The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday Magazine

  • When Owan nation deliberated on peace, development

    When Owan nation deliberated on peace, development

    Recently, those indigenous to the Owan East Local Government Area of Edo State gathered at the expansive Institute of Physical Education (IPE) Hall on Afuze-Auchi Road in Afuze, the headquarters of Owan East Local Government Area. The Owan Conscience, a socio-cultural organisation organised a summit whose theme was “Transcending the Miasma of Ethnic Chauvinism: Towards a People-centred Development in Edo North” to chart a new path for the development of the area. The event also served as a platform to reward those who had contributed to the development of the Owan ethnic nationality. Southsouth Bureau Chief, BISI OLANIYI reports

    On March 9, this year, the Institute of Physical Education (IPE) Hall on Afuze-Auchi Road in Afuze, the headquarters of Owan East Local Government Area of Edo State came alive.

    As early as noon that day, guests had begun to throng the spatial headquarters of the local government.

    There was heavy drumming, singing, trumpeting and breath-taking dance steps by various cultural dancers who thrilled the guests who had seated before the arrival of important dignitaries invited for the occasion.

    It was all glamour and show of opulence, as a substantial number of guests had gathered at Afuze.

    The weather was calm as the sun shone brightly out of the azure sky. The spacious hall was largely suffused with different beautifully coloured traditional dancers who entertained the people. Gaily dressed Owan women known for their panache and active social lifestyle were a marvel to behold. The men equally in their beautiful traditional attire swirled to the suiting rhythm of drums and other musical instruments in that somewhat balmy afternoon. It was a gathering of who is who in Owan land and Edo State.

    Those indigenous to Owan West and Owan East local government areas, their eminent friends and associates, came together at the maiden Owan Summit which was organised by Owan Conscience whose theme was “Transcending the Miasma of Ethnic Chauvinism: Towards a People-centred Development in Edo North.”

    The easiest and much shorter route to Afuze is through the strategic Benin-Ekpoma-Auchi-Abuja Expressway. Currently, the thruway has become deplorable; with craters in the middle of the hitherto-busy road. Drivers of articulated vehicles and other motorists, as well as commuters now spend weeks, instead of hours before reaching their destinations, even as the residents of the areas volunteer to cook for the stranded road users, who are mostly travelling towards the North.

    Despite the expressway being in a deplorable state, people must necessarily embark on trips. To achieve this, motorists and commuters find alternative routes to make their journeys somewhat easy.

    This time around, the alternative route to Afuze is the narrow, dangerous, accident-prone, deplorable, but manageable Benin-Sobe-Ifon-Akure Highway that is a haven for kidnappers/robbers.

    Travellers from Benin will, from Ifon in Ondo State, link Sabongidda-Ora, the headquarters of Owan West Local Government Area of Edo, and then pass through Ojavun-Emai in Owan East Local Government Area, as well as some of the other Emai communities, before getting to Afuze. This gives rise to an elongated and stressful journey.

    Owan is one of the five major ethnic groups in Edo State, with the others being Bini, Esan, Akoko-Edo and Etsako.

    Owan, with 22 political wards (each local government area has 11 wards), is located in the northern part of Edo State, and one of the three federal constituencies that make up Edo North Senatorial District.

    The area has 13 clans, with nine in Owan East, while Owan West has four. There are 50 autonomous communities in Owan, with over 20 camp settlements.

    Owan occupies a landmass of about 2,160 square kilometres and it is bounded in the North by Akoko-Edo LGA, in the East by Etsako West LGA, in the South by Esan West, Esan Central and Uhunmwonde LGAs, and in the West by Ovia Northeast LGA of Edo and Osse LGA of Ondo State.

    The area has a tropical climate, characterised by the wet and dry seasons, with a population of 251,686; according to the 2006 census of the National Population Commission (NPC), while the 2011 estimation put the population at 390,350.

    Owan, as an ethnic group, is not a unified linguistic entity, as it is a conglomeration of various, but similar dialects. There are no fewer than 18 dialects spoken within Owan communities.

    Owan Conscience is a socio-cultural organisation established by patriotic Owan sons and daughters who are zealous about the growth and development of Owan; to give it a proper placing in the political and economic space of Edo State and Nigeria. Its mission spans development, security, politics and empowerment.

    Owan Conscience ensures that the harmony and refined social relationships among the various communities in Owan are sustained; advances the development of every community in Owan as emerging modern towns and villages; intervenes and ensures that development inflow retains/sustains the environmental sanity of the various communities in Owan land.

    The organisation aims to deploy advocacy and legal options in defence of Owan people and their communities against infractions that affect their environmental and social well-being; bring coordinated economic development to the people through programmes that enhance small-scale economic initiatives and rural economic development; and strengthen the moral content of the younger generation of Owan land, while ensuring their commitment to academic development and exploits.

    The Organisation is poised to ensure that the elected representatives from the area are not disconnected from the Owan community, especially in their various constituencies; identify areas of needed infrastructure and draw the government’s attention to such imperatives; and organise award-driven competitions such as quizzes, debate and essay-writing for Owan youths.

    Fourteen illustrious individuals who are indigenous to the Owan Clan, including four posthumous, were honoured at the colourful and carnival-like summit. The awards were in recognition of their contributions to the development of the area. Those who were presented with the awards included a former Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase (from Owan West LGA) and the member representing Owan Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, who is also the Leader of the House, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere (also from Owan West LGA).

    Other individuals who were honoured are Senator Yisa Braimoh, Maj.-Gen. Joseph Omozogie, Pally Iriase, Patrick Giwa, Dr. Ernest Afolabi Umakhihe, Justus Aikhoje, Julius Ikoghode and Greg Uanseru.

    Those who were honoured posthumously included the Oleije of Emai, His Royal Highness (HRH) J.A. Ogedengbe II; Okumagbe of Luleha, HRH Timothy Omo-Bare; Alhaji (Chief) Inu Umoru and Chief J.A. Aigbokhaode. All the recipients of the awards were presented with certificates and plaques.

    Ihonvbere described the Owan people as dedicated, resilient, hardworking, peace-loving, conscious and warm, with great abilities and undiluted commitment to the growth of their ethnic nationality.

    The Leader of the House of Representatives urged Owan people to rise against primordial, petty or political sentiments and recommit themselves to their communal existence, rebuild their strength, resources and opportunities to mentor the youth population, since there lay the Owan nation’s strength, even as he declared that the journey would not be easy, given betrayals and political opportunists that would twist the goals and comments to find favour elsewhere.

    Arase, the Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC) assured  that he was committed to leveraging his close ties to the authorities to promote the interests of the Owan people. He was optimistic that there were brighter days ahead.

    A former Deputy Governor of Edo State, Rev. Peter Obadan, who hails from Owan West LGA, equally urged the Owan people to imbibe the love and oneness bequeathed to them by their forebears for the Owan nation to be great again.

    The Chairman of the Planning Committee of the Owan Summit, Richard Ofen-Imu, a lawyer, in his welcome address, said that Owan Conscience was a response initiative that focuses on identifying basic anti-development obstacles confronting the Owan people and resolving the contradictions in the best interest of the senatorial district.

    Ofen-Imu, a former Chairman of Owan West Local Government Council, said: “Critical to the present challenges of the Owan people is a process of denigration integrated into a philosophy of alienation. It is about a deliberate design to enthrone an inferiority complex in the psyche of the Owan personality. It is a response to the compass of derogation, inferiority, subjugation and alienation foisted on our people and community.

    “As patriots and objects of holistic development, we will be undermining the development of our country, when we permit or tolerate ethnic chauvinism that eliminates the best brains and hands of our small geographical compass in harnessing the potential of our country.”

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    He also stated that beyond the provocation rendered by the ideological contraption, Owan Conscience focuses on making responsible and responsive leadership the hub of the cultural nexus.

    The Chairman of the occasion, Justice Rowland Amaize, a retired Judge of Edo High Court, insisted that Owan ethnic nationality could not be undermined in any circumstance in Nigeria.

    Amaize also described Owan as a viable land that must be reckoned with in Nigeria, even as he stated that the ethnic nationality could not afford to lag. He insisted that the people must eschew primordial considerations in order not to undermine the youth.

