CoronavirusFoodNewsWest AfricaMany Countries Ask Nigeria for Foods During Lockdown – Fashola

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The Minister for Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has said that many neighboring countries asked Nigeria for food during the lockdown that was caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The minister reveals this in an Instagram Live Chat with City People Magazine on Saturday.

Fashola speaks on the COVID-19 Economic Sustainability Plan recently submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari by the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

He said that the plan contains diverse measures to strengthen the Nigerian economy against the economic effect brought by the pandemic.

According to him, “We are looking at constructing roads with more stones, more cement, more iron rods so that more people will be employed. For example, it will take 14 people to build a kilometer of road. So, if you are doing more kilometers, it will demand more labor and materials, so, these are some of the bolts and nuts of that plan.

“Agriculture is another critical part of the Economic Sustainability Plan. We want to increase the cultivatable lands in the country. We are currently cultivating just about one-third and I stand to be corrected on that figure – the minister of agriculture knows the numbers than I do. But in his presentation, as I recollect it, we are not cultivating enough lands. We want to double cultivation, increase food output, not just for local use but for export.

“I must say to Nigerians that because of the success of the agriculture program which is still evolving, during this COVID exercise, many countries were writing to us from near and far, asking us to please supply them food. This is not in the public space but President Buhari’s priority was, tell them to wait, we must feed our people first before we send out food, we don’t know when this is going to end.

“So, we want to see more value-added in the sector in terms of processing and cultivation. We are losing an unsatisfactory quantity of our agro produce too many factors – transport, cooling, heating and so on. These are some of the components that the Ministry of Agriculture will share in the next few months about how to ensure that we preserve many more of what we produce and lose less.”

The Senior Advocate added that the National Housing Project that was started in 2016 is still ongoing. He hinted that the Ministry of Housing understudied the type of houses Nigerians would like to live in because “cultural differences impact the way people live”.

Fashola said, “We learned from the previous National Housing Scheme during the Shagari era that not everybody liked the way the Shagari houses were built. Whilst it was a laudable initiative by that administration, it did not really respond fully to all the aspirations of Nigerians in terms of the type of houses they want to live in.

“In all the 34 states which gave us lands, we have completed the houses. We have now started a second phase in many of those houses close to where the first phase was.”

Aside from building houses, the former Lagos State governor noted that his ministry was providing “Site and Service Scheme” for people who don’t want the government to build houses for them but want the government’s protection and amenities like potable water, steady power, amongst others.

 

Bada Yusuf Amoo (Correspondent)

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