Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose in his welcome address at the quarterly meeting of Southwest Governors in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State capital on Monday, described the menace of herdsmen as a major impediment to the development of agriculture in the Southwest region.

He also called for unity and brotherliness among governors and leaders in the Southwest zone, saying; “it is not our own making that we are brothers from the same zone, and if we are serious about developing this zone, we have no option than to be our brothers’ keeper.

“Therefore, to move the Southwest zone forward, we must respect the political beliefs and opinions of others and we must not do anything that will undermine one another.”

The governor said the Southwest must collectively determine its place, benefits and status as Yoruba nation in the Nigerian nation, pointing out that “in the 2017 federal government budget, the Southwest is one of the least beneficiaries.

“The federal government 2017 budget is about N7 trillion and the only capital project allocated to Ekiti State is the Akure – Ado Ekiti road to which N250 million was earmarked. What can N250 million do on Akure – Ado road that is begging for reconstruction? There is even no guarantee that the N250 million budgetary provision will be made available at the end of the day. I am sure this is applicable to other states too compared to other zones.

“We must therefore ask pertinent questions. How much did the federal government allocate to irrigation, construction of dams and storage facilities to boast agriculture in the Southwest?”

The address read in full; “I welcome you specially, to this very important meeting, which is aimed at fostering unity and development in the Southwest States.

“Particularly, I appreciate my brother governors for this visit, which to me and the people of Ekiti, is historic. It is historic because the meeting is holding in my state, not minding that the last meeting was my first attendance. I appreciate you.

“I also acknowledge our collective patriotism in fostering unity and development in the Southwest States. No doubt, your sincerity at the last meeting held in Ibadan, Oyo State won me over and I am now more than ever before, committed to the integration and collaboration of the Southwest States.

“Most importantly, it is not our own making that we are brothers from the same zone, and if we are serious about developing this zone, we have no option than to be our brothers’ keeper.

“Therefore, to move the Southwest zone forward, we must respect the political beliefs and opinions of others and we must not do anything that will undermine one another.

“To me, national politics should add value to us, and not divide us.

“Americans go about fighting their political battles without undermining the collective interests of their country, and that is the kind of spirit with which we must operate if the Yoruba nation must regain its pride of place in the Nigeria nation.

“We must constantly ask ourselves; where is the Southwest in the scheme of things in Nigeria?

“This gathering must however not be about talk, talk and talk all the time. There must be affirmative actions; else, we will lose the confidence repose in us by our people. We must take decisions on what to do that will make the difference in the lives of our people in the immediate.

“With the present economic realities, it has become pertinent that the necessary political will is put behind agriculture, education,
security and physical infrastructures on the long run.
“For Instance, in the area of education, it is time for us to have a common curriculum.

“Also, we must ensure cooperation among our security chiefs, such that if a car is stolen anywhere in the region, it will be found before being taken out of the region.

“This task may appear enormous, but if we are determined and speak with one voice, as a people, it is achievable.

“However, in promoting agriculture, we must take into consideration the menace of herdsmen, which has become major impediment. The question is, how do we continue to encourage our people to embrace farming when their investments are being lost daily?

“We must therefore adopt a common strategy to curb this menace before we are consumed by hunger.

“Apart from the herdsmen, there is also need for us to use our influence to secure assistance from the federal government in the area of construction of dams for irrigation as well as storage facilities. No doubt, if we must make agriculture the mainstay of our economy, as in the time of old, it must be mechanised and we must use our reach and influence to get the federal government to do the needful in the Southwest, as being done in other zones.

“History will forever remain kind to the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo for his leadership role and developmental strides.

“He was the rallying point for the Yoruba nation because of his selflessness and sense of patriotism. We must take a cue from him.

“We must be reminded that even though the then Yoruba nation was balkanised into states, which we are privileged to lead at this time, we still remain one entity, with common language, tradition and culture. I therefore want to appeal that for this Regional Integration to achieve the desired objectives, politics must play the back role while we collectively determine our place, benefits and status as Yoruba nation in the Nigerian nation.

“For instance, in the 2017 federal government budget, the Southwest is one of the least beneficiaries.

“The federal government 2017 budget is about N7 trillion and the only capital project allocated to Ekiti State is the Akure – Ado Ekiti road to which N250 million was earmarked. What can N250 million do on Akure – Ado road that is begging for reconstruction? There is even no guarantee that the N250 million budgetary provision will be made available at the end of the day. I am sure this is applicable to other states too compared to other zones.

“We must therefore ask pertinent questions. How much did the federal government allocate to irrigation, construction of dams and storage facilities to boast........More Reads At http://www.vintageinfo.com.ng/2017/02/14/governor-fayose-hunger-will-kill-us-if-we-dont-tackle-herdsmen-attacks-collectively/

Oshokomole in as much as we condemn the act of the herdsmen

We should be careful of the kind of statements we make especially people in authority

Some miscreants will misinterprete what you say and take advantage of it

Which may lead to state of anarchy

The dummy governor of Ekiti state has spoken

xstry:
The dummy governor of Ekiti state has spoken

He kind of make sense

He should have appealed more to the authority

Also put it on record.

My own thoughts

sarrki:


He kind of make sense

He should have appealed more to the authority

Also put it on record.

My own thoughts

He did not make any sense.
He's the same person that was shielding Apostle Suleiman after the hate comments against the fulanis.