    The Keynote Speaker, Prof. Monday Igbafen of Edo State government-owned Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma noted that the theme of the summit was apt, given the renewed awareness and agitation for fairness and equity in the sharing of political power among Etsako, Owan and Akoko-Edo, the three sub-ethnic groups that makeup Edo North Senatorial District.

    Igbafen, a Professor of Philosophy, who is the Benin Zonal Coordinator of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) also pointed out that the summit was germane, against the backdrop of a growing sense of ethnic dominance, marginalisation, relegation and alienation in Edo North Senatorial District by one sub-ethnic group against others.

    He said “Politics in sane climes is the bedrock of transformation and development of society, either in economics, politics, morality, material, freedom, justice, equality or security.

    “I commend and congratulate Owan Conscience on blazing the trail in bringing quality sons and daughters of Owan together to engage and interrogate the all-important issue of ethnicity vis-à-vis collective progress and development in Edo North.

    “The problems associated with ethnicity are not Edo North specifically. They are Nigerian problems, as they are global, especially because Nigeria has more than 300 ethnic nationalities.

    “The summit desires to chart a new roadmap for assured Owan’s identity and recognition in the socio-political matrix of Edo North, now and in the future.”

  • Confusion over husband’s alleged  murder of wife in Port Harcourt

    Confusion over husband’s alleged  murder of wife in Port Harcourt

    Did Michael Chidozie, a middle-aged man, kill his wife of 10 years? The police in Rivers State are battling to resolve the puzzle surrounding the death of Ufuoma, the wife of Chidozie.

    Ufuoma, who was about 37 years old, was found dead on March 5. She died at their residence on Chinda Street, Obio-Akpo Local Government Area, Rivers State.

    It was gathered that there was an altercation between Ufuoma and her husband on alleged financial irresponsibility of Chidozie. The woman reportedly accused the husband of not providing for the family. She was said to have complained that the man abandoned his financial obligations to his three boys and wife.

    On the night of March 4, tempers flared between the man and his wife.  The children claimed they saw their father lose his cool and hit their mother. They said they overheard their mother crying but that their father gave them a marching order to hit the sheet. They said while they went to bed in obedience to their father’s order, they could no longer hear the cry of their mother.

    On the morning of March 5th, the children were woken up by a bang on the door. They heard the voice of their uncle, their mother’s brother, directing them to call their father, but they discovered that their father was not in the apartment.

    The children were said to have told their uncle that their father was not around, following which the uncle said they should call their mother, but all efforts by the kids to wake up their mother were to no avail.

    The uncle reportedly asked the children to give him the key to their door. He opened it, entered their room and discovered that his sister was lifeless. He raised the alarm that attracted neighbours, who immediately invited the police.

    So what happened to Ufuoma? The uncle said the husband of his sister called him and asked him to come to his apartment, citing emergency. However, on getting to the house, he discovered that his in-law bolted the house and ran away.

    While Ufuoma’s body was moved to the mortuary, the police spread their dragnet in search of her husband and arrested Chidozie on March 6.  Though Ufuoma is no longer alive to speak about the circumstances that led to her death, her bosom friend of 10 years, Sarah, provided some lead.

    Sarah, who was yet to come to terms with the reality of Ufuoma’s death, said they were classmates at the Auchi Polytechnic where they graduated from the accounting department. She said marriage later brought them together again in Port Harcourt.

    “But the last time I saw my friend in December 2023, I discovered that things were not well with her. She complained that her husband was maltreating her financially. She said the husband was working but failed to provide for her and the three boys.

    “But I told her to be patient with him, that things were really tough. But she told me that about three months ago, her husband borrowed money but could not pay back.

    “She said those he borrowed money from later came to their house to seize some of their items,” she said.

    Sarah confirmed that prior to December last year, she did not receive such complaints from her friend. She, however, recalled that following hardship, her friend and the husband relocated from two-bedroom flat along Iwofe Road to a bedroom flat.

    On whether the friend complained to her about domestic violence, Sarah said: “She did not complain about violence. She only said the man was not providing for them financially.”

    She added: “In February, my friend called me and begged me to help her with some money to feed the children. I asked her about her husband and she said he was out of the house. I later sent her N5000. That was the last time I heard from her.

    “But I got a call on March 5 in the morning and the caller asked me to come to my friend’s house. I rushed down there and saw many people in the compound including some policemen. I saw my friend lifeless.

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    “I cried and they told me that the husband beat her to death. I followed them to take her body to the mortuary.

    “I looked at her body but I didn’t see bruises. She was just lifeless. I wondered whether in the heat of the argument the man pushed her and she hit her head on a hard surface. But I checked her head and there was no injury.”

    Sarah appealed to the police to diligently investigate the circumstances that led to the death of her friend. She asked the police to thoroughly quiz the husband, insisting that the man has questions to answer.

    “Why did he run away if he was not responsible for her death? Why was he not available to even take the woman to the hospital and perhaps to the mortuary? Why did he abandon the children with the corpse and run away?” she queried.

    The police are currently trying to resolve the conundrum. It was gathered that the police may resort to conducting an autopsy on the body of Ufuoma to resolve the confusion.

    The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, said Chidozie was currently in detention. Iringe- Koko said the suspect was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Port Harcourt for discreet investigation.

    She said: “The suspect has been arrested. He has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Port Harcourt for discreet investigation.”

  • Behold Nasarawa community where girls become mothers at 14

    Behold Nasarawa community where girls become mothers at 14

    • Teenage pregnancy, underage marriage rampant because we’re disconnected from outside world  -Community leader
    • Early marriage ruined my life,  says teen widow

    Talatu Jitso, 16, is an indigene of Agyema community in Ekye development area of Nasarawa State. Sharing border with Benue State along the riverine areas, the community is among the communities in the state with the highest incidence of early pregnancy and underage marriage.

    Located about 61 kilometres from Lafia, the state capital, the road that links the community with others around it are not motorable, leaving the residents whose major occupations are farming and fishing with motorcycle and canoe with which they cross River Benue as the only means of transportation.

    Every new visitor to the community is confronted with the strange sight of mass pregnancy among painfully young girls whose ages range between 12 and 14 years. The community is notorious for giving the hands of girls as young as 13 years out in marriage. Hence at age 14, many supposed girls in Agyema village are already mothers.

    Talatu Jitso, a teenage girl from Agyema community, told our correspondent that she shoulders the responsibilities of a 45-year-old. She does not in any way look her age because at age 16, she already has two kids and pregnant with the third.

    Unfortunately, the presence of marauding herdsmen around the riverine area hinders farm work, which is their major source of livelihood.

    “I had nothing doing, the little farm work I do to take care of my children is no longer an option because you are not sure of going to the farm and coming back successfully.

    “I used to cultivate small portion of land primarily to feed myself and children and also sell little when I harvest a surplus to take care of other needs,”he said ⁶

    Our correspondent gathered that three years ago, Talatu was impregnated by a man in the neighbouring community, who was in his 40s. She moved in with him as his wife, but the man was recently killed by herdsmen while working on his farm. Worse still, the man died while Talatu was expecting a third child.

    Talatu’s situation and others like hers are a major source of concern, considering that they are minors who should still be under the care of their parents but who are already parents themselves.

    In Nigeria, child marriage is defined as a union between two people in which one or both parties are younger than 18. But in Nasarawa State, it is virtually taken for granted that a 17- year-old girl is an adulthood. The United Nations Children’s Find (UNICEF) estimates that 43 per cent of women in Nigeria aged between 20 and 24 got married before their 18th birthday.

    Indeed, about 17 per cent of them were married by their 15th birthday. Unfortunately, 80 per cent of those that got married before they are 18 give up education as does 39 per cent of those that got married before age 15.

    Talatu, who became pregnant and got married to the man with her parents’ consent even though there were no official rites to formalise the union, said the decision to open her legs for the late Audu Bako ended up ruining her life as killer herdsmen did not allow Bako to see his children grow.

