Senate asks Nigeria to boost Yobe’s Gum Arabic economy

By Bintu Jidda
Kanempress
23rd January 2023

As the Nigerian government deepens its commitment to diversifying the economy, the President of the Senate, Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan has made a strong case for the need to boost Gum Arabic cultivation and production in Northeast state of Yobe.Lawan, who stated this recently in Damaturu at a state banquet organized by the Yobe State government in honour of President Buhari, said that Gum Arabic is a cash crop which once supported the economy of the people.“It is no more giving that support,” he said, stressing that “if there is one way that we can diversify our economy, Gum Arabic should be given a special position in our administration.”Continuing, the President of the Senate argued: ” I want to say that [in] this belt, from Borno to Sokoto, if we work on the Gum Arabic industry, we are going to earn foreign exchange for Nigeria.“We spent billions of naira, hundreds of millions of dollars, to import Gum Arabic from other countries. We can do a lot more if we can get the support of federal government.”According to the President of the Senate, already there is a Gum Arabic sub-station in Kajuwa, Yobe State, but under the Leather Research Institute in Benin, Edo State.Lawan said: “My belief is that Gum Arabic has that important economic value which deserves its separate research institute as it can transform Nigeria.”The President of the Senate then made a direct appeal to the President: “On behalf of all our people and on behalf of other states, Mr President, I want to urge that before you leave on 29th of May, 2023, let us see how we can make the sub-station in Kajuwa to be the headquarters of the new Gum Arabic Research Institute.”Lawan expressed optimism that, the research institute, if it comes into being, aside from supporting the economy of Nigeria , will as well serve as a major pillar of environmental protection.