LANRE AJIBOYE'S MEDLEY CORNER

Olanrewaju AjiboyeThursday, June 2, 2011
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MEMO TO PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN: WHERE WE WERE COMING FROM (III)

AGRICULTURE:

he popular saying in the Southwest of Nigeria is that once the poverty of hunger is conquered, the quintessence of poverty is defeated, Agriculture, the science through which plants are cultivated for food and fiber offers more than food in today’s sophisticated world. Apart from its additional attributes of animals and fungi cultivation, it is also a panacea to undesired consequences resulting from energy benefits especially petroleum exploration and utilization and electricity generation and distribution; scientists and others now are canvassing for green revolution to replace environmental pollution.


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Nigeria on the other hand is in deep crisis on how to feed her population and is far away from confronting the challenges posed by environmental issues,not to talk of generating income through export of cash crops she has the potentials of cultivating.

Prior to the quantum leap in the oil sector two decades ago, the Nigerian economy was mostly agrarian driven when cash crops like Citrus, Cotton, Cocoa, peanuts (groundnuts) palm oil, palm kernel and rubber were major export products to destinations in western countries like Europe and North America. The agricultural activity then was not limited to cash crops; it was complemented by fishing, cattle herding, poultry and lumbering. In fact this complementary agricultural sector was said to have contributed then, more than 2 percent to the country’s Gross domestic product (GDP), an index used by economists to gauge the economic health of a country.

Nigeria is naturally endowed with a climate that balances its agricultural needs by way of her North and South divide; its usual heavy rainfalls in the South in rainy seasons make the region’s savannah and forest a natural beneficiary for growth of staple foods like cassava, cocoa yam, sweet potatoes and yams in root crops and cocoa, palm oil and rubber in tree crops. The North that experiences dry seasons most part of the year also grows some staple foods that are impervious to droughts like varieties of guinea corns; in addition, the North also grows millet and cow peas, but cotton and groundnuts (peanuts) are the two products usually done in commercial quantities. In between the Arid North and the humid South lies the Middle belt, another producer of staple foods such as yams, sorghum, cassava, millet, corn, rice and sesame whose seeds are edible and capable of yielding oils.

The oil exploration which ought to bring blessings to all and most importantly, inhabitants of its primary source has ironically brought pains, poverty, and constant threat of implosion of our dear country. It also blinded us to past opportunities and made us very complacent. Is groundnut (peanuts) cultivation no longer relevant in today’s world economy? Is cocoa cultivation has no more commercial value in world’s economy as of today? The answers to both questions are NO! The two products are as crucial and viable as they were then if not more now.

The choice is for us to rejuvenate these vital sectors of foreign exchange earning products and it cannot be done without adequate government input in terms of logistics, enabling environment and funding. This president (Goodluck Jonathan) rekindles our hope that we can still pull through economically, when preparatory to his inauguration as a full-fledged president, he had met with the organized private sector in Lagos all in an effort to put the economy in the front burner. The Commander-in-Chief is hereby enjoined to meet with remnants of cocoa and groundnut exporters with the intention of turning the sector around. We hope he is not weighed down by ubiquitous lobbyists who mostly are the albatross of leaders in government. If groundnut pyramids spring up in the North again between now and 2015 and cocoa business receives a boost in the Southwest in the same period, we shall overlook the wasteful expenditure of One billion Naira on inauguration ceremony, but if he fails, we shall condemn him and he would force us to have a rethink that after all lack of intellectualism in governance is not really not germane in leadership challenges we have faced as a country, because Mr. President is a PhD holder.

Have we ever given it a thought that investment in agriculture can stem not only the tide of unemployment, but also curb rural- urban migration? Consider this hypothesis; the federal government earmarks X amount of money or guarantees a loan through consortium of banks; liaises with states on their agricultural potentials; and requests them (states) for parcels of farmland in their municipalities.

If these stages of the above hypothesis are achieved, the federal government would now float a 'back to farm' program for any interested citizen based on the following terms:

  1. Crash programs to train prospective participants in different modern agricultural methods.

  2. Readiness of would- be beneficiaries to relocate to other parts other than their place of residence especially if they are residing in already choked cities.

  3. Professionally prepared but simplified record keeping program which must be periodically examined by representatives of the federal government probably from the finance ministry.

  4. Periodic visits to farm sites by competent or trained personnel in relevant field of studies relating to a particular farm set up under the scheme for the purpose of evaluating and offering of professional advice on how to improve on performance.

  5. Submission of evaluation reports to ascertain performers and failures and sanctions for proven cases of abuse and privilege.

Going by the Nigerian mentality or the Nigerian factor of sharing of “National Cake”, a dangerous line of argument bolstered by a leader who should canvass otherwise, that a region should join mainstream politics so that they can be in the know on how they are sharing it, cynics would argue that such funding would amount to colossal wastes. We can apply the ‘parable of a sower’ as told in the Bible to puncture the views of such cynics. Some seeds will fall on the paths and the birds feed on them quickly. Some seeds will fall on the rock where the plants will grow quickly but soon dries up due to lack of enough soil. Yet some seeds will grow among many weeds and the weeds will retard the growth of the plants and make them die. But what about the seeds that will fall on good fertile ground that will grow well and yield bountiful harvest for the farmer? Have we not wasted more money on legislooters?.The proposal will also provide employment to a lot of people and those people would do all within their means to see that the scheme succeeds so that they can also continue to keep their job.

We can also draw a reference from the IBB era. Despite the corruption of the time, Babangida’s National Directorate of Employment’s program and his late wife’s pet project, Better Life for Rural Women, yielded some positive results as some of the beneficiaries of the time are big time employers of labour today. And the scheme being advocated through this medium would not even result to cash disbursements, rather loan facilities would be packaged for interested individuals and the facilities are to serve as part of collateral for such beneficiaries. If there is reasonable enough evidence of deliberate waste resulting in failure of the project, the physical structure should be confiscated and re-allocated to those on the queue. Those who would supervise the project and the beneficiaries should all be part of the larger societal moral rebirth program that hones patriotism among the leaders and the led.

It is in this regard that the president should energize the enervated graft fighting agencies like EFCC, ICPC and Code of Conduct bureau to ensure that real time criminals are brought to justice and the fugitives among them are made to run but unable to hide until they face justice.

Much as one would appreciate and understand the limitations to government's ability to deliver on all programs contending for attention due to paucity of funds and time constraints, the president is therefore enjoined to collapse government priorities into the core programs and those that can be delayed.

The president is hereby enjoined to also prioritize agriculture just as he has promised to do on electricity. We do not want to have refrigerators working without affordable foodstuffs and fruits to store into them for our enjoyment as a people who subscribed to democracy as the best form of government to preserve all forms of rights deserving to us as citizens of Nigeria. We should also not be left behind in the "Clean environment" campaign being promoted around the world.May God grant those who will be formulating and implementing the policy the wisdom to get it right.

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Olanrewaju Ajiboye is a member, Board of Nigeria Foundation www.nigeriafoundation.org

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