    Now she is struggling to make ends meet. “I struggle daily to feed these children. I am traumatised emotionally and I am hoping for help from God,” she said.

    Recalling the circumstances of her late husband’s death, Talatu said he had gone to the farm on the fateful day with nothing to suggest that he had embarked on a journey of no return or that it was the last time they would see each other.

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    The distraught widow, who wept over the huge burden left for her alone, said: “My husband’s absence has ruined my life and there is no hope for me again. The killer herdsmen have finish me.

    “Killing my husband at this early age is too much for me to bear. The killer herdsmen deprived me of peace of mind.

    “Although I admit that I got married too early,  killing my husband is a devastating blow. I have been waking up in the middle of the night to weep bitterly since my husband died.”

    But why would parents give out their underage girls in marriage? A concerned group from the community recently raised the alarm at a workshop on the prevalence of underage marriage among girls and school children in the community.

    The group blamed the ugly trend on poverty and lack of government presence in Agatu communities in Ekye development area of Doma Local Government.

    When our correspondent visited Agyema village to find out why underage marriage and pregnancy are rampant, the residents expressed disappointment in the failure of government over the years to respond to their plight, especially funding education in the community.

    The community head of Agyema, Godiya Aitonu, told our correspondent that the community was completely out of touch with the developing world as there was no motorable road connecting it with the outside world.

    He asked: “When you entered the community, did you see any road a car can come in through? It is only by motorbike.

    “Between this community and Agbashi, which is about 11 kilometres, you know how many hours it took you to reach this community.

    “That is the condition we found ourselves in, and that is what we have been facing for so many years.

    “Our main occupation is farming or fishing. Most times when we farm, we don’t have the means to convey our farm produce to the market.

    “Most times, the farm produce perish here and that has discouraged so many families from engaging in the farming business we are known for.”

    The traditional ruler admitted that underage marriage and the problem of out-of-school children are very rampant and on the increase in the community, saying that it is not their culture to marry out their girl child at early age.

    He said: “Child marriage is prevalent in my community because poverty is endemic. Parents and fathers especially actually benefit from the dowry and extras that their daughters’ suitors contributea to the family of the girl child.

    “The dream of every father or mother is to bring up children that would be great through good education. But where the parents do not have the wherewithal to give the children good education, is it not better to let the child marry?

    “Here, we have primary and secondary schools built by the state, but there is no maintenance or good teachers. Teachers don’t want to stay in this community because there is no infrastructure and it is not safe.

    “We are also confronted with the menace of Fulani attacks; they would not allow us to farm. Time without number our young girls and wives have been raped by these herdsmen, and that is why our women are afraid to step out of the community to the farm.

    “During Umaru Tanko Al-makura administration, he built a police station in this community when he was the governor. But as we are talking right now, that building is empty. We don’t have a single police officer here in Agyema

    “Whenever we have any issue on insecurity, we can’t get the attention of the police or any security operative till we travel to Agbashi. We have pleaded with the DPO at Agbashi to send his officers to our community but his complaint is that he does not have enough police officers in Agbashi.

    “The absence of security personnel has left us at the mercy of killer herdsmen who perpetuate all kinds of atrocities against the villagers almost on a daily basis.

    “How can a community with a population of over 15,000 be without a single security operative? My community is grossly neglected.

    “Each time teachers are posted from other communities to ours, in no time we will not see them again, and when we ask, they would tell us they could not live in our village because of the fear of herdsmen and rapists.

    “Our children cannot go to farm. We can’t afford to pay their school fees because our source of livelihood, which is farming, is almost cut off by tge herders

    “Other communities in the state have left us behind in areas of infrastructure like roads, electricity, schools, health, provision of potable water and other things.

    “Whenever politicians visit our community during electionerring campaigns, we tell them our challenges, but that would be the end of it.”

  • Furore as controversial judgment renders widow, children homeless

    Furore as controversial judgment renders widow, children homeless

    • Demolition of multimillion naira home, shopping mall forces mother of five to sleep inside church auditorium
    • Distraught widow petitions Lagos Chief Judge, demands fair hearing

    Loveth Ndelekwute’s story evokes pity. Until March 2022, she was living in her husband’s six-bedroom duplex on Market Road in the Ayobo area of Alimosho, Lagos, and was running a multimillion-naira supermarket in one of her husband’s properties with many employees. But grief sneaked into her once happy life as she was thrown into sudden widowhood in early December 2021 when her beloved husband and businessman, Edmond Ndelekwute, died.

    As demanded by Igbo tradition, Ndelekwute’s burial was held in his hometown of Oboro in Oru West Local Government Area of Imo State, in January 2022 while the 47-year-old widow returned to her husband’s Lagos home shortly after the burial.

    But she and her five children have not known peace ever since as she was confronted with a threat to demolish the entire properties left behind by her husband, including her supermarket, based on a judgment from a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja. The suit was allegedly filed by one Hassan Ali, described as a land speculator and property agent purportedly acting on behalf of one Soremekun Family which had sold the land to Loveth’s husband.

    Ironically, the mother of five had initially dismissed the threat to demolish the properties in question as a joke since they were properly documented with registered Certificate of Occupancy (CofO) and official receipts issued by the land-owning family.

    To her utmost shock, however, bulldozers were rolled out against the complex that housed the properties and they were demolished one after the other while she and her children were thrown out in the cold.

    Loveth cut a pitiable sight as she spoke to our reporter at a manger cum welding workshop in the Amule area of Ayobo, a Lagos suburb, on Monday.

    She said: “I have been living with my husband in the house since I got married to him in 1997 and never for once saw a man called Hassan or received any court summons regarding the land on which the properties were built.

    “We returned from the burial held in Oboro, Imo State towards the end of January 2023. On March 27, 2023, Hassan came with a team of policemen and thugs numbering 50 to take possession of our property, claiming that there was a November 15, 2015 judgment delivered by Justice IAF Oluyemi (Mrs) of a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja against our ownership of the landed property.

    “I told him that there was never a time that we were served with any court summons or notice to defend ourselves, but Hassan and his men forcibly ejected me and my children and they started breaking into the property. They removed the roofing sheets and sold them immediately.

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    “They also brought down other buildings; shopping malls comprising over 50 shops, my supermarkets where I had several people working for me. They left only our six-bedroom duplex and left our compound.”

    The precondition to the appearance of a defendant in court under the Administration of Criminal Justice, Act 2005, is that a defendant who is not in custody must be served with a copy of the charge along with a proof of evidence and notice of trial.

    Loveth further explained that she requested that the judgment be set aside because neither her late husband nor herself was aware of the suit filed by Hassan Ali before Justice Oluyemi delivered the judgment.

    However, while a date was fixed by the court to rule on the prayer that the judgment be set aside, the matter took a turn for the worse when Hassan again led soldiers to her compound and demolished the duplex where she lived with her children, in violation of the order that status quo be maintained pending the determination of the application before the court.

    She said: “I engaged lawyers to challenge the judgment  that was given without our knowledge. We were not served to defend ourselves, neither was my late husband aware of the case. So I asked that the judgment be set aside.

    “The application for the judgment to be set aside was filed before Justice Oluyemi, the same judge who gave the controversial judgment, asking for a stay of further execution and a review of the judgment since we had no idea of the case before the judgment was purportedly given.

    “Hassan and his allies were duly served and I had hoped that that would put a stop to his threats to pull down our residence.

    “Surprisingly, a few days to the day the matter was scheduled for review by Justice Oluyemi, Hassan Ali led a team of soldiers to our house, forcibly ejected us and demolished our six-bedroom duplex.

    “Since then, I have been living from hand to mouth, squatting in church and with family members.

    “I was living with my children in the house built by my husband. I only left for his hometown for his burial only to return to Lagos a few days later and become homeless.

    “I sleep in a church at Oshodi and live on charity and benevolence of members of the church while my children currently squat with one of my brothers at Ishefun.

    “Seeing me now, no one would know that I once lived in affluence before all our properties were snatched by a land speculator with the complicity of the judiciary that should save people from oppression.

    “Otherwise, how can a judgement be  delivered in a matter that the other party is not aware of or served any court summons?

