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Why We Appointed Jonathan ‘Africa Ambassador For Agricultural Technology’ – AATF
Published
2 years agoon
By
Editor
The African Agricultural Technology Foundation, AATF, weekend, explained why former President Goodluck Jonathan was appointed ‘Africa Ambassador for Agricultural Technology’, which was based on the indelible agricultural initiatives he reeled out to take Nigeria’s agricultural sector to an enviable height with various policies, programmes and projects.
Speaking in an interactive session with agric correspondents in Abuja, the Executive Director, Dr Canisius Kanangire, made this known, and said there is still a lot to do for biotechnology to be embraced in the continent.
Kanangire said Jonathan has all it takes to motivate other African countries to embrace agricultural technologies that would change the narrative.
He said: “His Excellency, Goodluck Jonathan, one of the areas where he brought innovative ideas was agriculture, with his Agricultural Transformation Initiative of Nigeria, and he made success.
“And today when I look at how Dr. Akinwumi Adesina talks and knowing that he was his Minister of Agriculture, I cannot help it but I feel proud of that initiative, and that is why when we are selecting people to help us do something, among the names that I put on the list and started discussing with some of the board members, was the name of Jonathan Goodluck.
“So what we expect of him is that he (Jonathan) brings this voice of ours, we and yours to the highest level where our limit does not allow us to reach he can open the door of his peer, current Presidents of different countries in Africa, and tell them ‘I believe this is the way we can change our nations on the African continent’.
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He can talk to our various ministers; “You are doing policies but I tried this and I know if it can work if you don’t do this I don’t know if you will reach the result that you expect’.
“So he will talk as a high level ambassador who will talk as one who has tried his ammunition on transforming one of the biggest countries on the continent. He will talk as one who is also a scientist in this area.
“We believe that his interventions will bring our voice very high and convince many of the changes that we need and it will be an opportunity also to scale up his initiatives on the Nigeria to the whole continent, and contribute to the agricultural transformation initiative of Sub Saharan Africa, in particular, and the whole of Africa in general.”
Meanwhile, the AATF boss said biotechnology is making appreciable progress in Africa as African countries are keying into it.
“Biotechnology is one of the key areas of those technological changes that we need to bring to Africa, and it comes within a number of processes, and we need to identify the needs on the African continent from the farmers’ level and discuss it with the country where we are, which is the government authorities.
“We need to go out and scout the right technologies that we need, negotiate it so that it can be transferred to our governance, and that I would say is the niche of AATF, and we have been doing quite properly.
“Another thing is to have policies that will enable us to bring that biotechnology product to the consumers in the country and the first element has been to work with different countries, including Nigeria to improving and putting in place, the National Biosafety Laws and having the right institutions to really lead the regulatory framework on biosafety that has been done in a number of countries, not only Nigeria, and we are progressing quite well on that.
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“I would say quite well, but we would like to have it more expedited, but countries have the sovereign of being first convinced of what they are doing and I am happy with that.
“The second thing now is that we will bring the product to the country and in Nigeria, we have been successful in bringing Pod Borer Resistant (PBR) cowpea, which resists the Maruca vitrata, and it changed quite a lot in terms of productivity, and reduced a lot the number of sprays of insecticides that were applied by the farmers.
“I would say from eight or more sprays to maximum two. I think that is a real game changer economically, environmentally and health wise. With the PBR cowpea productivity is increasing and Nigeria has also released the uptake and utilisation of Tela Maize.
“Tela Maize is also insect resistant maize, which resists stem borer that is also in progress, and from the example that we achieved here, Ghana is progressing, they have already released the PBR cowpea, we are expecting quite soon to have it in the hands of the farmers.
“And we hope that Burkina Faso will come on Tela Maize. Also, biotechnology products are already planted. In South Africa, but soon we will have it in Ethiopia, in Nigeria, in Kenya and in Mozambique.
“So progress is coming up quite well on biotechnology and GMOs, and there are also projects on geno editing which are in the pipeline. So, biotechnology is coming quite well and we are learning and getting encouraged by the successes.”
However, he (Kanangire) pointed out that seed production remains a central component of shielding farmers and the value chain against the insects.
