Former president Olusegun Obasanjo has asked citizens to blame the political class and not farmers for the inability of the country to attain self sufficiency in food production.
Obasanjo stated this Sunday at a lecture organised to mark his 86th birthday in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital.
He noted that Nigeria and Africa had failed to take advantage of advancement in science and technology for the development of the agricultural sector, which according to him is regrettable.
“I believe that God has not created Nigeria as a basket case. God has created Nigeria for a great purpose. At independence, the world did not refer to Nigeria as giant in Africa, no, they referred to Nigeria as giant in the sun, Nigeria was more than giant in Africa, it was giant in the sun. But, not only have we not been giant in the sun, we have not even been giant in Africa. Some people called us giant with clay feet.
“So, that is not what God has created Nigeria to be, that is what we Nigerians have inadvertently or advertently made Nigeria to be.
“But, will Nigeria continue to be so, I believe no. So, we must continue to hold ourselves together, pray and understand all the factors and the elements making us not to be the giant, but the dwarf of Africa and how we can get out of it and I believe and pray that we will get out of it.
“Food security is very important and for as long as we are not reasonably self-sufficient in food and nutrition security in Africa, we are of course not doing the right thing for ourselves.
“Until Ukraine war, I really did not realise how much we in Africa, almost all of us in Africa depend on the Russians and the Ukrainians for wheat. Wheat which is use to make bread is only carbohydrate, are there no carbohydrate food stuff that can be produced in Africa that we can be self-sufficient in.”