Kyari gave the assurance in his response to the remarks by the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) who led some members of his management team into a meeting with the minister and top officials of the ministry in Abuja on Thursday 14th August 2025.

Marwa had told the minister that the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu had food security and national security as part of its focus, adding that “we really cannot tackle national security without adequate attention to drug control because they are interlinked.”

He said the visit was to seek collaboration between NDLEA and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security as part of ongoing efforts to surmount the challenge of drug scourge facing the country.

He noted that out of the 14.3 million drug users in Nigeria, 10.6 million of them abuse cannabis alone, making the psychoactive substance the most commonly abused in the country.

“As you know, cannabis is not only smoked, it is also eaten. They make soup with it. They mix it with hot drinks to produce monkey tail. They take it in all kinds of forms. Every week, we make arrests. And still, they keep at it, because there’s so much money in the business. And so, we sat down and reflected and felt that there’s a more permanent solution to this, especially with the growers of cannabis.

READ ALSO: Ota Trade Fair: Sona Group restates commitment to food security

“So, we have decided to create another platform called Alternative Development, which seeks to persuade cannabis growers to change from growing cannabis, which is illicit to something legitimate and licit. This will give them at least a legitimate source of income. They will be able to sleep with their two eyes closed. Instead of always in fear of arrest by NDLEA, they will live respectable lives with their families and their communities.

“The Alternative Development project has secured the buy-in of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs and they are willing to encourage us. But for us to tell cannabis growers, please, don’t grow cannabis, grow something else there has to be incentives for them to agree. I’ve actually had a meeting with some cannabis growers and discussed this idea with them. The fact that they agreed to come and meet me without the fear that they are being tricked so that we arrest them, was a positive sign. And we sat and had an engagement and I’ve also sent a delegation to their communities.

“This is where we need the support of the ministry to give them some inputs, seedlings, tractors, water, fertilizers, chemicals, and others. So, we looked at the possibility of getting them to grow food crops including artemisia annua plant that can fetch the country $100 billion annually. They call it sweet wormwood. The derivative is used for the treatment of malaria. We consulted with IITA, they actually confirmed that they have grown samples across the country. They have done some trials. And it seems to have a very positive outlook.

“With a $100 billion possible income to the country, if this is fully tapped, we’ll suggest that this is probably one of the areas of pharmaceutical crops that would be given to these cannabis growers to farm in addition to other licit crops.”

He said the other area of collaboration was the assimilation of persons coming out of NDLEA rehab facilities into agricultural programmes and projects that will give them livelihood and prevent them from relapse.

“Now, when our children, come to us for treatment and rehabilitation, because of drugs, we treat them, and they become normal people, responsible, after the treatment. Then you throw them back again into the same environment where they got into drug abuse, they will relapse.

“So, we thought that within the scheme of this esteemed ministry, if you can assist us so that at the end of their rehabilitation they can be assimilated into some of your agricultural programmes with whatever incentives go with them so that they can be gainfully engaged.”

In his response, the minister agreed that there is a direct correlation between drug abuse and other forms of criminality, noting that if nothing is done urgently by all stakeholders the country may be breeding criminals instead of the next generation of leaders.

“So, we should join hands and this is the collaborative effort that President Tinubu has already mandated us to do in terms of not only achieving food security, employment, job creation, but improvement of livelihood, inclusivity of youth and women in agriculture, access to capital and credit, and so on and so forth.

“I would like to express our commitment to this alternative development initiative. Then, on the issue of your rehab centres, we will work with you so that those being treated can get some livelihood support in terms of tools and other things. We’re willing to partner with you on the excellent work that you’re doing”, the minister assured.

The meeting agreed to set up a technical committee that will work on the details of the collaboration.

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He said the warning became necessary because Yoruba, as far as politics was concerned, did not go in the same direction.

Obasanjo gave the warning on Saturday during the conferment chieftaincy titles on the Director-General of International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, IITA, Dr Nteranya Sanginga, for his dedication to agriculture, food and nutrition security in Africa, by the Ooni.

Sanginga, a Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, national and his wife were honoured with Aare and Yeye Aare Afurugbin-Ola of the Source respectively.

The event was held at the palace of the Ooni, Ile Ife, Osun State.

Speaking at the event, Obasanjo said it was necessary for Ooni to strike a balance between his role as a royal father and politics in Yoruba land.

His words: “Anyone of them who says that he is interested in politics, just pray for him and let him go. Anyone who approaches you and says that he wants to be president or governor, just pray for such a person and let him go.

“Don’t direct Yoruba people to support any aspirant, as we don’t all go to in the same direction, which is part of our strength in Yoruba land.”

He added:  “All the sons and daughters of Yoruba land, no matter where they are or their standpoint, will come to meet you. This is expected because you are the father of all.”

He reminded Ooni that as far as politics was concerned, even in the pre-independence era, the Yoruba usually had two strong sides.

“Please, don’t let politicians add to your burden,” he warned.

Speaking on the conferment of chieftaincy titles on Sanginga and his wife, Obasanjo applauded IITA director-general for his dedication to agriculture, food and nutrition security in Africa.

