Agaju Madugba, Katsina
The people of Daura, President Muhammadu Buhari’s hometown in Katsina State, have said that they are dying of hunger.
They were also of the opinion that their son’s headship of the Federal Government has not brought any meaningful development to the area.
The Emir of Daura, Alhaji Umar Farouk Umar, who spoke on behalf of his people in his palace yesterday, told the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh:“please tell the Federal Government to give us food and loans.
We are hungry.”
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The minister was in Daura to flag-off the rehabilitation of an “erosion-prone” road linking Daura to Tambu-Makasauro Village of Daura Local Government Area of the state.
The road rehabilitation project is being executed by the Federal Government in collaboration with the International Fund for a agricultural Development (IFAD).
The Emir lamented that Buhari could not initiate any projects for his people, “because of his nature as a Fulani,”
He urged the minister and other government appointees to act on behalf of the president.
“If the ministers and other government appointees fail in this regard, that means they have betrayed the president because we are not getting enough.
It is the duty of the ministers to bring development to us in this administration since they have benefited from the government.”
He noted that Daura and Katsina in general have prospects for rice production if government embarks on the development of the various dams and irrigation sites in the areas.
“I urge you to go back, look inwards, and search for how you can assist the people of Daura which is faced with absence of projects for its development and its people are hungry and need Federal Government’s assistance,” the Emir said.
Ogbeh had earlier told the Emir that government was in the process of establishing a tomatoes processing facility which will create some 6,000 job prospects for farmers in the area.
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Flagging-off the rehabilitation of the road project, the minister described it as one of IFAD-assisted programmes in Nigeria which is implemented in seven states of the Savannah Belt of the country.
“The programme’s overall development goal s include reducing rural poverty, increasing food security, accelerating sustainable economic growth and reducing vulnerability for smallholder farmers, particularly women and young people.
“What we are witnessing today is part of a series of inter-related interventions of rural infrastructure build-up across the country under the present administration.”