Former minister of education, Oby Ezekwesili, has lashed out at President Muhammadu Buhari over his directive to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stop providing foreign exchange for food importation.
Buhari had on Tuesday, through Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, said he had asked the CBN to stop issuing foreign exchange for food importation so as to stimulate the growth of agriculture and to ensure food security.
To this end, the CBN said it will proceed with the president’s directive and that the implementation of the forex ban on food import would be in phases.
Some Nigerians have criticised the president’s directive. Kingsley Moghalu, former deputy governor of CBN, said such an economic policy should not be imposed on the CBN by a political authority, and that the bank has lost its independence.
“Nigeria’s entire economy appears to have been sub-contracted to our central bank, including industrial and trade policy. In the process the economy has fared poorly and the Bank has lost its independence. This is sad,” he said.
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In her reaction, Ezekwesili said, ”A completely out-of-touch ‘leader’. He is cocooned away in the grandeur of@AsoRock where they serve him delicatessen and praise-sing to him: ‘ranka dede sir’, your agriculture policy is working wonderfully. All farmers in Nigeria are now billionaires & exporting to the US,” she said.
“We all know that @NGRPresident @MBuhari has absolute contempt for Data but we shall go ahead and put out here some of the Knowledge he should have had before making this latest blunder of ‘Directing’ what should be an independent @cenbank to “not give a cent for food import,” she said in one of the series of tweets she shared on Wednesday.
— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) August 14, 2019
“Main agricultural season: The agricultural season is expected to progress normally. The main season harvests will start normally in September/October across the country. Harvests are expected to be average to above average in most areas.”
— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) August 14, 2019
“Exceptions are in northeast areas affected by the insurgency and localized areas across the country where conflicts between farmers and pastoralists are disrupting cultivation”
— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) August 14, 2019
“Main harvests will be substantially below average in the northeast and likely below average in areas impacted by the farmer/pastoralists conflict mainly in the central states such as Kaduna, Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba as well as in Zamfara.”
— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) August 14, 2019
it is uncharitable for a well brought up to address elders like this in African context. oby you are gradually loosing my respect even, if you dont agree with him