Yobe seeks Arab Bank’s partnership on economic recovery, agriculture

Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State has said that the State Government is leveraging on large deposits of mineral resources and comparative advantage from agriculture to negotiate business and partnership with Arab Bank.

Governor Mai Mala Buni, who met Sidi Ould Tah, President of Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, noted that Yobe State was seeking partnership with Arab Bank to fasten economic recovery, having been troubled by Boko Haram insurgency.

The governor said the collaboration is of great importance to Yobe State as it strives to recover from the many years of devastation from huge destruction as caused by the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, saying Yobe is the second most-affected State by the Boko Haram insurgency.

He said, “As you may be aware, Yobe State suffered protracted security challenges with loss of many lives, destruction of Government and Private properties, infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, water facilities, health institutions, roads, power supply and means of livelihood.

“Alhamdulillah, peace has substantially returned to the State. As a Government, we took advantage of the improvement in peace to relocate our people back to their communities after rebuilding some of the infrastructure destroyed by the insurgency.

“I am also glad to inform you that our decision to close down the Internally Dispalced Persons (IDPs) camps, return the people to their Communities, rebuild the infrastructure and work towards recovery of the economy to provide people with a means of livelihood, has been lauded and recognized as a role model by the United Nations Development Programme.

“However, it is a fact that the economy of the State is grossly inadequate to address the humongous destruction caused by the insurgency. This explains the importance of our meeting today, to explore avenues of support by your bank to accelerate the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Recovery process of the State Government.

He explained that Yobe State is today a leading State in Sesame seeds and Gum Arabic production in Nigeria and one of the largest producers of livestock such as cattle, sheep, goats and camels.

“Yobe state has about 1.6 million hectares of arable land, and a population of four million people who are mostly subsistence farmers cultivating rice, Sesame seeds, millet, guinea corn, maize, wheat, cowpea, groundnuts, cotton, Gum Arabic, and vegetables on small scale.

“Similarly, in recognition of agriculture as the most veritable instrument for the post-insurgency economic recovery, we launched a multi Billion Naira Agricultural Empowerment Programme providing modern agricultural implements to 5,340 farmers.

“Our desire to aggressively improve agriculture to ensure food security, build more roads, establish more schools, health facilities, provide safe drinking water, safeguard the environment and face other negative challenges affecting the state, are areas of discussion and collaboration between the state and your bank.

“Iy may interest you to note that in spite of our efforts and interventions, we have not been able to cultivate half of the over 1,600,000 hectares of the arable land in the seasonal rain-fed agriculture, while only 15 percent of over 360,000 hectares of the irrigable land is being utilized”, the governor said.

Responding, Sidi Ould Tah, President of Arab Bank, commended Governor Mai Mala Buni for reconstructing the infrastructure to revamp agriculture, education, healthcare and others to improve the lives of the people.

He assured that the bank would explore areas of partnership and cooperation to support the reconstruction and recovery programme of the State Government.

“Mr Governor, l must commend you for putting your resources in the right place to serve your people. We are ready to support your laudable efforts to achieve the set goals”, Sidi Ould Tah said.