    “The Shoremekun family has disowned the same Hassan. The family said they have disengaged his services as their land agent several years ago.

    “We found that a suit was fraudulently filed against us since 2012 without our knowledge. We were n ever served. Neither me nor my late husband was aware of the case. What kind of justice system is that?

    “Yet, judgment was given and our properties were demolished and they have begun to sell parts of the compound to people to build houses.”

    Loveth is unrelenting in her search for justice over the controversial demolition of the properties. Only recently, she wrote a petition to the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Kazeem Olanrewaju Alogba, and the National Judicial Council (NJC) in Abuja, accusing Justice IAF Oluyemi of poor handling of the case that led to the unlawful demolition of her family properties.

    Also, Loveth asked that the case be reassigned to another judge as she could no longer guarantee the impartiality of Justice Oluyemi if she continues to handle the matter.

    A copy of the petition dated January 12, 2024 obtained by our reporter reads in part: “I am the widow of the named defendant – MR. EDMUND NDELEKWUTE now deceased in suit No. ID/1081/12.

    “A mother of five (5) children living at No. 2, New Market Road, Ayobo, Lagos before my family property was completely demolished acting on the undefended court judgment delivered on 15th November, 2015 which has been challenged via application filed on my behalf to set aside the purported judgment still pending before justice L.A.F Oluyemi (Mrs.) and with motion moved and with court ruling scheduled to be delivered on 14th of December, 2023.

    “He, Hassan Alli, had carried out this ignoble act under the watchful eyes of the judge with reckless abandon, nuisance and rascality in lawless fiefdom.

     “This is indeed a perverse act, an exercise devoid of sober judgments and very ridiculous, shameful indeed and deserves immediate sanction and correction. 

    “From all indications, it is crystal clear that the judge had compromised his office and position by romancing and hobnobbing with the plaintiff – Hassan Ali and he has never hidden his feelings to this effect by boasting publicly to those who care to listen that he had bought the judge over. 

    “This was largely demonstrated by the judge’s repugnant attitude and her dislike for my person in the courtroom when she openly said that she would send me to prison over a case she had not treated in (sic) partisan consideration.

    “In view of the above ugly scenario, I urge you therefore sir, to use your good offices to please assist to reassign the case file to a new and impartial judge, and I vehemently pledge to abide by the outcome of the court verdict in this regard in good faith sir, because I have no faith, hope, trust or confidence any longer in the poor handling of my case by Justice L.A.F Oluyemi (Mrs.) whom I so therefore believe is completely biased and whose body language and actions is tilted towards the plaintiff and so cannot give me a fair hearing. 

    “Up till now, I have visited the court on several occasions only to be told that only the judge can list the case for hearing again. My patience is running out because I am tired of sleeping in the church like a refugee not bargain for, as a law abiding citizen. “Conversely, let the judge brace up to her responsibility in upholding the sanctify of the law and to be more careful in her dealing with friends who may want to use her to fight a war that does not exist in order to shame those who have secret agenda to pursue like Hassan Alli, to protect her integrity and career.

    “So therefore (sic), let your untiring efforts in fighting this menace and scourge remain a landmark Sir.”

    Loveth added: “We were in court on the day the judge was to rule on our application to set aside the judgment when she told us that she had handed off our matter following a petition to the office of the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Kazeem Alogba, who has since asked her to submit the case file to him.

    “However, the judge has refused to comply while my children and I continue to grapple with hopelessness, homelessness and poverty as we cannot take care of ourselves.”

    In a telephone conversation with our reporter, Hassan Ali said Loveth’s late husband was duly served the court summons when he was still alive and that she received and signed the document on behalf of her husband.

    He said: “The woman is lying. Her husband was duly served the notice of trial when he was alive and we still have the proof of service.

    “Loveth Ndelekwute collected and signed the notice and the copy she signed is in the case file and we have been able to prove that in court.

    “Loveth had sold a portion of the land to someone before we came to take possession of the property, and she even took us to various police formations including Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Alagbon, Lagos and Zone 2 Police Headquarters, Lagos, all to no avail.

    “It was after she reneged on her promise to do ratification on the property that we took possession of the property.”

  • Twist in Osun communities’ endless war

    Twist in Osun communities’ endless war

    • •Anxiety as communal feud spreads to Oyo
    • •Feuding party withdraws from Adeleke’s conflict resolution committee

    A mechanism put in place by stakeholders, including the Osun State Government to end communal clashes between Ifon and Ilobu communities has suffered a hiccup, TOBA ADEDEJI reports.

    It was a usual morning at Abule Aganna, a disputed settlement between two Osun communities of Ifon and Ilobu. The air was cool in a gesture of tranquility and serenity in the rustic village. The sounds of chirping birds and rustling leaves made melody under the pale blue sky. Domestic animals grazed in the fields while the farming population got ready for the day’s work.

    The head of the community, Pa Basiru Adegbenro, grabbed his chewing stick, and fixed it in his mouth, using his molars to hold it in place. He wore his ankara top and trousers and headed for his farm. As Adegbenro worked on his farm with his son, Surajudeen, a communal clash broke out between the Ifon and Ilobu communities, with men from the two sides brandishing weapons as they confronted one another.

    Adegbenro made to flee but age had taken a toll on his physique. Some of the warring youths caught up with him and gruesomely murdered him. Even the youthful Surajudeen, who thought he had escaped, ran into another ambush laid by the warring youths and he was also brutally killed. The killings complicated the hostility between the two warring communities of Ilobu in Irepodun Local Government Area, Osun State, and Ifon in Orolu Local Government Area also in the state.

    It will be recalled that Ifon and Ilobu had clashed on several occasions as a result of disputed land areas. The two communities had engaged in a series of bickering as a result of two parcels of land, namely Opapa and Gbere, over which they had dragged each other to court in 1968.

    Findings revealed that the two communities had engaged each other in a legal battle since then till 2018. Numbered among the cases are HOS/29/64; Supreme Court case of 1968; FCA/1/19/68; HOY/20/70 between Oba J. O. Akinyooye II, the Olufon of Ifon and Oba Aminu O. Siyanbola, the Olobu of Ilobu; Appeal No FCA/I/1978 between Oba J. O. Akinyooye II, the Olufon of Ifon and Prince Salami Adesina; Suit No HOS/22/86 between Jimoh Adigun and Oba Asiru Olaniyan; Appeal No CA/I/153/98 between Amusa Akanni and Oba Asiru Olaniyan; Suit No HOS/22/86; Appeal No SC 94/2015; Suit No HOS/40/2015 between Oba A. A. Magbagbeola (Olufon of Ifon) & Orolu local government and the Governor of Osun State and others

    In the face of the foregoing, animosity built up between the two communities, leading to a physical confrontation on July 22, 2005, on account of the activities of men from the Nigeria Population Commission (NPC). However, the clash was quelled promptly. But on August 28, 2023, the bickering was renewed following plans by the Nigerian Army to site a hospital project on one of the disputed lands. The move had attracted objection from the Ifon people, who alleged that Ilobu wanted to use the influence of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja to acquire the disputed land.

    On September 16, 2023, 28-year-old Sodiq Alamu, a native of Ilobu, was shot dead on one of the disputed lands. An admission seeker was also killed in Okanla village close to Ifon and Ilobu on September 17, 2023. The killings prompted the natives of the two communities to make provocative comments resulting in physical confrontation. Two people were shot in October 2023, resulting in a communal clash that caused the death of scores and loss of property, and forced Governor Adeleke to impose a curfew.

    Hostility was again renewed on November 30, 2023, with a clash between the youths of the two communities over the excavation of sand on the disputed land. On December 6, 2023, farmers in the Ilobu community, headquarters of Irepodun Local Government Area of Osun State, protested against alleged harassment, intimidation, and looting of their farm produce by aggrieved indigenes of Ifon community in some villages in Surulere Local Government, Oyo State. Pa Basiru Adegbenro, who led the protest, alleged that indigenes of Ifon were intimidating them with guns and other dangerous weapons.

    He said: “After the war, the people of the Ifon community have been intimidating and harassing us. They burn our cash crop, loot our farm produce, and destroy our houses in villages in Oyo State.

