Repositioning of the Agricultural Sector as the Only Criterion to Move Nigeria Forward

This paper takes a look at various successive regime policies and programmes of government and see how the Nigerian agriculture can be repositioned to achieve food security and restore the country back as a nation to be reckoned with her agricultural sector. More so, this paper look at the agricultural sector prior to independence when the nation enjoyed substantial success and development in the sector until the discovery of crude oil and government neglect of the agricultural sector due to substantial revenue  from crude oil .The importance of the agricultural sector to the nation cannot be over emphasized. Apart from the fact that it has the potential to provide adequate food for the growing population, it also supply raw materials to a growing industrial sector. Over the years, the Nigerian government has injected money into the sector with various policies and programmes implemented in order to ensure that the country achieve food security. However, the sector has not been able to live up to its expectations due to myriad of problems that involve problems like bad governance, lack of financial support to farmers inadequate and untimely release of budgeted funds for agricultural development, use of crude farm tools, lack of storage facilities, general insecurity, farmers and herders crisis, climate change and other agro ecological hazards or disasters. In order to reposition the agricultural sector as the only criterion to move Nigeria forward, this paper highlighted several ways forward.