The federal government has trained 200 maize farmers in Kogi state on the use of herbicide to control weeds in their farms for better yield.
The Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, said during the training in Lokoja that the participants would be given knap sprayer each at no cost after the training so that they will be able to use it to control pests and weeds on their farms.
Akinwumi, who was represented by the Director Federal Ministry of Agriculture in the state, Dare Arotiba, said the ministry would also distribute 5000 maize storage bags to farmers across the 21 local government areas of the state to store their produce and prevent them from being destroyed by pests.
He said government has discovered that pests, diseases and storage are the major problems facing farmers in the country, saying that with the distribution of sprayer and storage bags, they will be able to overcome the problems and have their products stored for a long time.
Earlier, the consultant to the maize value chain of the Agricultural transformation agenda of the federal government, Dr. Joseph Moroti Fajemnin, said the training was to empower youth farmers to produce maize in a modern way without much hazards and stress.
He added that weed control is a major aspect of maize production and that they were trying to move away from the traditional hoe weeding method to the use of herbicide.
It is very enriching to hear to that we still have Governors that put the interest of their people first place. That Kogi state had a Governor that exhibited traits of contentment ought to have been huge blessing for the state. Nevertheless, the truth about Nigerian politics is that most of those who claim to be party loyalists believe that they deserve to be financially rewarded by elected officers like Governors. This down side of politics, I guess was what really affected Wada’s political strength and followership not necessarily the amount of work undone but inability to play the role of the infamous ‘Ali Baba’ by not stealing and sharing his loot. I hope Kogi politicians should have a rethink of what common good really means and the need to permit good governance with a leader that can be trusted.
Yes, Idris Wada may not have stolen or misused the little resources of Kogi State but he was too quiet and gentlemanly for Nigerian politics which requires much more than just working.
Ex governor Idris Wada may not have met the expectations of some persons in his first term in office because of many reasons but what seemed obvious was that he did not have adequate political skills like loud mouth to propagandize his programmes. Even when he was engaged in constructing drainages in most sections of the State capital, his team failed to explain that it was noble to do such to avoid the incessant collapse roads. However, as the number one citizen of Kogi state, he must carry the blames. On the other hand, it is fair to acknowledge that given the focused attitude he displayed as a leader, he stands excused and would have improved if he had stayed back in office.
PDP’s internal wrangling was not only a major distraction for Idris Wada but source of great frustration in the initial years of his governance. The Author of this article cannot deny knowledge of this important point. Nevertheless, a close look at the Wada’s administration would show that he did so much in fixing the many wrongs of the past including insecurity and maginalization of some sections of the State in terms of development.
Kogi politics is really in a messy and pitiable situation. With the recent many deaths of its highly rated politicians coupled with the distasteful inconclusive election courtesy of INEC, democracy in Kogi State is actually a muddled activity that needs redemption. Idris Wada’s vital characteristics cannot be dismissed as vital elements that would be necessary in reforming Kogi State.
There is really no doubt about Wada’s good efforts and work done with very scarce resources. The truth is that Kogi state has competing needs for its lean financial revenue especially when one takes into consideration that Wada had many obvious challenges including confronting the natural flood disaster which occurred in his period of governance. That flood issue had the potency to cause so much damage to the residents and indigenes of the State if Wada had not taken prompt steps to spend the state resources in building the long distant embankment by the over flowing River banks, a burden which ought to have been shared with the global community.
The fact is that it will be difficult for most people that run Wada down on the basis of non performance to produce evidence to support their claims viz a viz utilization state’s revenue.
Even though resistance to a Wada’s comeback still runs deep but from every good logic, he appears to be the best Governor Kogi has produced.