    Waale, Agana Amoo, Abebi, Oloso, Ojeyemi, Idi-Iroko, Bara, Toolu, Ikimon and Bada are disputed villages which both Oyo and Osun states are laying claims to. The villages are populated by residents of Ilobu and Ifon.

    Reacting to the protests by farmers, the Special Adviser to Governor Ademola Adeleke on boundary matters, Barrister Bukola Onifade, berated the claims that some of the lands belong to Oyo State, saying, “Osun State owns the land they claimed belongs to Oyo State. The people of Ilobu want to cede those lands to Oyo State. They have applied to a court for that. We have also warned people of Ifon not to chase anybody out of their land.”

    The Otun Jagun of Ilobu, Barrister Leke Ogunsola, disclosed that some villages in Oyo State are predominantly occupied by Ilobu indigenes. The Secretary of Ifon-Orolu Progressive Union, Prince Jide Akinyooye, insisted that the villages belong to Osun State hence the claims made by Ilobu should not be admitted.

    Meanwhile, on January 30, 2024, a plan to install natives of Ilobu as village heads by the Arayin of Iranyin, Oba Lasisi Omogboye in the Surulere Local Government Area of Oyo State caused a fresh crisis, leading to the killing of the village head and his son.

    Subsequently, the Osun State Police Command arrested two suspects with weapons and criminal charms. 

    Adeleke threatens to depose monarchs if war persists  

    Governor Adeleke has threatened to depose any monarch that is influencing a clash between Ifon and Ilobu communities after the resurgence of the crisis led to loss of lives. Adeleke blew hot after the war extended to villages in Oyo State at Surulere Local Government Area of the state.

    The governor after a security meeting held in February 2024 with the heads of security agencies and stakeholders in Ifon and Ilobu communities, said: “Any traditional ruler found to be fanning embers of violence will be removed from office.

    “Requisite intelligence is being gathered on the extent of culpability of prominent leaders from the two areas.” 

    Read Also: NLC to Fed Govt: let salaries, wages be commensurate with cost of living

    Adeleke imposed a 6 pm to 6 am curfew on the warring communities and also set up a joint task force of all stakeholders. The governor also held town hall meetings with the two communities separately, urging them to coexist peacefully during interactive sessions with them.

    According to Adeleke, the resolutions and other political strategies already adopted by his administration would tackle the root cause of the clashes, repeating his resolve to deal harshly with those behind the communal unrest.

    “I am here to preach peace as a condition for development and better life for our people. I am here to warn that there is no room for warmongers and sponsors of violence. It is in everybody’s interest for peace to reign permanently in these communities.

    “If you don’t know, your needless confrontations are scaring investors away from Osun. Don’t allow yourself to become agents of under-development. Let us jaw-jaw instead of war-war.

    “I charge you all to sheath your swords and embrace dialogue. Instead of blood shedding and destruction of properties, why not join hands to build a prosperous society? Our administration will reinforce and sustain peace at all costs.”

    14-man Community Peace Resolution Committee

    Governor Adeleke screened the representatives nominated by the warring communities and approved the selection of a 14-memberCcommunity Resolution Committee in relation to the Ifon-Ilobu communal clashes.

    He appreciated the royal fathers and community leaders such as the Olobu of Ilobu, HRM Oba Ashiru Olatoye Olaniyan; The Elerin of Erin-Osun, HRM Oba Yusuf Omoloye Oyagbodun; and the Eesa of Ifon-Orolu, among others.

    The Community Peace Resolution ommittee consists of four persons each from Ilobu, Ifon, and Erin-Osun communities, while two representatives were also chosen from Okanla to make it a 14-member committee.

    He noted that the government would roll out terms of reference as a template that would guide the committee in the course of carrying out the peace mission

    Peace talk suffers hiccup as community withdraws from Adeleke’s committee

    The peace talk to end communal war between Ifon and Ilobu communities suffered a setback recently as one of the parties involved withdrew from the committee set up by Governor Adeleke.

    The Nation recalls that Governor Adeleke intervened after the war surged again in late January, leaving three people dead. The renewed war was premised on the October 2023 clash in which many lives were lost and properties destroyed.

    The Olobu of Ilobu, Oba Ashiru Olaniyan, through the counsel of the community, Olatoye Aminu, wrote to Governor Adeleke to inform him of the decision of the town to withdraw from the Conflict Resolution Committee because Okanla was recognised as a town like Ilobu, Ifon-Osun and Erin-Osun.

    A copy of the letter obtained by The Nation reads: “Again, we hereby, on behalf of our client, raise a serious objection to the inclusion and/or participation of the nominees of Okanla family in the Community Peace Resolution Committee.

    “Our Client’s objection is predicated on the Okanla family comprising a 2-house compound within llobu and does not and should not enjoy the status of a community like Ilobu, Ifon-Osun and Erin-Osun.

    “Azeez Bashir Abimbade, Okanla family’s first nominee in the list of the 14-man Community Peace Resolution Committee, has not, whether presently or in the past, associated himself with Okanla Compound, llobu; he is the current Local Government Party Chairman for the Peoples Democratic Party.

    “Similarly, Chief Taofik Lawal Arulogun (2nd nominee) is known to be a member of Arulogun family of Arulogun village, Ibadan, Oyo State.”

    He noted that “Consequent upon the above, therefore, our Client hereby gives notice to your Excellency of the withdrawal of Ilobu representatives from the inauguration of the Community Peace Resolution Committee.”

  • Tackling women’s inequality through investment

    Tackling women’s inequality through investment

    Today, the world, through International Women’s Day (IWD) calls on governments, Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), groups and individuals to ‘Invest in Women” to “Accelerate Progress.” In today’s dynamic financial landscape, investing in women is not just a socially responsible choice; it’s a strategic move that propels progress and economic growth. In this report, CHINYERE OKOROAFOR looks at how channelling resources into female-led initiatives, businesses and education has the potential to unlock unprecedented opportunities and create a more inclusive and prosperous future for women in Nigeria.

    The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and founder of Active Foods Limited; a food production and distribution company, Mrs Yetunde Adeyemi’s story begins with the unwavering support of her father, who defied societal expectations by nurturing young Yetunde’s entrepreneurial aspirations.

    At the tender age of nine, she embarked on her first venture, crafting caramel candy called econogu. With creativity and determination, she sold her sweet treats to classmates, already displaying her innate potential as a future business leader.

    Adeyemi’s story inspires not only aspiring entrepreneurs but also challenges societal norms, proving that with determination, right support, mentorship and microloan, women can lead successful businesses and contribute to economic growth and development.

    Her success story stands as a demonstration of perseverance, challenge to societal norms and the transformative power of supporting women in business. Adeyemi’s journey, supported by initiatives such as the World Bank’s Nigeria Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative, showcases the potential for economic growth and empowerment inherent in women when they are provided with resources and support.

    Significance of the IWD theme

    Women’s empowerment equips and allows women to make life-determining decisions through the different societal problems. They may have the opportunity to redefine gender roles or other such roles, which allow them more freedom to pursue desired goals.

    “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress,” as the theme of the event underscores the ongoing commitment to advancing gender equality and empowering women globally.

    The significance of the Day, experts say, lies in its ability to bring attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women. It provides a platform for collective action and collaboration in advocating for women’s rights and empowerment.

    The Day also presents an opportunity to celebrate the progress made towards achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment and also to critically reflect on those accomplishments and strive for a greater momentum towards gender equality.

    Government’s commitment to women’s, girls’ rights

    Adeyemi’s sparkling success story is in line with the Federal Government’s commitment to enhancing women’s and girls’ rights and empowerment.

    Addressing women during a stakeholders’ media briefing ahead of this year’s International Women’s Day, the Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Uju-Kennedy Ohanenye encouraged women to always demand their deserved rights in society.

    She noted that her duty as the Minister of Women Affairs was to safeguard the rights and interests of women and children nationwide, even as she highlighted the pivotal role of women in fostering peace and national security.

    Mrs. Ohanenye noted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is committed to supporting the welfare of women and children, particularly in empowerment endeavours.

