It took president Muhammadu Buhari, 54 days after his second term to start sending list of ministerial nominees to the Nigerian senate for screening. This is a good record than his first term which began in May 2015, and had Nigerians to wait for six months before the list of ministerial portfolios and offices was announced.
In his quest to diversify the economy, president Buhari, has on 13 August, 2019, says he will appoint a minister who knows about agriculture, adding that he will use his second term in office to improve the lives of Nigerians by paying closer attention to the poor and the underprivileged.
‘‘I will appoint a minister who knows agriculture and his role will be to provide jobs and growing our economy. A minister who is knowledgeable and will know how to promote interest and investment in the sector’’, he said.
But In Jigawa, It is obvious that government policy of attraction and encouraging foreign investment in Nigeria might fail woefully in the state, as Jigawa State Executive council spent 10 months without commissioner of agriculture.
Jigawa is largely a farming state more than 80 per cent of its habitants engaged in agriculture, this is an agrarian state but without Commissioner of Agriculture, despite the fact that it is an agrarian state with some small commercial developments, and no economy in the world could ever developed at an appreciable pace without industries and agricultural development.
As we know that the Commissioner of Agriculture is a member of the council of state, which is headed by the Governor and constitutes the highest ranking body in the executive branch of state government.
He is in charge of the Ministry of Agriculture, Jigawa State Agricultural Development Agency (JARDA) JASCO, Department of Agriculture and Other divisions and more than 2,000 employees.
In addition to his primary goal of protecting, maintaining and enhancing the ability of agriculture to produce an adequate supply of food and he is responsible for the enforcement of many regulatory programmes which protect and promote the socio economic wellbeing of the peoples.
On 1 February, 2020, the minister of agriculture and rural development Alhaji Sabo Nanono, visited Jigawa to inspect facilities at the 50,000 metric tonnes Silos in Jahun Local government area of the state.
While during the visit, he explained that ‘‘each of the local governments would be allocated tractors and inputs as soft to be repaid in 11 years and that the gesture was in conformity with the promise made by president Muhammadu Buhari, in his new year message to encourage mechanized agriculture’’.
But, he was received by the secretary to the state government Alhaji Adamu Abdulkadir Fanini, and other commissioners. No governor No Deputy governor, No Commissioner of Agriculture.
It is only in Jigawa where the 2 ministry { Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Land and Survey} are supervise by the Commissioner of information.
Perhaps, governor Badaru, does not satisfy with performance of previous commissioner of the ministry, that is why, It would be recall that during the inauguration of the new commissioners, according to him ‘‘ for agriculture in the last four years, we are still far below the standard, we have to push to improve agriculture significantly and make our agricultural producers competitive worldwide’’.
But in reality, the state is not committed to improve the sector. For example: in 2016, N8.6 billion was budget for agriculture but only 1.5 billion was released. In 2017, N6.3 billion was budgeted, but only 4.4 billion was spent.
Similarly in 2018, N10.1 billion was budgeted, but only 3.06 billion was released, so also, in 2019, only N8.67 billion was budgeted for agriculture, which is underfunding the sector.
But, we can cheer him (Badaru) up because on 5 November 2019, during his budget presentation, at the state assembly, he said that the agriculture allocation surpasses the preceding year by 38% with an increase of about N3 billion.
The Significant role of agriculture in Nigeria, cannot be overemphasize, that is why in December 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Governor Badaru Abubakar, as the chairman of the implementation Committee on the presidential fertilizer initiative. But from all indication, Jigawa state government is not ready to improve the sector.
Just recently, Governor Mai Mala-Buni of Yobe staye disclosed that: the state government has bought 103 tractors and 7,500 tonnes of NPK fertilizer to be distributed to farmers across the 17 local government areas of the state. Also, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Mairo Amshi, said no fewer than 36,000 small and large scale farmers would benefit from the inputs, while explaining that the state government had engaged youths to cultivate 200 hectares of land under the Seed Multiplication Scheme for the production of improved seeds.
Recently, the Minister of Humanitarian affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouk, visited Jigawa to flag-off fertilizer distribution for farmers affected by the 2018 flood. And during exercise she said: ‘‘ it is a well-known fact that Jigawa state is one of the major food producers in the country with the citizen largely engaged in farming activities’’ .
Among the dignitaries at the event are: governor Badaru himself, Chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria Jigawa State chapter Alhaji Mai Unguwa Jaga, amongst others.
But my question is that: has she asked the governor of his Commissioner of agriculture?
Newsmen reported that over 120,000 farmers were affected by the flood in the 19 local government area of the state in 2018, but who would sympathize with these farmers apart from the governor.
It seem like promises made by governor Badaru during 2015 and 2019 elections on Improving the agriculture is just an audio, looking at the menaces that agriculture finds itself.
