The appointment of Audu Ogbeh as the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development was greeted with high commendations from a broad segment of the populace – even the youth who are believed to have little interest in the agricultural sector were seen to approve judging by their comments on the social media. Ogbeh is known for being a man of strong opinions and standards, an attribute which was clearly admitted by the man himself when he was appointed Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party in 2001; “I do have views of my own and most people who know me know that I have never been able to very cheaply compromise on those views. I do not intend to bully the President and the Vice President, but I intend to reason with them and between all of them, at one time or the other, they will bow to superior argument.” He however has his work cut out for him. “The new Minister is going to be faced with an uphill task given the commendable performance of his predecessor who truly transformed many aspects of the country’s agricultural sector” volunteered Dr. Graham Hefer, Managing Director of Okomu Oil palm Company Plc, a major agribusiness concern operating out of Edo State in the South of Nigeria. According to Hefer, the choice of a practicing farmer as successor to a high flying technocrat is clear evidence of an intention to consolidate on the gains of the ATA, but he pointed out that “more work lies ahead”.
