MAKING OF A NEW NIGER STATE "A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his action and the integrity of his intent." - Douglas Mac Arthur Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umar Bago has caved for himself the good image of being one of the leading lights in the present democratic dispensation. He emerged quietly as the Governor of the power state by an outstanding victory at the 2023 Gubernatorial Election. One inspiring fact about the governor was his preference to being addressed as Farmer Governor instead of the conventional 'His Excellency'. At the beginning, so many people thought it was just a strategy to get sympathy from the people but in just one year, Farmer Governor Mohammed Umar Bago has become very popular with majority of Nigerlites and Nigerians. The popularity of the Farmer Governor stems from the unprecedented transformation that is being witnessed in all sectors of the state. In simple terms, the Governor's audacity and firmness of purpose in heralding a new dawn for the power state is very inspiring. This can be better understood when you take a cursory look at his efforts outlined below: Agricultural Revolution:Agriculture is the main priority of Niger State Government under the vibrant leadership of Farmer Governor Mohammed Umar Bago. The Farmer Governor Bago has taken advantage of the rich, arable and vast land in the state by investing heavily in the agricultural sector. This bold move has attracted investors both locally and internationally. Similarly, seeing the passion and efforts of the Governor, Niger State has been selected as the pilot state for the initiative on food security under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. It is worthy to note that Niger State has commenced the Renewed Hope Agenda on Food Security and Agricultural Mechanisation with Farmer Governor Bago steering the ship. Interestingly, the state government has attracted over one billion dollars investment in Agric business since the inception of the present administration. This is largely due to the zeal put into the sector by the government and the state's huge potentials in millet, sorghum, cassava, sugarcane, rice, livestock, hides and milk production. At the moment, large scale mechanised farming is on course covering hundreds of thousands hectares. Plans are on top great to cultivate a 50,000 hectares fully irrigated food production hub. To achieve all these targets, the state government has acquired the state-of-the-art machinery and cutting-edge technologies for large-scale agro-value chain development. So far, the state government has acquired 1,000 tractors, 200 excavators, 200 bulldozers and 200 high capacity harvesters for the agricultural Mechanisation project. Equally, the government also procured more than 5,000 other farm inputs including 1,000 pieces of irrigation and agricultural equipment, 2,000 power tillers for small holder farmers, 2,000 petrol water pumps, 3,000 solar pumps and 5,000 tube wells to support dry season farming. The state government also procured about 100,000 bags of fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and fungicides to support farmers in all parts of the state. Also, storage facilities with renewable energy facility would be installed in all the nooks and crannies of the state to curb the perennial post harvest loss experienced by farmers. There is also an arrangement for the installation of 500 (40ft) containers for the farms estates by the Dangote Group through the state government. All these efforts by the Farmer Governor led administration is to boost food production, stamp out poverty by creating jobs and saving the people and the country from the staring threats of hunger and malnutrition.
