Ado Ekiti— Legal icon and founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), has called on Nigerians and all tiers of government to revive agriculture as a national strategy to eradicate poverty, hunger, and unemployment.
Babalola made the call on Saturday while receiving the Ekiti State Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mr. Kayode Fasae, and his delegation during a tour of ABUAD’s expansive facilities.
He cited former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Operation Feed the Nation—a nationwide agricultural campaign launched during Obasanjo’s military tenure from 1976 to 1979—as a visionary model worthy of replication in today’s economic climate.
“The country should borrow a leaf from former President Olusegun Obasanjo who introduced Operation Feed the Nation during his first coming as a military Head of State,” Babalola said. “It showed us what’s possible when agricultural development and food security are placed at the heart of governance.”
Agriculture as a National Imperative
The elder statesman lamented the abandonment of agriculture following Nigeria’s oil boom in the 1960s, calling it a “costly mistake” that continues to fuel poverty and unemployment.
“Nigeria has no excuse to be poor,” Babalola said. “We have fertile soil, a favorable climate, and abundant natural resources. Before oil, agriculture was the bedrock of our economy—cocoa in the West, rubber in the Midwest, timber and palm oil in the East, and groundnut and cotton in the North.”
He called for a grassroots revival of farming practices, including the provision of agricultural equipment at the local government level to support smallholder farmers.
“When I was growing up, everyone had a backyard garden. It wasn’t just for your family; food was shared freely within the community,” he recalled. “That spirit of abundance and communal welfare can return—if we go back to the land.”
ABUAD’s Model: Agriculture, Industry, and Innovation
Babalola showcased ABUAD as a living example of agricultural integration. The university operates extensive enterprise farms, a state-of-the-art industrial park, a private power plant, and a modern teaching hospital, forming a self-sustaining ecosystem that combines education, healthcare, and agro-industrial development.
The Ekiti State delegation commended the institution’s holistic approach and praised its impact on employment, innovation, and food security.
Babalola concluded by urging both the public and private sectors to embrace agriculture not just as an economic tool, but as a pathway to national self-reliance, security, and prosperity.
“As Obasanjo once showed the way, Nigeria must now follow that path again—back to agriculture, back to prosperity,” he said.