An NGO, the Face of Agriculture Nigeria (FOAN), has recommended agriculture as Nigeria’s new oil in a post COVID-19 era.
Mr Oti Egwu, the Content Manager of FOAN, made this recommendation in a statement to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Monday.
Egwu said that the need for Nigeria to diversify its economy and place agriculture on top of the pile of its economic agenda demanded urgent attention.
He said that the danger in the country of putting all of its economic eggs in one basket had long been foretold by experts with the third eye.
“The warnings were given, the risk factors analysed, and the call for diversification was sung as music to the ears.
“But given the familiarity of the Nigerian condition, those cautions made no impact. Today, it can be remarked that a virus that walked into town few months back had stolen the show, reiterating in action all that had been spelt out.
“The virus in question COVID-19, needs no introduction. Its effects in the global space are speaking more volume hellishly beyond what the current crop of the human race can comprehend.
“Governmental wheels are beginning to fall off, economies around the world are being crippled and heading toward the brink and overall, humanity currently hangs by a thread,” the FOAN manager said.
Egwu said that the evolving dynamics suggested that some countries and their economies might survive the onslaught of the doom and gloom of the coronavirus, stepping out of it almost unscathed.
He, however, noted that the same could not be said about fragile economies like that of Nigeria.
Egwu said that the drastic fall in the global oil price as a result of the impact of the virus lent credence to this fact as the future for Nigeria’s sweet oil looked even bleaker.
He said that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic era was radicalising and revolutionising systems, thought patterns, work patterns, adding that its aftermaths were likely to open up frontiers in spontaneous forms that would change the rules of the game.
“Information technology and virtual operations will grow exponentially alongside agriculture, media, logistics, public health including gigs for economic and political think tanks.
“One thing on that list that sits pretty and comfortable for Nigerians and its markets is agriculture” the FOAN manager said.
Egwu said that agriculture was a ready-made factory-fitted asset for Nigeria’s economic boom.
“It can be the country’s new oil in a potential post-COVID-19 world where innovations will far exceed political theatrics and bogus sums from crude oil exports.’’
FOAN is an “agritainment’’ show that seeks to drive and give incentives for youth participation in agriculture, using a reality television to involve the family.
The NGO is driven by the new vision for agricultural development in Nigeria. (NAN)
