Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president of Nigeria, stated that he is always proud to be referred to as a farmer.
In an interview with Segun Odegbami that aired on Eagles7 Sports 103.7 FM in Abeokuta on Saturday, Obasanjo claimed that all but farming had happened by accident in his life.
Odegbami had urged Obasanjo to talk about his “romance with farming,” as he put it.
Obasanjo responded that he was a farmer and it wasn’t by coincidence that he was offended by the use of the phrase “romance with farming” and stated his unhappiness.
The former president explained his decision to enter farming, saying it was done for industrialization, food security, export, and the creation of jobs for young people.
He said: “I don’t like the word you used, ‘romance with farming’. I am a farmer. What do you mean by romance? Everything I have done in my life is by accident. The only thing that is not accidental is farming. Every other thing that I’ve been is by accident. And you called that romance? No! What do you mean by romance?
“You know my beginning. I was born and bred in a village. I went to school by accident. My father just said, won’t you do something different?’ So I went into farming.
“When you look at countries that have made it, they developed on agriculture. First, for the purpose of food security; second, for the purpose of processing what they get from their farms, which is the beginning of industrialisation. Third, to give it out as export, which is for the purpose of foreign exchange; and fourth, as a means of generating employment for the youth.”
