By Stanley Nwanosike
A presidential aspirant, Dr Caro Nwosu, of the African Action Congress (AAC), has vowed to tackle hunger head-on if elected at the 2023 general elections.
She told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Tuesday that as president, she would ensure that no Nigerian went to bed on empty stomach.
She said her “Hunger-Free’’ national programme would be sustained by a robust and youth-friendly agricultural scheme throughout the 774 local government areas of the country.
She said robust participation in the programme by Nigerians would make food abundant, reduce current food prices and make them affordable for the poorest of the poor.
Nwosu, who for now is the only female presidential aspirant from the Southeast geopolitical zone, noted that she would make agriculture so attractive to youths that it would become the most sought-after job.
“I will encourage youths with soft loans and ensure that all genuine farmers get quality inputs such as fertilisers, improved seedlings, herbicides and agriculture extension services for free.
“My government will also assist farmers to get extensive virgin land from communities.
“We will have partnerships with major tractor manufacturing companies to establish their plants in Nigeria and provide relatively cheap tractor hiring services for those that want to be big time farmers,’’ she said.
Nwosu noted that the active engagement of youths in agriculture would lead to crime reduction.
“One of the effective ways of solving crime is to keep the active population, particularly the youths, highly engaged in what they believe will work for them.
“I sincerely believe that with effective youths’ engagement, the few remaining dissidents can be easily and effectively managed by security agencies.
“Cattle rustling, kidnapping, banditry, insurgency, internet scams and youths restiveness will be a thing of the past in the country,’’ she said.
Nwosu said her administration would also encourage science and innovation as well as people with special talents or ability to invent and fabricate machines and (software) programmes that would aid societal growth.
“I will also encourage micro and small businesses to enable them to grow and become medium and big companies,’’ she said. (NAN)