    “We have the backing of Mr President. Let’s use the opportunity to fight for our course peacefully like mothers that we are to get things right for ourselves, especially monies coming in for women,” the minister said.

    The UN Country Representative in Nigeria, Ms. Beatrice Eyong, reiterated the organisation’s dedication to collaborating with the government in advancing inclusive economic policies for women.

    “As the United Nations women, we commit to continue to support inclusive economic policies and programmes that can credibly deliver positive objectives that tackle the underlying obstacles to economic stability and growth. Realising women’s rights is not only a moral imperative, but also a smart economic investment,” she said.

    Representative of Save the Children, Amanuel Mamo noted that social protection interventions could serve as a means to empower women and girls, reducing inequities and ensuring access to opportunities that will transform their present and future.

    He said: “Investing in women and girls through social assistance programmes would provide access to food, healthcare, clothing and shelter. For girls, improving access to social protection interventions that enable enrolment and retention in schools also reduce the risks of abuse, child labour and early marriage as easy means of overcoming poverty.”

    A Girl Champion from Save the Children, Madina Abdulkadir urged the government to create a safe environment by addressing issues such as armed conflict, climate change, gender-based violence and cultural norms that hinder girls’ access to their rights and hinder their full potential in today’s society.

    Investing in women accelerates progress

     The focus of this year’s theme of IWD is addressing economic disempowerment, even as its campaign theme highlights the significance of diversity and empowerment across all strata of society.

    The Day presents a global event dedicated to acknowledging the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women; serving as a platform to raise awareness about issues of gender equality, even as it advocates for progress toward a more equitable world.

    It is against this background that the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in his message for this year’s event titled “Invest in Women: Ending the Patriarchy Requires Money on the Table” noted that “the fight for women’s rights over the past 50 years is a story of progress.”

    On the achievements of women and girls, the number one global civil servant said: “Women and girls have demolished barriers, dismantled stereotypes and driven progress towards a more just and equal world. Women’s rights were finally recognised as fundamental and universal human rights. Hundreds of millions more girls are in classrooms around the world. And pioneering leaders have smashed glass ceilings across the globe.”

    He, however, regretted that there are more hurdles to cross in the journey for total freedom and emancipation for the women folk as he said that but progress is under threat. And full equality remains light years away. On some of these hurdles, Guterres noted that: “Billions of women and girls face marginalisation, injustice and discrimination, as millennia of male domination continue to shape societies. The persistent epidemic of gender-based violence disgraces humanity. Over four million girls are estimated to be at risk of female genital mutilation each year. Discrimination against women and girls remains perfectly legal in much of the world. In some places, that make it difficult for women to own property, in others, it allows men to rape their wives with impunity.

    “Meanwhile, global crises are hitting women and girls hardest. Wherever there’s conflict, climate disaster, poverty or hunger, women and girls suffer most. In every region of the world, more women than men go hungry. In both developed and developing countries, a backlash against women’s rights, including their sexual and reproductive rights, is stalling and even reversing progress…

    “At the moment, full legal equality for women is some 300 years away; so is the end of child marriage. This rate of change is frankly insulting. Half of humanity can’t wait centuries for their rights. That means accelerating the pace of progress. And that relies on political ambition, and on investment–the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day.”

    In line with this year’s theme, Guterres emphasised that “we need public and private investment in programmes to end violence against women, ensure decent work, and drive women’s inclusion and leadership in digital technologies, peacebuilding, climate action, and across all sectors of the economy. We must also urgently support women’s rights organisations fighting against stereotypes, battling to make women’s and girls’ voices heard, and challenging traditions and cultural norms.

    “Securing the investment we need in women and girls requires three things. First, increasing the availability of affordable, long-term finance for sustainable development, and tackling the debt crisis strangling many developing economies. Otherwise, countries simply won’t have the funds to invest in women and girls.

    Read Also: IWD: AHF Nigeria tasks stakeholders on equitable, inclusive world for women

    “Second, countries must prioritise equality for women and girls– recognising that equality is not only a matter of rights but the bedrock of peaceful, prosperous societies. That means governments actively addressing discrimination, spending on programmes to support women and girls, and ensuring policies, budgets and investments respond to their needs.

    “Third, we need to increase the number of women in leadership positions. Having women in positions of power can help to drive investment in policies and programmes that respond to women and girls realities.”

    In the same manner, the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Ms Audrey Azoulay, in a message to commemorate this year’s event said “Gender equality is a simple idea. It is the conviction that women deserve the same rights, opportunities and knowledge as men. It is the belief that women have just as much to contribute to society – and to addressing societal issues. It is the commitment to breaking down barriers that have held women back for far too long.

    “Gender equality is proving difficult to achieve. Today, no country in the world can claim to be gender equal.  At our current pace,  it will take almost  300  years for all countries to be able to do so.  “The climate crisis will push an estimated  160  million women into poverty by 2050. To break down the barriers facing women, UNESCO has made gender equality a global priority for its action.

    “We acknowledge the invaluable contributions made by women scientists, artists, journalists, educators and athletes. We work to ensure all women and girls are given the opportunities they deserve. This year, we use the event to raise awareness of the need to invest in women to accelerate progress. This means developing, financing and implementing transformative solutions to advance gender equality and sustainability in the face of cascading global concerns and crises…”

    Benefits of women’s rights and empowerment

    A more inclusive approach to economic and social development, with a focus on women, contributes to overall national prosperity. By leveraging the talents and skills of the entire population, Nigeria can tap into previously untapped potential, leading to a more robust and resilient economy.

    Also, channelling resources into female-led initiatives, businesses and education in Nigeria is not just a matter of gender equality; it’s a strategic investment in the country’s future. By unlocking the potential of women, Nigeria can create a more inclusive, prosperous and resilient country, where the contributions of all citizens are recognised and valued.

    Expectations from government

     As the world celebrates International Women’s Day today, Nigeria is expected to put in place policies and programmes that would enhance women’s and girls’ rights and empowerment. This can be achieved through ensuring gender-sensitive education, changing attitudes toward girls and women, and increasing the representation of women in political office will go a long way to achieving gender equality. Ultimately, long-term commitments with sustained efforts can eradicate gender inequality. Protecting women against violence, through laws against domestic violence and sexual harassment at work or in educational facilities, remains an area where much work is needed.

  • Rise and rise of food hubs

    Rise and rise of food hubs

    Growth in cities such as Lagos brings with it rising population caused by influx of people from the countryside who are in search of greener pasture.The trend is not expected to abate. To this end, Lagos State and others need to change the way they produce, distribute, and consume food if they are to feed their growing population. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Food production is a major component of the manufacturing sector in Lagos State and is an important employment and economic contributor.

    As a processing and manufacturing heartland, Lagos has played a key role in food and fibre supply chains.  

    Shifting consumer preferences and growing international and domestic demand for provenance-based food experiences and marketing will create stronger demand for premium processing and packaging.

     To this end, the state government has committed to meeting the rising demand for nutritious, safe, and affordable food. This has led to the establishment of agro food logistics hubs to advance the food security agenda and will prioritise business approaches for inclusive agriculture.

    For the Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms. Abisola Olusanya COVID-19 reminded the state of the critical importance of a strong and functioning food system.The pandemic, she indicated, laid bare the vulnerabilities in food security, compounding previous levels of hunger with supply chain disruptions. This has had a disproportionate impact on poor and vulnerable communities.

    According to her, the price of staple food was driven up by disruptions to production and distribution combined with panic buying.

    The commissioner noted that the government recognises the need for increased productivity and reduced food losses as well as enhanced food safety, quality and nutrition to meet the growing and evolving demands of the population. She continued that the government’s support to agriculture would emphasise investing in innovative and high-level technologies, for which partnership with the private sector in experiential learning and knowledge sharing will be crucial.

    The development of the food logistics hubs in Epe has advanced, with dedicated platforms to support the storage and transportation of produce to different destinations. With the state evolving  into the food tech capital of the nation, the commissioner indicated that the government was determined to make Lagos an attractive market, given its population density with  best practices and technological innovations for safe food, proper storage, and sustainable food production both downstream and upstream  opening potential business opportunities.

