The All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate for Osun Central, Barrister Kunle Adegoke (SAN), has urged state governors to invest massively in agriculture and improve access to land for investors as a strategy to prevent forests from becoming hideouts for bandits and other criminal elements.

The legal luminary, who spoke at the monthly interaction programme of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Osun State Council, tagged “The Platform,” on Friday at the Press Centre in Osogbo, said vast expanses of fertile but uncultivated land across the country have become vulnerable to criminal occupation due to underutilisation.

He stressed that engaging such lands in productive agricultural activities would not only enhance security but also boost economic growth.

According to him, governors should encourage private sector participation in agriculture by making land readily available to genuine investors and reducing barriers associated with land acquisition.

“Our lands are so fertile that the majority of them do not require additional inputs to make them productive. What governors need to do is make the necessary investments in agriculture and encourage private investors to collaborate with them to ensure that these lands are adequately utilised,” he said.

The legal practitioner noted that the high cost of acquiring land remains a major obstacle to agricultural development, and called on state governments to facilitate partnerships between land-owning families and investors.

He argued that no serious investor would overlook opportunities in states where access to land is easier and more affordable.

Adegoke further advocated government-assisted land surveys and the issuance of Certificates of Occupancy to landowners at minimal or no cost, noting that such measures would give legal identity to lands and unlock their economic value.

“Without title deeds, many families cannot economically utilise their lands. Such lands cannot be used as collateral to access funds or attract meaningful investments,” he stated.

The APC chieftain also proposed a tripartite arrangement involving governments, land-owning families, and investors, where families retain ownership of their ancestral lands while investors cultivate them for commercial purposes.

He warned against the indiscriminate sale of family lands, describing land ownership in Africa as an intergenerational trust that must be preserved for future generations.

“We discourage the sale of land because when you sell land, you dispossess future generations. Land is a continuum from ancient times into the future, and we have a responsibility to pass it on to our children and grandchildren,” he said.

Adegoke maintained that the productive use of forests and farmlands through agricultural investments would not only create jobs and wealth but also reduce ungoverned spaces often exploited by criminals as operational bases. (The Nation)