Allafrica
As everyone knows, one American company called Monsanto has been on a determined march to take over agricultural production all over the world and enslave all farmers and countries to their commercial blood sucking logic. They have finally found a bridgehead into Nigeria where a door has been opened to allow them enter and takeover. They have been allowed to initiate so-called experimental farms to produce cotton and maize. Their point of entry has been the irresponsible National Biotechnology Development Agency, which has been compromised by Monsanto to provide an entry point to take over our agriculture.
This week, I write to support the great work currently being carried out by Nnimmo Bassey and his team at the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) to resist the dangerous takeover of our agriculture by Monsanto. The Foundation has exposed the fact that GMOs have been approved to be grown in Nigeria and that the approval was surreptitious. There is an argument whether the approval was for a two-year trial process or for permanent production and for me, both must be opposed. At no time has the Nigerian Government taken a policy decision to approve GMOs and given the health dangers alone of this technology, it is irresponsible to allow this. We cannot allow the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) to sell our future for some temporary inducement they have received from Monsanto. How was it allowed that Monsanto Agriculture Nigeria Ltd would register in the country and start production without explicit approval the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly?
