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In its drive to further curtail the menace of banditry occasioned by the marauding activities of unknown gunmen often speculatively associated with Fulani nomads, the Sokoto state government is mulling the modernisation of animal health centers across the state.
Governor Aminu Waziri Tambywal of Sokoto State made this known when he received the Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria, AVM Usra Hendra Harahap and his team who are in the state for a working visit at Government House, Sokoto.
He said the drive towards this initiative is geared towards addressing the challenges of cattle rearing, farmers-herdsmen clashes that have catalyzed security challenges in the country.
In order to achieve this feat, the governor stated that his administration is poised to partner with the Indonesian government, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).
According to him, the target of this partnership is to avail farmers in the state and even neighbouring states as well as the Niger Republic the opportunity of livestock rearing without the intermittent skirmishes that accompany it.
He also reiterated that the state government is giving attention to agricultural mechanization and plan to engage the private sector by giving them incentives to establish plants in the state.
Applauding the Indonesian embassy for its sustained interest and collaboration with the state in many sectors, Governor Tambuwal said the technical support that the state Zakkat and Waqf Commission (SOZECOM) have been enjoying from the Indonesian government is yielding the desired results.
He listed other areas of support from the Asian giant as education, including the provision of scholarships to Sokoto State indigenes, health, agriculture and others.
He noted that were it not for the debilitating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic the state’s technical team would have gone far in its development of the required templates to fast track the realization of the thematic areas of cooperation. He also appreciated the Indonesian embassy’s outreach to indigent areas of the state where
both last year and the current one Ambassador Harahap and his wife have donated items to the less privileged.
Tambuwal said this gesture shows the personal attachment of the envoy a d his country to the development of the people of Sokoto in addition to the deeper collaboration and cooperation between the two entities.
Earlier in his remarks, AVM Harahap expressed satisfaction with the level of commitment between his country and Sokoto State, noting that the bilateral relationship, now slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, has nonetheless reached an advanced level.
Top of the list he said is his country’s consideration for the reformation of the Almajiri system of education, with a view to remodeling it by providing basic needs such as clothing, shelter, medical facilities and empowerment to the students.
