Governor Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi State says the state agricultural revolution under his watch was partly attributable to an experience he had at a Fulani community during Ramadan.
The governor narrated the experience on Saturday in Oro, Kwara, at the 12th Annual Ramadan Lecture hosted by Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture.
Bagudu, who was a Special Guest of Honour at the lecture, recalled that in 2015, before he assumed office as governor, the state experienced windstorm that affected crops and food production.
He recalled that Ramadan started two days after he took the Oath of Office in 2015 and he had a chagrin experience that triggered his resolve to focus on food production.
Specifically, he said two days into the Ramadan period he passed through a Fulani settlement in the state at about 6 p.m and discovered that there was no smoke, signifying no evidence of cooking to break the fast for the day.
The governor said his further investigation revealed that the community had no food to eat which was very worrisome to him.
Bagudu said he realised a sense of urgency to liberate the people from hunger and place the state on fast lane of food production.
He noted that Kebbi is known today as a rice farming and milling haven while he is the Vice Chairman of National Food Security Council.
Bagudu identified malnutrition, hunger, diseases, obesity and diabetes as faetures of food crisis and urged leadership at all levels to key into the federal government food production chain.
The governor noted that Ramadan is related to food, because it is a period to ignite passion and for faithfuls to be mindful about others who have no means to feed.
He called for more resources to be made available to agriculture sector and urged Nigerians to key into the national synergy on food production.
The governor commended Mohammed for organising and sustaining the Ramadan lecture.
He also commended the Oro community for religious tolerance, stressing that he was glad to know that the event was attended by both Muslim and Christian faithfuls.
Speaking in the same vein, the Minister of Communication, Mr Adebayo Shittu, said Islam is knowledge based and the lecture was appropriate to educate faithfuls on religious practices at Ramadan.
While congratulating his counterpart for hosting the lecture, Shittu urged that it should not be limited to Ramadan period. (NAN)
