Former Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe has underscored the importance of investing in research and establishing industrial estates to combat the escalating prices of food items in Nigeria.
Amidst the surge in the cost of living, Ogunlewe emphasized the need for strategic investments in research and the creation of industrial hubs, similar to past initiatives, to address the food price crisis.
Highlighting the country’s historical reliance on industrial estates for research and processing, Ogunlewe lamented the government’s neglect of this critical sector, which he believes is pivotal for ensuring food security and societal progress.
“We had several industrial estates [then]. That is what the Federal Government has failed to do. Create industrial estates, [where they] do research on all these commodities, and put them out. Over half of what is produced is wasted because they are not processed,” he said on Tuesday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today.
He urged the federal government to allocate more resources to research institutions, emphasizing the importance of leveraging the expertise of professors and researchers across Nigerian universities.
“There are professors in all our universities that are only doing research on rice – new varieties of rice; they are doing research on a daily basis on them,” he said.
“Let the Federal Government invest in what we have, we will produce a lot better. But when you don’t invest in research in your country, and you think your country is going to grow, it is very difficult.”
“Invest in them; give them more money for research,” the former lawmaker maintained.
In response to nationwide protests against soaring food prices, Ogunlewe urged Nigerians to exercise patience with the administration of President Bola Tinubu, expressing optimism that the government will address the challenges gradually.
“We are going to get it. Nigerians should just be patient,” he said. “Give him time. This hunger will last another three months.”
With a call for sustained investment in research and development, Ogunlewe remains hopeful that Nigeria will overcome its current food security crisis in the coming months.
