Poor policy implementation hampering Nigeria’s agricultural sector – BACCIMA President

Samuel Luka, Bauchi

The President of Bauchi State Chamber of Commerce,
Industry, Mines and Agriculture (BACCIMA), Alhaji Aminu Muhammad Danmaliki has blamed poor policy implementation for the current woes of the agricultural sector in Nigeria.

Alhaji Danmaliki who is also the Proprietor of Malikiyya College of Health science and technology Bauchi, stated this when he received in audience, officials of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Bauchi on a courtesy visit in the premises of the college.

The President of the BACCIMA who expressed delight that members of the chapel are visiting him to synergize and collaborate in the areas of economic diversification apart to compliment the Journalism work, encouraged his visitors to adopt economic diversification as second alternative.

“I am delighted to hear that you have taken a serious steps to diversify, it is indeed good to diversify. If I had not diversified areas of my work maybe we wouldn’t have been sitting here. So you have taken a good decision”, he said.

“The situation as it is in Nigeria today, salary alone will not work, you have to get other means of survival. I wish you all the best in your efforts to diversify, some of you have taken into farming, which is good”, the businessman said.

“I just don’t know what is wrong with us Nigerians, federal government policies irrespective of who was in-charge are good, particularly for agriculture but the bad part of it is the implementation of those policies and that is why you should hammer on why is the implementation poorly made? the President of BACCIMA further pointed out.

According to him, the federal government have been providing money to all the CBN branches all over the states to loan out money for small scale and big time farmers but the implementation has always been the problem.

Danmaliki who said Bauchi been an agrarian state, farmers should have benefitted immensely, urged the chapel members that are interested in farming or other businesses to key into the federal government intervention with a view to diversifying their source of livelihoods.

“Those of you that are interested in farming please go to your bank and ask them about the CBN fund meant for farmers and even other businesses that you are in, the money is there and I think it will last up to two years”, he said.

While noting that the BACCIMA has came out with a policy to enlighten the public about the federal government intervention, Danmaliki urged journalists to help in enlightenment effort to enable more people to benefit.

“Tell them that it is readily available for them there and the conditions are not that stiff, the highest condition is associated with the amount of money you want to borrow, if you are to borrow a billion I know they will ask of collateral but if it is a million, two million I don’t think you will not be qualified to get it and that will help you in your farms or businesses”, he said.

The BACCIMA President assured that the chamber will follow up to ensure that any member of the chapel who applied for the intervention is considered by their respective banks.

“Even before you apply we will recommend you to the banks that you are serious business people, we trust that if the loan is granted to you you will pay back as at when due and we will follow it up for you”, he further assured.

Danmaliki who said that Nigeria lacks the reason to be poor going by the abundant resources, decried that the funds are being cornered by some people.

“It’s just that the money is been cornered by the civil servants, they will say it’s politicians but it’s a kind of collaboration with the politicians, it’s the civil servants that show the loopholes to the politicians where they can dip their hands and take Public funds”, Danmaliki said.

While urging journalists to take up their responsibility to be exposing corrupt practices, the BACCIMA President called for serious investigative journalism which he said is lacking.

“There is a lot to tell about corruption, it’s still ongoing, I will want to urge you to please endeavor to investigate that which is a cog in the wheels of progress of Nigeria, expose it so that it can be fought”, he further pleaded.