By Adeola Badru

The Country Director of the World Bank, Dr. Ndiame Diop, has asserted that the future of Africa is closely tied to Nigeria’s success.

He stated this on Tuesday, during a personality lecture series organised by the department of Agricultural Economics, University of Ibadan, emphasising that the emancipation of the African region lies in the hands of Nigerians.

In his lecture titled, “Leveraging Agricultural Transformation for Sustainable Economic Development in Nigeria: Key Considerations,” Diop
called on Nigerians to take proactive steps to guide their country toward prosperity.

He stated, “Africa will succeed if Nigeria succeeds,” highlighting the pivotal role Nigeria plays in the continent’s development.

The World Bank director urged that Nigeria must maintain internal stability, noting his belief in the capacity of Nigerians to effect significant change.

“The success of Nigeria is the success of Africa. If Nigeria succeeds, Africa will succeed. The best way is to keep your house in order, control your domestic policies. Nigerians have the will to do the right thing,” he remarked.

In the same vein, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, supported the view in his presentation, stating that agriculture is a primary focus for the current administration’s efforts to revamp the Nigerian economy.

He emphasised the government’s commitment to addressing security, food sufficiency, and competitive advantage as essential elements of this strategy.

Bagudu acknowledged that insecurity impacted the agricultural sector and fisheries, leading to the creation of ministries dedicated to livestock development and the blue economy to generate more opportunities.

“Agriculture is one of our main priorities. To develop the agricultural sector, we have taken security, food sufficiency and competitive advantage seriously. We want to ensure that agriculture remains competitive.”

“Insecurity is affecting the agricultural sector. Even the fishery. In order to address this, the current administration has created ministries of livestock development and blue economy to create more opportunities.”

“What we want to do is to ensure that we produce enough food for the citizens for profitability and sustainability,” he concluded.