President Muhammadu Buhari has said Nigerians must return to agriculture in order to become a self-sustaining nation. Buhari who spoke recently on a national television, said agriculture could sustain the Nigerian economy, if properly harnessed. He said although insecurity could pose a serious challenge to agriculture, but he insisted that Nigerian youths must be encouraged to embrace agriculture. “Only 2.5 per cent of our arable land is currently being utilised and we need to take advantage of our vast arable land to produce what can feed Nigerians and other countries of the world. When we closed our borders to importation of foreign rice recently, Nigerians were able to grow rice that can now feed Nigerians and we can even export rice to other countries of the world,” Buhari said. Giving clarification about the appointment of Dr. Doyin Salami as his Chief Economic Adviser, Buhari said the choice of Salami was necessary because he has proved to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) members that he has ideas on how to better grow the Nigerian economy.

THISDAY