Meanwhile, he acknowledged that Nigeria is leading other African countries in policy advocacy, communication, scientific research and adapting the technology to meet the need, and added that Nigeria has been “a real big brother” on the African continent producing very good things to emulate.
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“One of the key areas is the seed production, the putting in place of seed systems, that is very critical because it is good that we the scientists and other technocrats and media people work together to bring the good message to the people and then say we need productivity. We need to be shielded against these insects, and then give us the seed and we don’t have seed that is something which can kill the organism.
“And that is why we need to work very shortly to put in place a very high quality and very effective and efficient seed system. That is what we are working on with all our partners in Nigeria, including all these authorities and the IAR that is spearheading the adoption of this technology”, he stated.
He also pointed out that the mechanisation actually is one area where Africa is not doing well, and added that AATF is keen about it, “So now, We absolutely need to mechanise.
“Mechanisation is critical to achieving food security, and prosperity through agriculture. We are encouraging it in different ways at AATF, a decade ago, and we piloted what was called the Cassava Mechanisation and Agro-processing Project, CAMAP, which was active in Nigeria, Zambia, Uganda, and Tanzania.
“Here in Nigeria, we have continued that same initiative that we started with CAMAP, we have what we call Agridrive, and it is a company which provides mechanisation services to farmers, including the smallholder farmers, who cannot buy their own tractors. And this is also to show that actually we can change the lives of many by having this type of service.”
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PHOTOS: Esama Of Benin Commissions BRC Ultramodern Lounge, Promises A Phase Lift
Published
2 hours agoon
June 29, 2025By
Editor
The Esama of Benin Kingdom, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, has promised to give a phase lift to the Benin Recreation Club (BRC) in the next 12 months.
Chief Igbinedion made the promise in Benin on Saturday when he officially visited the BRC to commission a newly remodeled ultramodern ‘Chief Go.O. Igbinedion Bustop Lounge.’
The Esama, who expressed dissatisfaction on how he met the ancient recreation club, said: “This place needs a drastic improvement. I would, therefore, like the committee to see me, and I promise 12 months from now, this place will wear a new look.”
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Chief Igbinedion, however, thanked current and past executives of the club for a job well done, and for sustaining the BRC, saying “many organisations or associations as this have gone into extinction but you have put in your best to keep this going.”
The octogenarian, who thanked the leadership and the board of trustees for the honour done on him through the naming of a lounge, also vowed not to neglect the leadership especially knowing well that he has been a founding member of the BRC.
In his remarks, Special Guest of Honour and Chief Judge of Edo State, Justice Daniel Okungbowa, while describing the BRC as the best place to relax after a stressful day, urged members of the public who are yet to join the BRC to do so.
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Earlier in his welcome speech, president of the BRC, Courage Osamuyi said the lounge was named after Chief Igbinedion in recognition of his great support for the club and his contribution to humanity.

Justice Daniel Okungbowa, Chief Judge of Edo State
The BRC president, who declared that the presence of the Esama in the BRC signifies a new dawn, said “what we are having today is just the beginning. As he has stepped into this place, greater things will start to happen.”
Osamuyi, while noting that the Esama “has been a founding member of the club over the years,” thanked Chief Igbinedion for his good work and for honouring them with his presence.

Osamuyi Courage, President of The BRC

Labour Party leader and former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s planned trip to Saint Lucia, describing it as poorly timed and lacking in sensitivity, especially amid Nigeria’s deepening economic and security challenges.
Tinubu is expected to leave Nigeria on Saturday for Saint Lucia and is also scheduled to attend the upcoming BRICS summit in Brazil.
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, Obi expressed dismay over the president’s travel, questioning the state of governance in the country.
Obi argued that Tinubu’s trip highlights a pattern of misplaced priorities by the administration, particularly at a time when citizens are grappling with widespread hunger and insecurity.
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“What I have seen and witnessed in the last two years has left me in shock about poor governance delivery and apparent channelling of energy into politics and satisfaction of the elites, while the masses in our midst are languishing in want,” Obi stated.
He lamented the toll of rising insecurity across Nigeria, pointing out the country’s deteriorating safety situation.
