A former governor of Niger State, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, has raised concerns over the severe shortage of qualified teachers in Northern Nigeria, warning that the region’s education crisis is undermining efforts to address food insecurity.

Speaking on Thursday at the 22nd Daily Trust Dialogue held at the NAF Conference Centre in Abuja, with the theme ‘Food Security: Availability or Affordability?’, Aliyu emphasised the need for targeted educational reforms to revitalise agriculture and tackle hunger in the country.

He stressed that the twin challenges of inadequate education and ineffective agricultural policies must be addressed to secure Nigeria’s future.

“Education and agriculture are intertwined. Without well-trained individuals driving innovation and productivity in farming, the dream of food security will remain elusive.

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“In the northern states, there is no state with 50% qualified teachers,” Aliyu said.

He added that even those currently attending schools often receive substandard education, while many others remain out of school entirely.

Aliyu urged the federal government, particularly the Ministries of Agriculture and Education, to use existing agricultural universities and institutions to provide specialised training aimed at equipping Nigerians with the skills needed to boost food production.

“Use the federal universities of agriculture and education to train people. We need education that creates individuals who are passionate about specific fields like farming. This is essential for overcoming food insecurity,” he added.

The former governor also criticised the federal government’s border closure policy, arguing that it failed to achieve its objectives of curbing smuggling and improving food security.

“What was the point of closing borders? What is the importance of that when the population of Nigeria is almost the population of other ECOWAS members put together and every market you go to in ECOWAS countries you will discover that more than half of the things in that market are from Nigeria,” he said.

Aliyu cited Niger Republic as an example, noting that cows are still cheaper there than in Nigeria despite the border restrictions. “We used to send people to Niger to buy cows for slaughter or Sallah celebrations. Even now, despite inflation, this disparity remains.”