If we look closely at the staple foods Nigerians depend on today, garri remains one of the most accessible and relatively affordable options for millions of households.
Garri is produced from cassava, a crop that has become deeply embedded in Nigeria’s food culture and agricultural economy. In many open markets, garri can still be purchased in relatively small quantities, making it accessible to people who may not be able to afford some of the more expensive staples. While prices naturally vary from one location and period to another, the basic argument remains: cassava-based foods have historically provided Nigerians with an affordable source of calories.
But cassava is much more than garri.
Cassava has numerous derivatives and applications spanning household consumption and industrial production. It can be processed into flour, starch, ethanol, sweeteners and other industrial inputs. The Central Bank of Nigeria has previously identified cassava as a strategic commodity, noting Nigeria's enormous production capacity while also highlighting the country's dependence on imported cassava derivatives.
This makes cassava particularly important beyond Nigeria's borders.
Nigeria has consistently ranked among the world's leading cassava producers and is currently regarded as the world's largest producer. The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) notes that Nigeria produced about 59 million tonnes in 2017, representing roughly one-fifth of global production at the time. More recent figures reported from FAOSTAT data put Nigeria's 2024 production at about 62.6 million tonnes.
The interesting part is that Nigeria's enormous cassava production has not yet translated into the level of industrial and export value that the crop could potentially generate. Recent reporting indicates that much of Nigeria's cassava is still consumed domestically, while countries such as Thailand have built much stronger export industries around cassava derivatives.
That is where the story becomes particularly interesting for Oyo State.
Oyo has long been an important cassava-producing state, particularly across its agricultural communities. The state has also witnessed a significant example of how cassava can move from being a simple food crop to an industrial raw material.
In August 2022, Governor Seyi Makinde commissioned the first cassava-based sorbitol factory in Africa, owned by Psaltry International Limited and located at Alayide Village, Ado-Awaye, in Oyo State. The Oyo State Government described the facility as the first of its kind in Africa and the second in the world at the time.
The significance goes beyond the factory itself. Sorbitol is used in areas including food, pharmaceuticals and oral-care products. The project demonstrated what happens when agricultural production is connected to processing, infrastructure, investment and industrial demand.
And then there is the political symbolism.
Today, Governor Seyi Makinde is associated with a new political direction through the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), whose logo is centred on cassava. This is not merely an interpretation of the symbol: the party's constitution officially describes its logo as a cassava stem/tuber and says it symbolises wealth creation, inclusive participation, unity through agriculture and productivity for national development. The party's slogan is also officially stated as “APM – Nigeria First.”
That makes the cassava symbol particularly interesting.
Cassava represents food. It represents agriculture. It represents value addition. It represents rural livelihoods. And, if properly processed and industrialised, it represents exports, manufacturing and foreign-exchange opportunities.
So when one looks at the APM symbol through that lens, the cassava can be interpreted as more than a political logo. It can be seen as a representation of plenty, productivity, value creation and economic independence.
My interpretation, therefore, is simple: if cassava can move from the farm to the household, from the household to the factory, and from the factory to international markets, perhaps that same philosophy can be applied to Nigeria's economy.
With APM's “Nigeria First” message, I would presume that the broader vision is for a Nigeria that places its productive capacity, agriculture, industries, people and economic interests at the centre of national development.
A Nigeria where there is plenty rather than scarcity; value rather than waste; production rather than excessive dependence on imports; and prosperity rather than persistent economic hardship.
Ultimately, cassava may be just a crop.
But in Nigeria's economic story, it could also represent something much bigger: the possibility of turning what we already have into what the world is willing to pay for.
And perhaps that is the deeper meaning behind the cassava on the APM logo.
Nigeria First.
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