“In the past two years, Nigeria has lost more people to all sorts of criminality than a country that is officially at war.
“Without any twilight, Nigeria ranks among the most insecure places in the world. Nigerians are hungrier, and most people do not know where their next meal will come from,” he wrote.
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Obi said he was stunned when he learned of the President’s travel plans, especially following what he described as a recent holiday in Lagos.
“With such a gory picture of one’s country, you can imagine my bewilderment when I saw a news release from the Presidency announcing that President Bola Tinubu is departing Nigeria today for a visit to Saint Lucia in the Caribbean,” he said.
Quoting Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister, Philip J. Pierre, Obi noted that the visit comprises both official and personal segments.
“According to the Prime Minister’s announcement, ‘two of these days, June 30 and July 1, will be dedicated to an official visit, with the remainder of the trip set aside as a personal vacation,” he said.
Obi noted that he initially found the report hard to believe.
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“I told the person who drew my attention to the Caribbean story that it cannot be true and that the President is just coming back from a holiday in Lagos.
“I didn’t want to believe that anybody in the position of authority, more so the President… would contemplate a leisure trip at this time,” Obi said.
He condemned Tinubu’s failure to visit disaster-stricken areas like Minna in Niger State, where over 200 people reportedly died and hundreds remain missing due to flooding.
“This is a President going for leisure when he couldn’t visit Minna, Niger State where over two hundred lives were lost and over 700 persons still missing in a flood natural disaster,” he said.
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Obi also took issue with Tinubu’s recent trip to Benue State, claiming it was politically motivated rather than compassionate.
“The other state in crisis where over two hundred lives were murdered, the President yielded to public pressure and visited Makurdi… for what turned out to be a political jamboree than condolence as public holiday was declared and children made to line up to receive the President who couldn’t even reach the village, the scene of the brutal attack,” he said.
Drawing comparisons between Nigeria and Saint Lucia, Obi questioned the logic of prioritising a visit to the Caribbean nation over addressing pressing domestic issues.
“Makurdi is 937.4 Km², which is over 59% bigger than St Lucia, which is 617 km², and Minna is 6789 square kilometres, which is ten times bigger than St Lucia. St Lucia, with a population of 180,000, is less than half of Makurdi’s 489,839 and Minna, with 532,000 is almost three times the population of St Lucia,” the former Anambra governor said.
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He concluded his post by stressing the urgent need for leadership that is grounded in empathy and focused on addressing the suffering of ordinary Nigerians.
He said, “I don’t think the situation in this country today calls for leisure for anybody in a position of authority, more so the President, on whose desk the buck stops.
“This regime has repeatedly shown its insensitivity and lack of passion for the populace…”
Obi added, “This very obvious indifference of the federal government to the suffering of the Nigerian poor should urgently be reversed.
“One had expected the President to be asking God for extra hours in a day for the challenges, but what we see is a concentration of efforts in the 2027 election and on satisfying the wealthy while the mass poor continues to multiply in number.”
News
World Bank Lists Nigeria Among 39 Nations Facing Rising Poverty, Hunger
Published
5 hours agoon
June 28, 2025By
Editor
The World Bank has listed Nigeria among 39 countries where poverty and hunger are deepening as a result of conflict and instability.
In a report released on Friday, the bank said the economies, a mix of low- and middle-income countries, span all global regions. Among them are Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, Sudan, Ukraine, and Zimbabwe.
The report, which assesses the economic impact of conflict and fragility in the post-COVID-19 era, revealed that 21 of the 39 countries are experiencing active conflict.
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According to the findings, extreme poverty is rising more rapidly in these countries, taking a severe toll on economic development, worsening hunger, and derailing progress toward key development goals.
Since 2020, the report noted, the average per capita GDP of these economies has declined by 1.8 per cent annually, in contrast to a 2.9 per cent growth rate recorded in other developing countries.
The report partly reads: “This year, 421 million people are struggling on less than $3 a day in economies afflicted by conflict or instability—more than in the rest of the world combined.
“That number is projected to rise to 435 million, or nearly 60% of the world’s extreme poor, by 2030.”
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