Former Nigeria Economic Adviser Prof. Ode Ojowu has called for an end to what he described as “overdependence on the World Bank and other international financial agencies by the Federal Government to settle economic issues.”
Ojowu, who spoke yesterday (Thursday, November 7) in Makurdi at the 10th anniversary celebration of the Benue State University Centre for Food Technology and Research (CEFTER), said overreliance on grants or loans from the World Bank, which would eventually be paid back, is poor economic planning.
According to him, the Federal Government should resort to promoting, encouraging, and partnering local entrepreneurship as well as centres like CEFTER to boost food security in the country.
“The tension and anxieties in the country are based on food. Food inflation is a driver of the economy. CEFTER stands to resolve this challenge faced by many families.
“I urge the federal and state governments to collaborate with the centre to sustain food sufficiency and security.
“By 2025, when the sponsoring World Bank withdraws, it behoves on the federal and state governments to ensure sustenance of the programme,” he said.
The Vice Chancellor, Benue State University (BSU) Makurdi, Prof. Tor Iorapuu, announced that the institution would commence an agricultural faculty as a way of sustaining the achievements recorded by CEFTER.
Iorapuu said the CEFTER project has become a global program with over 30 foreign students from over 10 countries benefiting.
The VC said most of the foreign students were from the West and Central African Region and were studying different programs at the postgraduate level in the university.
He attributed the successes achieved by the centre to the World Bank intervention.
The Chairman of the Occasion, Prof. Paul Sorkaa, said the centre has achieved a significant milestone in attracting African Centre Excellence (ACE) funds worth 12 million dollars from the World Bank, the French Development Agency, and other supports.
Sorkaa said through the German Academic Excellence Funding, students from Kenya, Burundi, and other African countries were studying at the centre.
“The centre promotes learning and entrepreneurship partnerships with institutions like the University of Greenwich, UK, UNDP, and the Food for West Africa network that have generated 1 million dollars in the last year,” he was quoted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) as saying.
Prof. Charity Angya, Chairman, Central Planning Committee, said the centre was established to address post-harvest losses.
Angya said graduates from the centre have impacted positively in their areas of endeavours upon graduation.
