Cross River State
governor, Senator Ben Ayade, has challenged the youths of Northern Senatorial
Zone of the state to participate actively in agriculture as a means of wealth
creation.
Making the call Saturday, during the 2018
edition of the agricultural festival tagged: ‘NorthFest”, a yearly
celebration of the harvest of new yams across the five local government areas
of the state, Governor Ayade said he was ready to uptake all produce from their
farms at a cost above the market price, if the youths could take to farming.
At the Rice mill complex, Ogoja, venue of the
event which is in its second edition, the governor charged: “As young men,
if you want to make money from me, bring your produce here and Ayade will buy
all. The significance of this NorthFest is not only to encourage our people to
seek integration among us but above all to focus on agro industry.”
Ayade noted that “this second edition
of the northern festival represents a journey towards the actualisation of a
paradigm that will guarantee the classical demonstration of the peace and unity
of the people of the north.”
Ayade said as a son of the Northern Senatorial
District of the state, it was his desire to strengthen the people of the area
to become more cohesive and united.
“I will focus on the dual carriage way from
Mfom down to Obudu ranch as this will bring us together, increase our
intermarriages, make us grow closer and become one family in the entire north
and above all reduce the travel time from 56 minutes from Obudu to Yala to 17
minutes.”
While commending the organisers and participants
for the improvement on this year’s event, Ayade who took an inspection of the
yam barns, the arts and crafts as well as the mini market displayed by the
various local government areas, announced several changes to make the event
bigger and better next year.
He listed the changes to include an amazing
royal ensemble by the various local government areas where the paramount
rulers, clans and village heads will lead their people with the swagger that
characterises a typical northerner, pounded yam competition and the native
soups, pointing out that “this is our culture and we must sustain it for
the festival to be the biggest in Africa.”
Other changes Ayade announced were
“inclusive participation of all in a carnival-like version as there will
be a band for every local government area to participate,” adding that
“we will not have a situation where a large chunk of the population will
be standing and watching.”
According to the governor, “everyone who
comes here next year will have something to eat, there will be food for every
local government area, this gate will be widely open as we make this event a
strong competition to every sociocultural program in the state, country and
Africa at large.”
He used the occasion to applaud sons and
daughters of the senatorial district for believing in his administration’s
policies, programs and visions as demonstrated in members of other political
parties returning to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to support his return
as governor till 2023.
Paramount Ruler of Ogoja, Buturu Godwin Denis
Udu, who spoke on behalf of the traditional institution in the area, described
Ayade as an accomplished intellectual and scientist cum entrepreneur who
remains a blessing to his people.
The Royal father maintained that “the
governor has also applied his intellect in every respect through the various
industrialization drives so introduced upon assumption of office,”
intimating that “the traditional institution will swim and sink with Ayade
in appreciation of all he is doing for the good of the citizenry.”
Chairman, Central planning committee, Chief
Peter Ojie, in his remarks, thanked Governor Ayade for “rejuvenating the
agricultural base of the people by considering agriculture as profitable and
something that can be done to put food on the table of the children while
earning an income.”
Ojie also said: “We thank you because you
have revolutionized our thinking as we can no longer till the soil but can work
with our brains and achieve a lot,” adding that “this indeed, is a
new way of life and revolution that will take us to compare with China and all
the big nations that have done well.”
Affirming that the people of the northern senatorial
district were occupationally agrarian, a vocation the governor had identified
through mechanized farming, by occupation and the governor thought it
wise to bring in industrialization and mechanized farming, Ojie said: “All
we have to pay you is to join the rest of Cross Riverians in renewing your
mandate by 2019 because four more years of the Ayade revolution will certainly
take us to where we want.”
Earlier, Head of local government administration
(HOLGA- Ogoja), Mrs Margaret Asu, disclosed that the essence of the festival
was to cement the existing bond of ancestral relationship of the people of
northern Cross River.
The event featured cultural dance display,
pageantry and presentation of prizes.