Gov. Darius Ishaku.

The governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku has expressed deep worries over the worsening food crisis not only in the North Eastern region but also across the country due to the high incidences of insecurity occasioned by the activities of Boko Haram, banditry, insurgency and kidnapping for ransom, which has been prevalent in the region for more than 10 years.

The governor also cautioned against the current crave for the prospecting of crude oil in the region, given current realities in the global oil market due to the gradual shift from oil by many countries, insisting that investments should be channelled more towards agriculture, clean, renewable energy and gas not crude oil.

Speaking in an interview on Channels TV monitored in Lagos, Wednesday, the governor who spoke on the heels of the just concluded meeting of the North-East Governors’ Forum meeting, which he hosted, lamented the devastating effects of worsening insecurity on agriculture in the region, thus worsening the food insecurity challenge.

According to him, due the high spate of kidnapping for ransom, banditry and activities of Boko Haram, farmers are afraid of going to their farms for fear of being killed or maimed, which is currently affecting food production with the attendant reduction in food supply, which causes hike in price.

“Farmers are afraid to go to their farms for fear of being kidnapped or killed and this is affecting food security. A bag of maize that used to sell for N7, 000 or worse case N10, 000 now sells for over N25, 000”, he lamented.

On why the insecurity has persisted he said:” I strongly believe that the insecurity can be wiped out in three months if the government musters enough political will to do what is necessary because Nigeria has professional soldiers, Police and other security apparatuses that have gone for peace keeping missions in Congo, Mali and other countries and returned with laurels, so I believe they can end it if given the ammunitions and political backing they require.

“If you ask me, I would suggest that the National Youths Service Corps NYSC should be made two years; the first year would be proper military training, which would include the use of firearms while the second year would be for the national orientation.

“The Federal Government has not showed sufficient political will to fight the insecurity. Every now and then, bandits go to the villages and slaughter them, it is high time the people are given guns so that they can defend themselves since the country’s security forces cannot protect them.

“I do not believe that the insecurity is fuelled by foreign forces, everything is in Nigeria. I have asked these three questions repeatedly; who are the insurgents? Why are they invisible? Who is providing them with the brand new AK 47 automatic rifles that they use because poor people cannot afford such weapons?

“If I am made the President, I will consult widely because I am not a security person, I will listen to people for advice because the insecurity is absolutely a political problem. I have spent six out of my eight years as governor and we spend large chunk of our budget on security when we also need to build hospitals, schools and embark on other developmental programmes for the good of our people”.

On the recent United Nations report, which says Nigeria has over 100million out of school children, 60per cent of which comes from the North East, the governor noted that efforts were being made to change the narrative but regretted that many people have been displaced because of insecurity and that the children in Internally Displaced Persons’ IDP camps cannot access education, which remains a major challenge in the region’s efforts towards creating employment and reducing insecurity.

On efforts by the Federal Government to prospect oil in the North-East region, he observed that many countries are already moving towards cleaner energy, which would further reduce the demand for crude oil in the next 10 or 20 years, a development that calls for a rethink on investments to find oil.

He advised that Nigeria should also be re-strategising by making more investments in renewable energy and gas no oil so as not to be caught unawares, adding that many countries are already making plans for the post oil economy for the next 10 or 20 years.