By Jedidah Silas Kiman
Gombe
Traditional rulers in Gombe state have expressed concern over the rising cases of malnutrition in Gombe, even as they warned their subjects against indiscriminate selling of foodstuff without making adequate provision for their families.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ forum/ town hall meeting held at Kaltungo and Funakaye local government areas of Gombe yesterday, a cross-section of traditional rulers from the areas observed that virtually all nutritious foods grown in the area could prevent children from being malnourished, yet the state had been rated among the high risk areas with high cases of malnutrition.
The forum was organised by Awareness Campaigns Programme of Save the Children International, and featured series of lectures and admonitions on nutrition.
Emir of Funakaye, Alhaji Abubakar Mohammed Bajoga cautioned his subjects against taking the whole of their farm produce to the market just because they want money and forgetting the nutritional needs of their children at home.
He said “food crops such as sorghum, millet, beans, soya beans, and groundnuts among many others as well as livestock such as birds and animal husbandry are produced in large quantities, especially in the rural areas of Gombe.”
Also, on his part, the Mai of Kaltungo, Engr. Saleh Mohammed, who spoke through the District Head of Kaltungo, Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim Ahmed, passionately called on women in the area to ensure they put to action lectures on how to utilise the abundant rich food in the area for the benefit of their children and secure their future.
