Now that the APC has got its primaries out of the way, can the party please put together a manifesto committee to draw up an animal husbandry policy that looks something like this

Ayo Akinfe

[1] As part of this national animal husbandry debate, we will be giving top priority to the opening of animal feed compounding plants across Nigeria

[2] Something like monkey yam which is not really suited to human consumption shall be cultivated exclusively for animal feed

[3] We look at the Fulani herdsmen saga and see it the way Radar development was viewed in the UK. In the run-up to World War Two, the British knew a German attack was imminent so they developed a Radar system to provide early warnings of attacks from Luftwaffe bombers

[4] Looking at how British Radar development has since taken off, opening up unprecedented opportunities in the telecommunications industry, we will do likewise with animal husbandry. This will be a classic case of turning adversity into opportunity

[5] We will get the governors of Niger, Borno, Taraba, Yobe, Bauchi and Kaduna states to woo investors to open mega animal feed compounding planes within their domains. These plants will not only furnish local mega ranches but also produce an excess for export.

[6] Globally, the animal feed industry is worth about $93bn annually? Tiny Netherlands with its population of just 17.5m and a landmass of just 41,865 square kilometres generates about $2.3bn annually from the export of animal feed products yet Nigeria with 220m people and an area of 923,769 square kilometres does not generate one dollar from it

[7] We will replace crude oil as our major export earner by expanding the production and processing of primary products in all 36 states of the federation. Everyone is waiting for the president of the country to solve all our economic woes, which is never going to happen

[8] We have a weak private sector, a populace awaiting divine intervention, billions of dollars of uninvested religious finance which clergymen are sitting on, some 10.5m kids out of school, sycophancy reigning supreme, a nation awash with arms and a distorted manner of thinking whereby everyone wants to get rich quickly. As a party, we will address this after the next election

[9] Nigeria’s 2027 elections will be about economic diversification. By 2031, crude oil will not account for more than 30% of federal government revenue

[10] Also, given that Nigeria is the world’s number one producer of these 10 crops, we will put together an agricultural policy that will expand on their output:

[1] Yam - 47.9m tonnes

[2] Cassava - 59m tonnes

[3] Kolanuts - 140,000 tonnes

[4] Shea nuts - 303,000 tonnes

[5] Melon seeds - 606,000 tonnes

[6] Bitter Leaf - No production figures available although Nigeria is believed to account for about 50% of global output

[7] Cocoyam - 5.38m tonnes

[8] Air potato vine (monkey yam) - No production figures available although Nigeria is believed to be the world's largest producer

[9] Bitter kola - 150,000 tonnes

[10] Cow peas (brown beans) - 3.7m tonnes

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