A renowned professor of agriculture, Nuhu Gworgwor, has said that all President Bola Ahmed Tinubu needs to end hunger and food insecurity ravaging Nigeria is strong political will to implement in a manner adequate agricultural policies.

Don University disclosed this during a 45-page presentation at a two-day annual conference of the Forum of Former Deputy Governors of Nigeria held in Abuja on Tuesday and Wednesday.

According to him, the lack of strong political will from successive governments in Nigeria has made food insecurity a recurring challenge in the country.

He noted that the desire to achieve food security has remained elusive among a growing population like Nigeria in recent years.

He blamed growing food insecurity and malnutrition in Nigeria on insufficient food production, conflict and civil insecurity, gender inequality, climate change and natural disasters.

As a solution, Gworgwor, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jos, Plateau State, said the government should adopt innovative measures including the use of improved seedlings, agricultural practices more intelligent in the face of climate, the use of high technologies such as IT. machines, drones and artificial intelligence (AI).

“Food security is a very important phenomenon for the ever-growing population of Nigeria and the world at large, where all world leaders are keen to achieve such a feat. However, the statistics show very clearly that this desire has been elusive.

“But, with very strong political will on the part of any government, it could implement certain measures to achieve food security, which could include the use of improved seeds/seedlings, climate-smart agricultural practices, the use of high technologies such as computerized machines, drones and artificial intelligence (AI), etc. Government policies, along with the roles of public-private partnership, could enhance the achievement of food security if properly synergized and subsequently implemented,” he said.

On his part, Halu Mohammed, a political expert at Bayero University, Kano, stressed the need for citizens to hold government and leaders accountable for governance.

“It is time for Nigerians to demand accountability,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, former Bauchi State Deputy Governor, Abdulmalik Mahmood, speaking on the sidelines of the event on Wednesday, said the Tinubu government had sufficiently tamed the Boko Haram menace in the North.

“The threat of Boko Haram has significantly diminished in the North, particularly in the North-East and North-West,” he said.

Earlier, the President of the Conference and former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Victor Attah, had told Nigerians that one should not expect magic from the 1999 Nigerian Constitution.