Artistes Want Increased Budget For Agriculture

Nigerian Musicians have asked the government for an increase in the budgetary allocation to the agricultural sector in the 2018 budget.

The artistes,which included Sound Sultan, Vector, Niniola, Harrysong, Lami Philips and Illbliss among others, called on the authority to ‘Walk the Talk’ and to put money “where our mouth is” by increasing the amount of budget that goes to agriculture.

According to a statement on Tuesday, the artistes made this call during a music concert organised in Lagos by the international development agency, Oxfam in Nigeria, tagged “United4food Music Concert.”

Speaking during the concert, OXFAM’s brand ambassador, Sound Sultan, said that 70 per cent of Nigeria’s poor live in rural areas and derive their livelihood from small-scale agriculture.

“Investing in agriculture remains the most viable way for the country to achieve an economic revival and sustainable and inclusive national development. So, efforts to be made in fighting hunger must prioritize agriculture and climate change adaptation. The agriculture sector deserves the attention that was given to Abuja airport runway,” he noted.

Sound Sultan said his mission as Oxfam goodwill ambassador was to deploy music as a weapon against hunger. He urged Nigerians and governments at all levels to invest in agriculture to ensure food security in the country.

The musicians said the United for Food Music Concert was part of their   efforts to inspire Nigerian youths to become active citizens and demand accountability from our leaders, adding that as we prepare for the 2018 fiscal year, the government should ensure that no one goes to bed hungry in 2018.

The concert, which is a brainchild of OXFAM, was targeted at inspiring Nigerian youths to become active citizens and demand accountability from their leaders,said the statement.

Head of Public Engagement and Influencing, Oxfam in Nigeria, Abdulazeez Musa, said that his organisation was using the Concert to reach out to a target group that is hard to reach.

“We know their interest is music and the Nigerian music today is the in thing, anywhere you go is Nigerian music so we are using that as an entry point to drive home our message to get a target population that we want, you know these are the population that also have the power to pressurize the government who also have access to these policy makers so that they can also talk to them”, said Musa.