The former president who said that the chieftaincy conferment was in recognition of the director-general’s passion for the development of agriculture in Africa, urged Sanginga to see the honour as a challenge to do more for the continent.

Obasanjo, who is IITA ambassador, commended Oba Ogunwusi for the choice of Sanginga and his wife for the chieftaincy titles, saying that they were both worthy of the honour.

“I commend your imperial majesty for the bold step taken to honour this distinguished African who has dedicated his life to agriculture, food security and nutrition in Africa.

“I want to assure you these new chiefs will not disappoint you; that they will not disappoint Ife indigenes and the entire Yoruba race.

“I know and I am sure that they will live up to the honour that you have bestowed on them,” he said.

Speaking at the occasion, Oba Ogunwusi appreciated the IITA director-general’s passion for agricultural development in Africa.

According to him, in spite of the balkanisation of Africa by the Europeans, Africans will continue to remain one and indivisible.

“I’m impressed with your modest achievements as a true son of Africa. You have been doing all within your capacity to ensure food sufficiency in the continent.

“All through the years, you have developed passion for agriculture and the results are feasible everywhere,” the traditional ruler said.

In his acceptance speech, Sanginga applauded Ooni for the fatherly role he had been playing, not only in Yoruba land, but all over the country.

He also commended Oba Ogunwusi for counting him and his wife worthy of the honour, pledging that he would continue to support him in all ways.

Dignitaries present at the occasion included the Deputy Governor of Osun, Mr Benedict Alabi; former Governor Rashidi Ladoja of Oyo State and Secretary to Osun Government, Prince Wole Oyebamiji.

Others were the Iyalaje Oodua, Princess Toyin Kolade, members of staff of IITA and a host of other prominent individuals.

Source: NAN

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Obaniyi made this assertion when he spoke on ‘Agric-business opportunities along value chain’ to the 2021 Batch ‘B’ Stream II) corps members at the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, Orientation Camp, Ikare Akoko.

He said that for the country to ‘remain green with envy’, everyone must go back to farming which according to him, technology had made easy.

“Gentlemen corps members, paid employment or investment in various sectors of economy is profitable but if you really want to be at the top and remain relevant, any sector in the agric world is the best place to be.

“The world population is growing in leaps and bounds on daily basis and everyone must eat. This is an indication that whatever you become in life whether your are Engineers, Doctors, Communicators, Scientist, Teachers, Footballers, Captains of Industries and career Public Servants, you must eat good food every blessed day.”

The representative of the agriculture research institute said that opportunities abound in the value chain, starting with land preparation and cultivation, planting and farm management, harvesting, processing, marketing and so on till it gets to the end user.

“The world has gone digital and with the technology that has been made available by scientists, researchers, technologists, engineers and the allied professionals, the era of hoe and cutlass is gone for good.

“You don’t need background in any of the branches of agriculture before you can venture into either small, medium or large scale farming as agric-business opportunities have made things easy and you will never be caught napping or unprepared.”

He announced that IITA, in partnership with NYSC was training corps members in various fields how they could embrace the value chain in the agric-business to boost food production for local consumption as well as export finished products to enhance foreign exchange earning.

Obaniyi, who is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering said that graduate youths mobilised for national service had what it took to revolutionise the agricultural sector for optimal economic performance.

“Your various academic qualifications have placed you in a vantage position to come out successful in whatever you lay your hands on during and after the service year, and with the encouragement by way of training you are now receiving courtesy of collaboration between NYSC and IITA, the country would be better for it.”

He hinted that the collaboration included but not limited to training, consultancy services, marketing and implements and machinery support, and pleaded with the corps members not to allow the opportunity to slip out of their hands.

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A staff of the institute, Mr. John Obaniyi, made the declaration in his lecture to the 2021 Batch ‘A’ (Stream 1) corps members at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Ikare-Akoko, Ondo State.

He asserted that the best and only credible alternative that would make youths to be fully integrated and empowered was active involvement in agriculture.

In a lecture titled Empowering Nobel Agribusiness Led Employment and Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation, ENABLE-TAAT, the agricultural entrepreneur disclosed that the traditional ways of farming could longer sustain the needed revolution in the agricultural sector.

While demonstrating the modern and technological ways agriculture and post-harvest marketing should be handled, he said those who were coming into agriculture should be passionate, committed and not expect quick returns on investment.

“It takes a lot of perseverance and commitment before you can smile to the banks. There are so many factors that you need to put into consideration and this is why TAAT has come to sensitise you on the best approach to adopt.

“ENABLE-TAAT project is one of the 15 compacts comprising the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation, TAAT, programme funded by the African Development Bank, AfDB, and led by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, IITA, through its youth in agricbusiness initiative.”

According to him, the overall purpose of ENABLE-TAAT is “to assist in the promotion of TAAT’s key agricultural technologies, operate technology and innovation centres for young people on specific value chains, and to stimulate youth-led agricbusiness start-up in support of TAAT’s nine priority commodity chains.”

His words: “the programme will expand agricbusiness opportunities, provide agricbusiness support, improve human nutrition and advance youth empowerment mechanisms.”

