Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has blamed the Boko Haram terrorists group for the scarcity of tomato in the country at the moment.
Mohammed made this disclosure while speaking on Channels TV.
The Minister said activities of the group has forced farmers from leaving their farmlands for fear of being killed.
He said these farmers have been forced to seek protection and better lives in the city, taking up motorcycle riding in places like Lagos and others.
“People talk about the price of tomato but they forget one thing; they forget that the price of tomato today is a direct result of the fact that we have lost two years harvest to Boko Haram insurgency.
“Most of the people you see riding Okada (motorcycles) in Lagos are people who would have been in the farm to produce consumable items,” the loquacious Minister said.
He asked, “Do you farm where there is war?” explaining that, “We have lost two seasons of harvest in addition we have had very poor rainfall last year and this year. These are the combined responsible for the scarcity of tomato. Go and ask economists and agriculturists, they will tell you.”
