By Adeola Ogunlade
The Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry and Phytomedicine at the Department of Biochemistry, Covenant University, Ota, Prof. Israel Afolabi has advised the Federal Government to establish a ministry of food processing which should be encouraged to use local research output by industries in Nigeria.
Afolabi said this recently at the 31st Inaugural Lecture of the institution recently in Ota, said that the integration of national development is attainable by integration of industries for the industries producing and marketing such products.
This, he said that would create marketing competition that may force the price of goods and services down for the benefits of the citizens.
He also called for the deliberate use of the dietary approach could help in crime control at the national and global levels.
Afolabi believes that the level of crime will be reduced if the community is given adequate diet and nutrients, especially at the childhood level.
“The current insecurity crisis experienced in our nation may be primarily attributed to poor access to good nutrition. It may also be linked to the poor leadership experienced in Africa countries as humans would inherently and unknowingly react back to their community according to what was seeded into them”, he said.
He further said food and nutrients are programme software that drive the behaviour of humans in response to her community.
He also advised the Federal Government to establish a ministry of food processing which should be encouraged to use local research output by industries in Nigeria.
Afolabi said that providing tax incentives for these industries would also create market competition that may force the price of services down for the benefit of the citizens.
He also urged the Federal Government to further invest and reinvest in technological revolution to drive national development.
Afolabi added that technological drive was imperative for national development, adding that such a drive would engage the minds of several youths to reduce crime.
According to him, proper education which inculcates critical thinking dynamics of youths and explores their knowledge gaps for practicable global competition is needed.
The don emphasized that universities and research institutes should be empowered through adequate funding to generate products and services for global competition.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Prof. Abiodun Adebayo, the Vice-Chancellor of the institution, said that the 31st Inaugural Lecture was critical and timely to addressing fundamental human existence.
Adebayo said that the entire nation was grappling with acute hunger and nutritional deficiency, due to the incessant destruction of food production and distribution chains rising from armed banditry and numerous attacks on farmers, among others.
He said, “It is time for the federal government to look inward and see how food could be made available to everyone, because a hungry man is an angry man,”.
The vice-chancellor assured that the institution would continue to strive hard to ensure that it promoted research that would advance food security in the country.
Adebayo appealed to the federal government to continue to diversify the economy from oil to Agriculture in order to secure food security and tame the price of goods and services.