President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, yesterday advocated the review of federal government’s agricultural policies to pave way for economic viability in the country.
The richest man in Africa, who spoke at a forum organised by Kano Concerned Citizens Initiative (KCCI) held at Bayero University, Kano (BUK), specifically wants an overhaul of policies on agriculture to provide enabling environment for job creation.
Urging the federal government to intensify efforts on power generation, the business mogul lamented that most industries collapsed due to inadequate power supply.
Although Dangote explained that government alone could not provide job for all the citizens, he insisted that “the responsibility of creating an enabling environment for self-employment rests on the government.”
Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, who equally regretted the poor socio-economic condition in Kano, however, challenged Dangote and the chairman of Bua Group of Companies, Abdulsamad Isiyaka-Rabiu, to contribute their wealth for economic development of the state. Sanusi further attributed the high rate of drug abuse and other criminal activities in the state to the high cases of divorce and poverty.
The Dean of Dangote Business School in BUK, Prof. Murtala Sagagi, had earlier said that “Kano harbours over four million jobless youths” due to lack of development agenda.
According to him, the inability of politicians, business communities, academia and other relevant stakeholders to devise strategies for economic development and prosperity of the state also contributed.
Sagagi lamented that over 500 industries were shut down in Kano due to lack of consensus for development and effective implementation of government’s policies.Despite the efforts of the state government to revamp the agriculture, the don said, more needs to be done to revitalise the sector through comprehensive transformation of farming.
SOURCE: guardian.ng