Mr. Obaniyi opined that if Agricbusiness Park was established, it would motivate many people to embracing agriculture especially in Nigeria.

He assured members of the service corps that TAAT would soon be in Ondo State to provide professional and ancillary services to everyone and added that the organisation focused on nine commodities which he said were beans, maize, sorghum, millet, rice, wheat, cassava, sweet potato and poultry.

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The IITA Director-General, Dr Nteranya Sanginga, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Ibadan on Monday.

He said while Nigeria continued to adhere to the recommendations of  the World Health Organisation in fighting COVID -19, it should also ensure that agrifood systems continued functioning.

Sanginga enjoined governments to have a plan in place for ensuring food and nutrition security.

“Let farmers farm, traders trade, input dealers deal, and sellers sell; implement social distancing and improve hygiene measures along the value chain but keep domestic and international food markets working,” he said.

Sanginga also advised government to continue to invest in agricultural research delivery to ensure that agriculture emerged a major sustainable driver of economic and social development in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.

According to him, IITA’s research products in the 50 years of working with governments and national system partners in sub-Saharan Africa showed that agriculture could be a profitable business that would help ensure food security and health of Africans.

“Impacts of research include higher yields of important food crops and staples, continuous supply of good quality planting materials and seeds, less losses due to pests and diseases on crops, better soil health as a result of practising good agricultural practices, among others,” he said.

He added that government could work with organisations such as IITA to ensure that food production and the operation of food value chains were facilitated, safeguarded and even strengthened under crises conditions such as now.

The director general urged the people to always eat a balanced meal with carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals as well as keep healthy, especially at a time of lockdown to avoid weakening the immune system.

“COVID -19 strikes a person’s immune system, so everyone needs to eat right and make sure that the body is healthy and strong.

”Nutrition and good health are interlinked, where possible people should eat vegetables and ensure a varied meal plan.

“Everyone should also adhere to recommendations as provided by WHO and NCDC such as frequent hand washing and physical and social distancing and avoiding large crowds to stop the spread of the virus,” Sanginga said.

Without a pandemic like COVID -19, he said Africa was already a food and nutrition insecure continent while a pandemic could increase the risk of hunger.

He added that preventive measures such as lockdowns and reduced international travel had made the situation worse as food could not be moved easily from place to place.

Sanginga emphasised that the immediate effect of COVID-19 on the continent would  be increased food prices.

“In the long term, we shall experience failed harvests if nothing is done to avert the situation.

“Seed, fertilisers and herbicides need to be transported to areas where they are needed; if they do not reach the farmers on time, we shall experience poor harvests which will lead to higher food prices.

“From the human perspective, when people’s health is weakened, there is an obvious effect on deployed labour, if farmers and their families contract COVID-19, this will automatically affect food production,” he said.

IITA, he said, had ensured that research activities continued while still adhering to the host country’s government directives in relation to controlling the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Following guidelines from the Nigerian government, IITA headquarters in Ibadan instituted a partial lockdown on March 30, 2020.

“During the partial lockdown, the institute continued to operate on a skeletal schedule, ensuring that ongoing research does not grind to a halt.

“In all other countries where IITA operates, partial or complete lockdowns were instituted per the host government directives,’’ he said.

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He made the observation during the unveiling of a 10.5km ring road named after the Governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi, by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and the institute’s Agricultural Transformation Building, in Ibadan, on Saturday.

The ex-President said that the country had enough policies on paper capable of transforming its agriculture sector to one of the most productive in the world, but for lack of proper implementation.

Obasanjo commended the efforts of the IITA in agricultural research development in Africa, urging the institute not to rest on its laurels.

He also eulogized the governor for supporting IITA through the construction of a perimeter fence within the sprawling complex, which he said was a demonstration of his administration’s support for agricultural development.

Decrying what he called the huge gap between research institutions and the smallholder farmers in the country, Obasanjo called for the extension of the benefits of innovations and research breakthroughs to the ordinary farmers.

This, he said, was the only way the existing gap could be closed in order to ensure total agricultural transformation.

In his remarks, Ajimobi said that his support for IITA was in furtherance of his administration’s transformation of the agric sector.

The governor also acknowledged the contributions of the institution to the state’s agricultural development and the successful implementation of its various policies formulated to enhance the growth of the sector.

Ajimobi disclosed that the state had comparative advantage of a wide arable landmass, concentration of research institutes in Ibadan, clement weather, agric-friendly policies of the state and vast population.

In addition to these, he said that the pervading peace and security in the state made it the best place to invest and promote agriculture.

Earlier, the Director-General of IITA, Dr. Nteranya Sanginga, said that the rejuvenation of IITA facilities in the country was crucial to the institute’s sustained efforts to transform agriculture in the continent of Africa.

He said that the institute was excited with the exemplary gesture of the state government in supporting infrastructure in an international agricultural research center.

Sanginga said that the naming of a road after Ajimobi was one of the ways to show the depth of the gratitude of the management of IITA to the governor for his uncommon assistance.

The DG said that the newly constructed agricultural transformation building would accelerate the pace of research and accommodate the critical human and material resource needed to bring transformation to the agricultural sector.

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