COVID-19: AFAN leader says farmers’ restriction is a threat to food security

• Identify Architect Kabir as leader

Nigerian farmers have expressed dissatisfaction over the Presidential speech that did not include its members among the professionals that are allowed to move about for their roles in food production, saying this was an invitation to food insecurity.
The chairman, All Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (AFAN) Otunba Dr. Femi Oke said this in an exclusive interview with Food Farm News yesterday, just as he debunked the leadership of Mr. Farouk Rabi’u Mubi as new leader of the association.

Otunba Oke speaking on behalf of AFAN especially in the South West Region said the role of farmers in the fulfillment of food security to the country, and the world in general was too strategic not be recognized by way of giving them permit to freely go about their food production exercises, considering the present crops planting season, and even in livestock where thousands of birds have to be vaccinated and fed with feeds every day.

President Buhari in his speech on COVID-19 has officially restricted movement in FCT, Lagos and Ogun with exclusion to workers in the hospitals and all other related medical establishments as well as organizations in the health care related in the manufacturing and distribution. Others are food processing, distribution and retail companies, petroleum distribution and retail entities, power generation, transmission and distribution companies, and as well as private security companies.

While commended the Federal and states Governments efforts towards the prevention and containment of the Corona virus, the AFAN leader wanted farmers’ inclusion in the exception list of President Mohammadu Buhari, stressed that the exclusion is an invitation to future food insecurity as farmers would be denied to make preparation for the next planting season while poultry farmers also are not allowed to take care of their birds as their movement are restricted.

According to him ‘’ this is the period most people needed food and we need to provide food for the nation and the entire world. In the speech of Mr. President we still want him to include farmers’ movement. We want the Government to take into cognizant the important role of farmers in the fight against COVID-19 as there is no how people can feed themselves without farmers. This is what we are asking, farmers must be allowed to move about to be able to do their farming business like this period of land preparation for rainy season planting. If we fail now in this planting preparation exercise, then we are already inviting food shortage and food insecurity for the nation’’

The Lagos AFAN chairman posited that farmers that have means of proof should be allowed to go about their jobs saying ‘’ the movement of farmers should be included in the list especially for those that have the proof of identity as farmer from the Apex Association should be given priority to go about to plant in order to feed the nation and the world’’

On AFAN leadership, Oke punctured the Farouk Rabi’u Mudi grandstanding as National leader, saying he should state to the world the process that brought him as National President of the Association, adding that until another election in process is conducted nobody except Architect Kabir Ibrahim is recognized as the AFAN leader.

According to him ‘’ AFAN is a legitimate body that even if we did not conduct a timely election should not be an excuse for somebody who failed chairmanship election in his state to be parading himself as national President. That should not be, so AFAN is still under the leadership of Architect kabir and that is what made us visit the Senate Chairman on Agriculture, Senator Adamu, the immediate past President of AFAN who told us that what Admiral Nyako has done after his consultation with him was wrong and misleading. The leadership care taker that was formed by Nyako under farouk is not legitimate. Our election is on course now for national body. If is ready to take the leadership of AFAN, let him come on board. What we are seeing in him is that he lost to the present AFAN chairman in Kano at 3 to 200, and is now clamouring to be the President. That is void, we cannot agree with that. AFAN is still intact under the leadership of Architect Kabir, I rest my case’’