    Indeed, the government is looking at the Lagos Food Security Systems and Central Logistics Park in Ketu-Ereyun, on completion to revolutionise the food distribution network in the country from farm to fork. The 1.2-million-square-metre facility, strategically located with access to agrarian settlements aimed at transforming the food distribution system, reducing transport and logistics costs, and ensuring food supply chain efficiency.

    The hub will have storage facilities for over 1,500 trucks that will serve thousands of operators in the food value chain in a year, while large commercial transactions would be processed at the facility.

    The middle-level food agro-hub, located at Idi-Oro in Mushin, with the modern facility sitting on 6,400 square metres, has adequate parking space to accommodate trailers and vehicles, and has centralised wet and dry storage areas for bulk buying, the commissioner explained, is one of the several strategies to accelerate the government’s efforts to make food available, accessible and more affordable to the consuming public.

    She indicated that the agriculture trading hub supports the government’s vision to make Lagos a leading agricultural resource hub in the. Also, she said the hub is designed to serve as a premium wholesale market and distribution outreach for quality produce. She noted that the facility is located in a choice area, which makes it an ideal site for a food hub because of its expansive space for infrastructure, and seamless road network.

    She emphasised that the key to stimulating success in agric businesses in Lagos is in ensuring that produce move efficiently from origin to end user. Apart from Mushin, she hinted that other hubs would be established in Ajah, Agege and key divisions of the state to support a logistics centre that would improve long-term food distribution across the state.

    According to her, the government is focused on growing and nurturing the light and heavy food processing and manufacturing, supported by an intermodal system to move food products to make multiple round-trip deliveries.

    She indicated as the need for more domestic food production becomes increasingly vital as the population continues to grow, the government not only wants to support local farmers for the growing population but also to ensure that consumers can trace where and how food is produced.

    She said the government is considering establishing a processing facility within the Epe agri-logistic facility to enhance the production and export of products and to facilitate certification procedures.

    She sees the facility as providing protection and food safety control system, including maintaining traceability. The paradigm shift in policy making in Lagos is from traditional food markets to mega food parks that support supervised and proper post-harvesting handling, provision of a platform for industry-agricultural interaction and trade facilitation; transfer of technologies of agriculture and agro processing; and measure to maximise resource efficiency across value chains and enable industrial symbiosis.

    In Lagos, the  future of  the  horticultural industry becomes all the more promising  with the government’s determination to support youths   to boost employment creation, technology and skills transfer; quality produce assurance; the creation of affordable access to nutrition; and increasing the international market share and reach of domestic produce.

    For Lagos, everything must be done to increase food production, attract investments in bulk cold storage and provide a platform for farmers to market their produce as well as provide a commonplace where retailers can source their produce for distribution in the domestic and international markets.

    Also, the for the founder, Soilless Farm Labs, a food-tech startup, by Samson Ogbole, the development of agri-food hubs not only stimulates the development of agricultural products but will also strengthen  skills acquisition to stimulate the growth of the agricultural industry. He believes food hubs provide Nigeria the opportunity to continue to develop and apply technological innovation to enhance the competitive appeal of its agricultural produce.

    With the food hub he has established in Ogun State, Ogbole has witnessed large scale deployment of precision farming, harnessing  farming techniques to  help drive down production costs, keeping food and agriculture prices competitive and even more sustainable.

    At the place, young  people are  trained in soilless farming and hydroponics systems. His organisation  partnered the MasterCard Foundation to train about 12,000 young Nigerians for three years on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) under the programme with the theme, Enterprise for Youth in Agriculture (EYIA).

    The goal is to enhance the long-term sustainability and resilience of food production systems in Nigeria, building greater resilience to climate risks and other shocks that drive food insecurity.

    So far, they have trained over 13,000 students in soilless farming and allowed them to be self-employed. They are running a Work, Learn and Earn project sponsored by the MasterCard Foundation where you can apply and become an in-house resident to learn the different technological innovations to farming.

    As the Team Lead for the project, Samson Ogbole hopes to train 12,000 people aged between 18 and 29 within three years.

    “We are taking in 1,000 students per quarter. The training has provided young people with the means to generate a stable source of income and also contributed to the sustainable development of their communities.

    “We train them on greenhouse sets, hydroponics and how to set up their farms in our premises within three plots of land. We connect them to the market at the end of the programme,” he said.

    He is determined to encourage the youth into agriculture through technology. This  is  providing  early job opportunities and making  them employable, to address the urgent need for national food security and poverty alleviation.

    The  food hub offers its growing community a wider range of choices to cultivate with its community of start-up entrepreneurs. 

    The population is growing rapidly and expected to reach  250 million by 2030.  Indigenous  firm, Mmobuosi Holdings is concerned that a lack of opportunity in rural areas is leading to ever-increasing numbers of young people migrating to Lagos and other towns in search of a better life. 

    One way to  encourage youths to stay back, according to agri tech entrepreneur  and the founder, Tingo Group, Dozy Mmobuosi, is to position agro-industrialisation to play pivotal role  in the  government’s move to  meeting urgent development challenges in the rural areas.

    He is a believer in the capacities of agro-industries to produce economic activities that enable local governments to expand their manufacturing potential and industrial output. He has seen the growth of agro-industries boost skilled and semi-skilled employment creation, absorbing surplus labour from agriculture.

    Mmobuosi, who stepped down in December last year as Chief Executive, Tingo Group, said he is developing an  industrial real estate  that would  be leased to Tingo Foods and any other party, only for processing food.

    Speaking during the inspection of Tingo Foods Processing Plant Site, Onicha-Ugbo, Delta State, Mmobuosi said it had become critical to support more local farmers to match the government’s expectations of making deeper inroads into global markets in terms of infrastructure that have hampered the country’s trade potential.

    According to him, lack of processing facilities was adding further pressure on the nation’s local and international  trade, with  prices skyrocketing and the likelihood of a further rise in food inflation. He said the multibillion food processing complex, which will be built under lease of 20 years,  is  located on 40 hectares, adding that the first phase would be completed in December.

    The  facility  will  consist  of a rice mill, cereal production unit,  product lines for the food processing facility for mineral water, fizzy drinks, juice, chocolate,  biscuits, tea, cashew,  milk, vegetable oil, tomato paste, coffee, noodles,  spaghetti, spices,  cassava  and yam  with  several silos.

    Read Also: Rise and rise of food processing businesses

    This will make the storage more resistant to grain loss, and thus, cost-effective.

    He  said the silos would store 300,000 tonnes of grains. Construction of silos, he  indicated, would be phased. The  target is to store milled rice and other commodities. The facility, he explained, would be operating an integrated rice business that encompasses processing, merchandising to the manufacturing of consumer food.

    By taking full advantage of the production potential of the region, he said the  company has easy access to  paddy produced by the rice farmers from within and outside the state.

    Tingo Foods, through its parent company (Tingo Group), he  noted,  is to provide machinery for food processing.  His words: “However, as of today, Tingo Group is yet to fund any machinery. In the meantime, Dozy Mmobuosi will undertake the provision of machinery/equipment for food processing on the land.”

    He  continued that the project will  benefit the North and South. “I want Southern Nigeria to partner Northern Nigeria to begin to process food for local consumption, and for export. Nigeria must become a producing country. I am available to support the vision of President Bola Tinubu and the government to actualise this. I am not a politician; this is strictly business and a service to society. This is how to begin to take food security seriously.”

    For him, a robust agro-industrial sector has the potential to lift millions from poverty and increase food supply chains.

  • Osun monarch’s new chocolate production deal for cocoa farmers

    Osun monarch’s new chocolate production deal for cocoa farmers

    Gureje IV chocolate bars, a brand-new line of chocolate bars, has hit the global market. It came on the strength of a partnership brokered by the royal family of Eti-Oni, a rural cocoa community in Osun State, Oba Dokun Thompson Gureje IV and Queen Angelique-Monet, with Lancashire’s luxury chocolatiers, Beech’s Chocolates, based in the UK. Under the collaboration, Gureje IV chocolate bars will be produced with cocoa beans sourced from Eti-Oni. The deal promises to boost the fortunes of cocoa farmers in the state and ultimately, help transform Nigeria’s cocoa sector. EKAETE BASSEY reports.

