The Yoruba Council of Youths Worldwide (YCYW), the apex umbrella body of youths in Yoruba land, on Monday, condemned the recent move by the Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria (AUFCDN) to block cattle and other foodstuff going to the South West, describing it as an act of war.
According to the group, the blockade was a move to sabotage the efforts of the government, knowing that past and present administrations have heavily invested taxpayers monies into the agricultural sector starting from the Olusegun Obasanjo’s and Goodluck Jonathan’s era.
President, YCYW, Aare Oladotun Hassan, said the South-West youths would not fold their hands and watch the “unscrupulous elements” under the guise of an association or trade union, sabotage efforts of the government.
With the level of commitments and investments in the agricultural sector over the years, he said there was a need at this point in time to separate national business from private business.
He said as a private business, if the cattle breeders association believes that it controls the food commodities that come from the north, the youths of the south-west states are not lazy, and are prepared for the task ahead.
In a counteraction to AUFCDN, Hassan told Ripples Nigeria that YCYW had made a resolution to put an embargo on further trading of all commodities coming from the northern part of Nigeria, and not only on agricultural produce, noting that the ban would get dipper than they thought.
He said: “We have put an embargo on all items coming from the north too. Anything that is coming from the north should just stay there. They should buy and consume all the commodities themselves.
“We voted for a president and not a northern president. If they believe they have a northern president, then we will all go regional and if they are crossing our boundaries then they would pay all our immigration rights and dues before we would permit them to trade or work.
“They have taken us for granted for too long. The worst of this nomadic idea is the fact that over billions worth of staple food are wasted because it is not the farmers that sell the products but private investors. If they had wanted to stop the farmers, they would have done that from the farm, but the investors who have invested heavily are the ones they are diverting their economic interests.”
He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to order a thorough investigation on the issue to be headed by the Inspector General of Police, and to ensure that anyone found culpable is ruthlessly dealt with and prosecuted accordingly.
“It is a criminal offence for them to sabotage a private individual’s investment. It is not the farmers that are bringing their produce to the south-west but the investors. They are now taking cattle breeding as a northern agenda. At the moment we are embarking on agricultural development zone,” he added.
Meanwhile, he said the silence on the part of the government towards the issue shows a high level of connivance; however, he called on President Buhari to act within 48 hours, nothing that failure to act means that he has already stepped in for a division.
