By Izunna Okafor, Awka
The member representing Aguata Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Engr. Dom Okafor, has explained why he chose to empower his constituents with wheelbarrows, hoes, and cutlasses, an initiative that has recently sparked off a chain of reactions and counter-reactions on social media.
Speaking in an exclusive telephone interview with this reporter on Wednesday, the APGA lawmaker described the empowerment as a “deliberate, targeted, and intentional agricultural revolution project” aimed at reawakening the consciousness of farming among his people, while also addressing food insecurity in the constituency.
This reporter, Izunna Okafor, gathered that the event, which took place on Tuesday at Central School, Igbo-Ukwu, saw the distribution of over 500 wheelbarrows, alongside hoes and machetes, to selected beneficiaries drawn from across Aguata’s 14 towns. The programme, organized in collaboration with the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, and Nelo and Lone Ltd., also provided financial support to beneficiaries.
According to the benefactor, Hon. Okafor, criticisms that trailed the empowerment were unfounded and politically motivated.
“Who said that it is not useful? Who said that wheelbarrows, hoes and machetes are not useful?” he rhetorically questioned.
According to him, “We are talking about food insecurity here, and the need for food security. We want people to go back to farming. The beneficiaries are the rural farmers; they are subsistent farmers. The people peddling these criticisms are being sponsored. You know that election is around the corner. The beneficiaries were very visibly happy.”
The federal lawmaker stressed that the programme was not a stand-alone gesture but part of his broader manifesto covering agriculture, sports, education, and economic empowerment.
“If you look at my manifesto, I have different segments and categories of empowerment. Within the agricultural sector, I had earlier distributed seedlings in the past. I had also distributed fertilizers twice. So, this distribution of tools is another part of it. It is targeted, deliberate and intentional,” he said.
He further emphasized that this was not the end. “This is just the first. Yes, and more are coming,” he assured.
Responding to the claim that the timing of the programme was wrong since the farming season is almost over, Hon. Okafor described that as baseless and another unfounded media ranting that holds no water, explaining that the distributed farm implements are not perishable goods, and can even also be highly useful in every season, year after year.
“Wheelbarrows, hoes, and machetes are not perishable items. If they claim that the farming season is over, don’t we have other seasons? Do they need dictionary to understand that the tools are useful in every season, both for cultivation, harvesting, or even household chores?” he questioned.
The lawmaker explained that his choice of such empowerment was informed by proper needs assessment and consultation with community leaders.
“I don’t do things because I want to please people. I do needs assessments before I do anything. I come from the private sector. I am not given to all these people who prefer money. You give them money, buy or share keke and motorcycle, which are more like giving them fish without teaching or equipping them on how to fish,” he said.
While highlighting the importance of subsistence farming, Hon. Okafor painted a vivid picture of how rural families can survive economic hardship.
“Like I told them yesterday during the event, a lot of families are going through hardship because they depend on what they buy from markets. They can’t even boast of having a vegetable farm behind their yard or planting some cassava.
“By the time you depend on markets and buying virtually everything, things are very expensive now. The essence of this thing is to reawaken that consciousness, to encourage people to embrace farming no matter the level — peasantry or whatever the scale is. We are awakening people’s consciousness and interest in agriculture.”
Hon. Okafor also addressed concerns that insecurity had discouraged farming in some parts of the state, stating that with the efforts of Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, normalcy has largely returned in different parts of Anambra State, Aguata inclusive . He added that Aguata’s smaller landmass has not prevented families from engaging in backyard and subsistence farming, which, he argued, can help reduce household dependence on costly market purchases.
While highlighting the importance of subsistence farming, Hon. Okafor painted a vivid picture of how rural families can survive economic hardship.
“I am a local breed,” Hon. Okafor stated, further recounting his experience as a child of local farmers.
His words: “Growing up, I can’t remember my family buying yam or things like bitterleaf, ụgụ, vegetables and some other basic food items from the market. Instead, we sold, because we always farmed, had enough to consume, and much extra to sell in the market. And that shaped my life.
“Today, I want to reawaken that consciousness. If a family depends entirely on buying everything from the market, they will keep suffering. With subsistence farming, they can at least feed themselves.”
Continuing, the lawmaker said, “This is about building self-reliance, encouraging food production, and it largely aligning with Governor Soludo’s agricultural revolution in Anambra State. It is a thoughtful and deliberate decision.”
He further hinted that the initiative is backed by the 2025 Appropriation Act as a constituency project, and not an arbitrary gesture. He stressed that it is wrong and fallacious to trivialize a duly approved and budgeted intervention designed to address real needs at the grassroots.
Beyond agriculture, Hon. Okafor outlined some of his other developmental interventions across Aguata Federal Constituency.
These, he highlighted, include a 4-kilometer road set for soonest commissioning by the Governor, a 1.6-kilometer road in Igbo-ukwu already commissioned by the Governor, the constructions of classroom blocks across Igbo-ukwu, Aguluezechukwu, Uga, Akpo, and Umuchu, as well as ongoing work on a state-of-the-art multi-purpose indoor games and skill acquisition centre, which he envisioned will be the best and first of its kind in the entire South-East upon completion.
While revealing that the commissioning of the completed classroom blocks will kick off when schools resume, he further recounted his efforts in digital empowerment, provision of laptops, and training of young people in various skills and sports, among other initiatives and empowerment programmes.
He, however, said that critics often myopically ignore these achievements and prefer to sentimentally misrepresent facts for political reasons and out of their shortsightedness.
The quintessential lawmaker said his style is different from that of politicians who see distribution of cash or handing out motorcycles and tricycles to constituents as the only way of empowerment. He further regretted that some of these motorcycles or tricycles are even often sold by the beneficiaries shortly after receiving them, which is why some lazy constituents in different parts of the country prefer that type of empowerment.
“Let’s say you bought the motorcycles for ₦1,500,000 each and distributed each to a beneficiary; then few days after, he sells it for ₦600,000 or below, and blows off the money on frivolities, and after a short while, he will still be complaining of hunger and hardship.
“So, by that, you can see that you have not actually taught the person how to fish. But, by this latest empowerment and initiative of mine, I’m rather equipping and teaching my people how to fish, and not merely giving them fish,” he explained.
The lawmaker concluded by noting that while critics may focus on optics, his constituents have shown overwhelming appreciation for the gesture.
“In fact, today I have gotten more than 100 calls of commendation from different people. Some who couldn’t attend or get farm implements yesterday are asking when theirs will come. And I told them to be patient while the next phase of empowerment loads. This is just the beginning,” he concluded, still reassuring his constituents that more categories of empowerment are underway, among other which agriculture remains a top priority.
Video and More photos from the event:
