Recently, President Bola Tinubu appointed board members into some Federal Government organisations across the country. The appointments include that of the Director-General of the National Agricultural Seed Council, Sheda; as well as Board Chairmen of the Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute, Ilorin; and Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service, Abuja.
Others are the Federal College of Fisheries and Marine Technology, Lagos; National Institute for Freshwater Fisheries Research, New Bussa; Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan; Federal College of Agriculture, Akure; Federal College of Produce Inspection and Stored Products Technology, Kano; and Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology, Ibadan, among others.
The role of the boards is to provide leadership and oversight to these organisations. Other include strategic direction, overseeing the implementation of policies and programmes, ensuring effective execution and monitoring of progress.
They also ensure good governance practices, including transparency, accountability, and compliance with regulatory requirements. They provide guidance and advice to the management team, helping to inform decision-making and drive growth.
The board chairmen represent their agencies at national and international fora, promoting Nigeria’s interests and showcasing the agency’s work. These agencies play critical roles in driving economic growth, improving infrastructure, and promoting social development. These appointments, therefore, aim to strengthen Nigeria’s agriculture sector, enhancing food security, economic growth and boost food security through several initiatives.
Today, the picture is not encouraging for prosperous farming. The World Bank has stated that 129 million Nigerians already live below the poverty line.
The 2024 World Bank Food Security Update Report has revealed that the number of people facing acute food shortage in Nigeria increased by 28% in 2023 alone, while the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations disclosed that over 31.1 million Nigerians may face the risk of acute food insecurity in 2025. Food is very expensive, and many Nigerians can no longer afford basic staples to live decently. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024 Report informed that 172 million Nigerians or 78.7% of the population cannot afford a healthy diet.
This is largely because Nigeria’s agriculture sector remains underfunded, with budgetary allocations falling short of the 10% target set by the 2003 Maputo Declaration. This newspaper strongly agrees that one of the major factors for the success or otherwise of any administration is mostly determined by the set of people that lead them.
Hence, board members, occupying the topmost echelon of power, should be competent, understand their duties and objectives of their organisations, serve diligently, and creditably.
Some critics argue that certain appointees may not possess the necessary skills or experience for their roles, potentially impacting the effectiveness of their respective agencies. We affirm that appointing quacks or unqualified persons is like giving a trader an equipment to carry out a surgery.
Effective and efficient administering the public service require people that have vast experiences, bureaucratic skills, ability to work under pressure, and without any attachment to parochial considerations that are antithetical to national development such as politics, religion, and ethnicity.
Therefore, the appointees and the Bola Tinubu administration should prove critics wrong that those already appointed – who are mostly politicians in his ruling party – would serve the nation meritoriously by ensuring that agriculture takes its pride of place and that the much-desired goal of attaining food security truly becomes a reality.
