The American author John C Maxwell said something that quite instructive about leadership, “Anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course”. If leadership is easy to develop, a lot more people would be leaders and our problems would be less.
Leadership involves mapping out the direction to go from point A to point B in the most effective way.
These phrases describe the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Abubakar Kyari CON, a Nigerian born in the family of Brigadier Abba Kyari, a former military governor of the old North Central State.
He attended Kaduna Capital School and Barewa College, Zaria and later to the United States of America. He was at the University of Tennessee, Martin US for his Bachelor’s Degree and thereafter Webster University, St.Louis, Missouri for his master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA).
His sojourn in politics started when he was elected into the House of Representatives on the platform of the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) during the military regime of late General Ibrahim Babangida in 1998 which was dissolved by General Abdulsalami Abubakar and he was re-elected on the platform of the APP in 1999.
He was the treasurer of the All People’s Party (APP), Borno State. Many argued that leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts; it is about one life influencing another. Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them and this is why Senator Kyari is a different politician of the current generation.
He is a grassroots politician who is deeply rooted at his home state of Borno, having served as the commissioner for water resources for two consecutive terms under Governor Ali Modu Sheriff after serving as the managing director Rural Water Supply Agency Borno state. He also served as Borno state commissioner for education, commissioner for home affairs and later chief of staff to former governor of Borno state now Vice President Kashim Shettima.
He is at the moment, the minister of agriculture and food security. He was two terms senator representing Borno North Senatorial District in 2015 and in 2019 before his resignation after his election as Deputy National Chairman North of the ruling All Progressives Congress in 2022.
He was acting National Chairman of the APC following the resignation of the national chairman Senator Abdullahi Adamu. His appointment as the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security by President Bola Tinubu is coming at the appropriate time considering his wealth of experience and good track records of achievements.
The North and the country at large will be counting on his rich CV to rebuild the agriculture sector due to its roles in the nation’s economy.
The Nigerian agricultural sector has remained a major contributor to the economy compared to other sectors. In 2019, the sector contributed 22.12 percent to Nigeria’s nominal GDP coupled with the fact that the sector employs about 70 percent of Nigeria’s working population and it is the largest economic activity in the rural area where almost 50 percent of the population lives.
However, the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by the minister is an extension of a bilateral partnership by Cuba counterparts to boost the local economy.
The MOU will focus on vital areas such as bio-fortification of agricultural produce, improvement of agricultural seeds and seedlings, agricultural mechanisation, cutting-edge technologies for increased yields, and the reduction of post-harvest losses.
The country is under the siege of insecurity perpetrated mostly by unemployed Nigerian youths across board. As someone who is politically rooted at the grassroots, he will leverage on his present position to bring the needed and sound policies that will boost self sufficiency and to become an exporter of cash crops in the sub-Saharan Africa and the world.
Renowned Indian philosopher and human rights activist, Mahatma Gandhi, once said, “To forget how to till the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourselves”.This saying goes with the vision and aspiration of the minister who promised to end hunger as the prices of goods continue to soar higher amidst hardships. It is glaring that his commitment and passion to change the face of the agricultural sector to make it the mainstay of the nation’s economy cannot be overemphasised.
As one of the best brains from Borno state and having served during the multidimensional challenges of Boko Haram as member of the State Executive Council, Kyari himself is of the understanding that tilling the earth and tending to the soil is Nigerians’ oldest occupation which is as old as the country itself. As agriculture remains the source of food for all humans, it is the science or practice of farming, including the cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide for man’s basic needs and this is the focus of the minister as a former senator and seasoned administrator.
In a nutshell, it is certain that he will apply pragmatic agricultural solutions to improve the national economy with the raising poverty and unemployment in the country. Nigerians are optimistic and confident that he will support agricultural production by providing quality seeds and supporting the cultivation of crops nationwide and will upgrade, upscale and upskill the agriculture sector.
Abubakar Kyari is now central to sustainable development of Nigeria as his ministry remains critical for generating employment in rural areas, supporting the economy in farming communities and ensuring food security. The decision of President Tinubu to appoint Senator Kyari to head the ministry is coming at the right time considering his rich CV in managing the affairs of government as a policy maker, law maker and an administrator par excellence whose outstanding performance is being acknowledged.
Suleiman writes from Abuja via [email protected]
