EASIER SAID THAN DONE.

Goodluck Jonathan At the Nigerian Diaspora conference I had cause to say that we need to move away from dependence on crude oil otherwise we face a very dim future. On my part, I am not just raising an alarm. Together with my cabinet we are taking steps to actualise this necessary shift. As I informed you days ago, we have just set up ...an Inter Ministerial committee to revive Cocoa production and processing. It is our intention to do likewise with Rubber, Cotton, Ground Nut and Gum Arabic. I was inspired to have learnt from the writings of Mahathir Mohamad that the Palm Oil seedlings that Malaysia got from Nigeria in the early part of the last century were the seeds that gave birth to the Palm Oil plantations which made Malaysia the world’s largest producer of that product and which provided the seed money that made that nation an Asian Tiger. This is a lesson for Nigeria and we need to heed it while we have the time. It is also our intention to fund agricultural research agencies. I spent much of my life studying how to put the environment to good use as to sustain agriculture and as President I am committed to improving our agricultural capacity by consciously implementing research findings into our agricultural economy to the end that we must become a net exporter of food rather than an importer. Only then can we attain true economic independence and national food security. As an aside, it's been exactly a month since I created this page. Thanks for making it an enjoyable and informative experience. GEJ