Unemployment: Lagos lawmaker proffers agriculture as panacea

By Lanre Adesanya

A Lagos lawmaker, Hon.Bisi Yusuf on Wednesday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to tackle unemployment by fostering conducive environment for agricultural practices.

Yusuf, the Chairman of the Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Public Accounts (Local) noted that the only “salvation” to current unemployment was agriculture.

According to him, greater and higher commitment is required from the government across levels to modernise farming activities,boost employment and food production.

He said: “We should take opportunity of farming to address the high rate of joblessness in this country. The world needs food and we have the advantage of good land for farming.

“I think the Federal Government should concentrate more on agricultural activities by making the environment conducive and by providing  more incentives and facilities for the youth to engage in farming.

“It not just saying it, people must be encouraged. We need more seminars for our youths to see the merits in farming for them to know that apart from office jobs, they can make fortune in agric.

“Attention should be given to agriculture to reduce unemployment drastically. It is when we are producing we can have industrial development. Agriculture is the only salvation we have.”

Yusuf who urged the Federal Government to pay serious attention to youths unemployment, described youth as ” the power engine of the society.

According to him, the youth are the potential of this country and any nation that neglects youths cannot grow and progress.

The lawmaker counselled the unemployed youths to key into every opportunity created by the government to get engaged in agriculture.

He added: “We cannot all be councilors, council chairmen, members of the state assembly, or senators and we have only one president, we need to get involved in agriculture.

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“We should change our attitude; we create artificial unemployment for ourselves by looking for white collar jobs. We should be able to see how we can develop ourselves.

“That is why I am also advocating vocational and technical training to bring ourselves out of increasing unemployment.”

The lawmaker, who commended the Federal Government’s initiative of providing vocational training for corps members, said that Nigerian youths were suffering because of educational system and curriculum.

According to him, education is just a pathfinder; a mean to an end.