate:
He said that even with Nigeria’s huge population of having over 250 million mouths to feed, Tinubu expressed his confidence that “we can provide our needs for staple foods from local production”.
“We can quickly and significantly reduce our dependence on imported food items with solid determination,” he said.
To actualise this goal, Mr. President called on private organizations and public-spirited individuals “to join hands with the Government and our frontline institutions to achieve this assailable dream”.
He also stressed the need for the nation’s Universities of Agriculture to support government’s efforts by ‘forming partnerships and linkages to scale up agricultural research findings with a win-win target”.
President Tinubu, who is the Visitor to MOUAU, lauded the institution named after the iconic visionary late Premier of the former Eastern Region, Dr Michael I. Okpara, for living up to expectations
“It is gratifying to note that this University and its staff are working hard to realize the mission and vision of generating knowledge through which we can achieve food security,” he said.
Tinubu noted that “our nation’s problems are diverse and deep-rooted, but we are strongly determined to confront them”, adding that “we are making significant progress despite the myriads of interlinked challenges bedeviling our country”.
He assured Nigerians of his administration’s “determination to leave legacies that will serve as reference points”, adding that “our drive to properly institute people-friendly policies and programmes will yield an abundant harvest soon”.
In his address the Vice-chancellor of MOUAU, Professor Maduebibisi Ofo Iwe, stated that the institution has “cumulatively made giant strides in academics, human capital development, infrastructure, community service, and administration in the last three decades”.
However, he pointed out that “we are still confronted with the problems of inadequate physical facilities, low funding, non-release of take-off grant from government, high demand on provision of amenities and public utilities, especially electricity, water, and bad road”.
The MOUAU VC announced that a total of 5,208 graduands from 2019/2020 to 2023/2024 were admitted to the 12th Convocation, which “is a demonstration of our commitment to University culture and calendar”.
He said that 4,753 graduates were awarded bachelor’s degree certificates with 163 graduating with first class honours; Postgraduate Diploma, 49, Master’s Degree, 252, and Doctorate Degree 164.
The MOUAU Chief Executive said that Nigerian federal universities were still paying the price of the 2022 eight months strike by staff unions.
He stated that though FG “has tried to address the issue of withheld salaries, there are still the issues of despondency and lukewarmness in the attitude of staff following the salary injury associated with that experience”.
Notwithstanding “the intriguing situation”, Prof Iwe asserted that MOUAU “has continued to make remarkable headway in various key areas”.
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