The governorship candidate of the Young People’s Party (YPP) in Kwara State, North Central Nigeria, Alhaji Yakubu Gobir, the Waziri Kasar Hausa says the major concern of his administration when elected will be poverty reduction and creation of job opportunities through agriculture.
The YPP flag bearer said that his development agenda would target the youth population, which he described as half of the total population in the state.
Alhaji Waziri Gobir, who said that only 10 percent of the population are in the state’s civil service, said that his administration would encourage job creation through the mechanized agricultural revolution, especially among the youth, to reduce prevalent poverty in the state.
The YPP governorship candidate who is a pharmacist by training, criticised the present government in the state over infrastructure development, lamenting that “what’s the benefit of a visual centre, or esoteric bridge, when the food basket areas of the state are not accessible?”
“Kwara state is one of the largest producers of soya beans in the country. The soil is good for its cultivation. Soya bean, a category and a Product in the “Zero Oil Plan” of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) trades over $100 billion and Nigeria’s target share of the market is 5% amounting to $5 billion.
“We need to create wealth through agriculture. Most communities where farming is taking place are not accessible. There is no good roads, school or health facilities that could make living comfortable for the inhabitants and discourage rural urban migration.
“We need to attract both local and foreign investment in agriculture to our state to improve the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR) and socioeconomic development of the state. It’s high time the state moved from subsistence farming to mechanized agricultural revolution to help the populace”.
The governorship candidate, who promised to make judicious use of the common wealth of the people, said that a government only needed to borrow to invest and not for consumption.
Alhaji Gobir who is also the Madawaki of Ilorin Emirate, said his chances are in the hands of God and the electorate, adding that people should not make mistake of electing bad leaders like in the past.
“Mistake made in the past can be corrected now. This is the opportunity. This time around, it’s not about the party, but the personality that is credible enough and trusted People should look at attributes of each of the candidates to make the right choice.” He said.
The governorship candidate speaking on the prevalent security challenge in the state, said that traditional rulership, vigilance groups and community leadership in various communities should be utilized to complement with formal security system to address the development.
Alhaji Gobir, a Philanthropist and Entrepreneur is the Chairman of the Gobir Organization Foundation, a foundation committed to improving the quality of lives of the people.
Olusola Akintonde
