By Bukola Olamona

The Pan Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has charged state governments in the South-West to provide intervention funds for farmers in order to curb food insecurity.
The group described farming and agricultural development as irreplaceable and goldmines can complement crude oil.
The group stated this on Thursday at the end of its caucus meeting in Akure, the Ondo state capital, saying agriculture holds immense potential to drive economic growth, food security, and employment opportunities in Nigeria.
Speaking on the communique of the group, its publicity secretary, Jare Ajayi, Afenifere, appealed to the South West governors to make loans easily accessible to farmers to enhance productivity and ensure food security.
He said, “The Afenifere meeting encouraged the state governors in the Yoruba-speaking states to make easy loans available for farmers in their respective states.
“They should have access to loan facilities and should be enlightened on how to access the loans and facilities that are available at the federal level.
The meeting, however, encouraged these people to continue to make available information on the available facilities to help the situation. The state government needed to pay counterpart funds to be able to assess these loans and encourage farmers to access the funds at the federal level.
Afenifere also charged parents of Yoruba extraction to teach their children Yoruba to avert its extinction, saying the language was facing the threat of extinction because many parents had failed to teach their children how to speak the language.
The group, however, said that parents should make it a responsibility to teach their children Yoruba so that they could own their identity in the society.
“It is of great concern to the meeting that many parents are not speaking the language to their children anymore. We are creating a positive danger of extinction in the near future, but we want to encourage all parents to not only speak the language in their homes.
“The government should particularly encourage the teaching of Yoruba and speaking of the language in our various states and make it compulsory for the language to be used as a medium of expression.
“It should be the medium of teaching at the primary school level up to the junior secondary school level because language contributes largely to human knowledge and development.
The group also congratulated the leader of the group, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, for turning 96 and said, “We give glory to the Almighty God for sparing his life, and we are gloating over the kind of leadership he and others have been providing for Afenifere and Yoruba land.