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The Speaker of the
House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, has lamented what he
described as the Yoruba nation’s loss of control in strategic sectors
of the economy such as banking and mass communication.

Mr. Bankole, who
spoke at the 2010 Okuku Day Celebration in Okuku, Osun State, at the
weekend, urged the people to return to agriculture as a means of
accelerating the economic development of the country.

The Speaker, who
was the special guest of honour at the event, said the Yoruba used to
occupy pre-eminent positions in some important sectors of the economy,
but regretted that over the years they lost those positions because
they were not appreciated.

He stressed that
Yoruba need to appreciate their leaders who are at the forefront of
engineering positive changes, adding that “too often we attack our
leaders unnecessarily and end up displacing them for others that may
not even be their match in terms of competence.”

Mr. Bankole noted
that in view of current socio-economic challenges facing the nation,
agriculture would provide a veritable avenue for economic development
as it did in the past.

“Since this event
encapsulate socio-economic development, let me state that over the
years we have neglected agricultural development in all its
ramifications. One recalls that the 25- storey Cocoa House in Ibadan
was build mostly from proceeds of agriculture.

Loss of revenue

“In Lagos State
alone, it is estimated that food consumption per day is about N2
billion. The regrettable aspect of this is that most of the foodstuffs
come from outside Yorubaland, leading to revenues loss to states like
Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Ekiti and Ondo that can produce most of these items.”

The Speaker
wondered that a four-day strike embarked upon by suppliers of
foodstuffs led to a major crisis and steep rises in prices.

“Yoruba must as a
race go back to agriculture, particularly modern agriculture where we
have a comparative advantage and a ready market,” he said.