    The people of Eti-Oni, a rural cocoa community, in Osun State, South West Nigeria, are upbeat. Prospects of a dramatic turnaround in the fortunes of cocoa farming particularly the immense value to be added to the cocoa beans they sell on the open market have put them in a jubilant and expectant mode.

    And it took the rare entrepreneurial prowess of the Eti-Oni royal family of Oba Dokun Thompson Gureje IV and Queen Angelique-Monet to propel the people of Eti-Oni, considered home to Nigeria’s oldest cocoa plantation, into a sustainable cocoa culture, which is the vision of His Majesty.

    Specifically, the stage for what is arguably, a new deal for cocoa farmers in Osun State and by extension, Nigeria was set with the official launch of Gureje IV chocolate bars. And the unveiling of this brand-new line of chocolate bars was on the behest of Oba Dokun Thompson Gureje IV and Queen Angelique-Monet, who entered into a partnership with Lancashire’s luxury chocolatiers, Beech’s Chocolates.

    Under the partnership, Beech’s Chocolates, in Preston, will be making the new line of chocolates, Gureje IV chocolate bars, with cocoa beans sourced from Eti-Oni province in Osun State, South West Nigeria.

    It is easy to see why the people of Eti-Oni town in the Atakumosa East Local Government Area of the state are over themselves with excitement and joy. For instance, proceeds from the chocolate bars by the UK chocolate factory will go back to the people. King Dokun confirmed this much, saying: “All profits will be retained by the people of Eti-Oni and invested in chocolate processing equipment, among other things, to add value to the cocoa beans they sell on the open market.”

    He added that the collaboration with Beech’s Chocolates will benefit the future of cocoa farming in Eti-Oni where his great-grandfather started the plantation in 1896 as well as the people.

    The Nation learnt that the revered Osun monarch, alongside his queen, was received by the Preston chocolate makers, last week, at their factory in Fletcher Road, Lancashire, United Kingdom (UK) to launch the bars. “When we start seeing the proceeds from the chocolate, we know that we are on to something that will transform our community,” King Dokun stated.

    According to him, over 90 per cent of Eti-Oni’s people are cocoa farmers, working in an industry worth $130 billion a year. But the growers in Eti-Oni only receive a fair trade allowance on top of the price they sell the beans at.

    The Whiting Family, owners of Beech’s Confectionery Group, actively contributed to the launch of the Gureje IV brand, with the Eti-Oni people keeping 100 per cent of the net profit. Beech’s Chocolates supplied the startup funding, but moving forward, the business will be self-sustaining and expected to generate a lot more money than any “fair trade” cocoa programme currently in place in the nation.

    Milk the Cow, the Queen’s cheery puppet sidekick, joined her with the king on their special visit to Preston’s historic chocolate factory for the unveiling of their single-origin Gureje IV chocolate bars.

    The American-born Queen Angelique-Monét expressed delight at the collaboration. “This is an exciting partnership. It brings international exchange and helps to create a sustainable cocoa culture, which is the vision of His Majesty.

    “Most importantly, we are proud of our cocoa as well as the cocoa farmers in our community – the oldest cocoa plantation in Nigeria. And so, we are also excited that this is the first time children in our community will have a candy bar. So, that’s so exciting for us,” she said.

    Demonstrating even greater enthusiasm for the chocolate bars, which she tagged a gift of heritage from the land of Eti-Oni, the “Ventriloquist Queen” added: “Every purchase helps the cocoa farmers achieve the vision of His Majesty Oba Dokun Thompson, Gureje IV, to transform the rural cocoa community into a sustainable model smart town.”

    Beech’s Chairman, Andrew Whiting, said he first met King Dokun at a chocolate convention in 2018, where the latter gave a very moving speech about the fact that they’d been growing cocoa beans for many years and the idea of the chocolate range sprang from a conversation they had later. He said: “We had this idea that if we could produce a chocolate bar sold in the western markets, all the proceeds could go towards making the processing plant a reality.”

    Whiting emphasised that the Gureje IV chocolate is single origin Nigerian cocoa from Osun State and “the milk 35 per cent and dark 70 per cent are both smooth and delicious.”

    Read Also:Why Nigeria experiences declining cocoa production, export

    “When people buy these bars they are directly helping the people of Eti-Oni to safeguard their future,” he added. On the chocolate company’s website alongside other sales outlets, the single of Gureje IV bars retail at £5.99, about N12,300, while a case of 12 bars retail at £60.00, about N123,000.

    Eti-Oni is one of the many towns that comprise the venerable and magnificent Kingdom of Ilesa in the South-West. It is the home of the second oldest known cocoa plantation in Nigeria with the oldest in Ijon, Lagos. It is believed cocoa was first introduced in Nigeria at Ijon by Captain JPL Davies, and from Eti-Oni, cocoa was spread to many other communities of the South West in the country.

    Before crude oil was discovered in the country in the late 1950s, the crop was a significant source of income for the country’s then-South West region and eventually one of the country’s most important cash crops. Nigeria, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), is world’s sixth largest cocoa producer, behind Cameroun, Brazil, Indonesia, Ghana, and Ivory Coast.

    For instance, at the last count, the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) put the global value of raw cocoa export at $10 billion, while the total value of all finished goods from cocoa is $200 billion annually, with chocolates alone accounting for $100 billion. Sadly, Nigeria, despite being ranked world’s sixth largest cocoa producer does not boast a vibrant chocolate industry to process cocoa into chocolate and other finished products.

    The consensus is that the processing of cocoa into cocoa derivatives, including chocolate, is the highest value adding activity in the cocoa value chain. It has the potential to generate significant export revenues both to the government and cocoa farmers.

    With the Osun monarch throwing his royal hat in the chocolate-producing ring, the belief is that he has set a template to hopefully, reverse the trend where Nigeria’s cocoa is exported without much, if any, value addition.

  • Why Atiku goofed on Argentina model recommendations – Adebayo

    Why Atiku goofed on Argentina model recommendations – Adebayo

    Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2023  election, Prince Adewole Ebenezer Adebayo, in an online interview with journalists talks about what he would have done differently if  he had won the February 25 2023 presidential election, what it takes to fix Nigeria, among other issues. Excerpts: 

    You said if you had won the 2023 presidential election you would have done things differently, what are those things you would have done differently?

    I am not surprised at the state of things, but I am disappointed. It doesn’t matter who you put there, this would still have been the outcome if you had adopted the present policies.

    We were asking Nigerians to pay attention as we were debating these issues. There were three policies that we needed to deal with. What do we do with the issue of the cost of governance? What do we do with the issue of subsidies, not only petroleum but subsidies in many other sectors? What do we do with the issue of foreign exchange? On these three issues, I have fundamental disagreement with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former Governor Peter Obi, and many other people who were on that side. These policies will not work. It has never worked in any country before.

    In Nigeria, in the past, including when we did the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), it didn’t work for us. It is not about one person who is good. Another is bad. If you drag me to the villa or Eagle Square and force me to announce these policies, you will get the same result. Anyone who adopts these same policies will get the same result.

    I am surprised that some personalities were talking about the Argentina model, I am very familiar with the Argentina model. If you ask an average Argentine to choose between President Javier Milei and President Bola Tinubu, they will tell you to bring Tinubu and give you Milei.

    You are saying Atiku Abubakar was wrong with the Argentina model recommended to Tinubu…

    I can say former  Vice President Atiku Abubakar may be well-intentioned but was misinformed. It is an error. If you look at the situation in Argentina, we may get to that position. I hope we are not, but we are travelling in that direction, but they are ahead of us in terms of misery.  They have one month of 512% of inflation. I don’t know if economists can understand the temperature of  512%. They have lost virtually all their wealth. The person there now is from the Austrian school of thought. The Argentines are complaining every day as they have had the worst economic performance since 1980. I’m not saying we should not criticize the government of President Tinubu but you do not say somebody complaining of too much sun should be put in the oven, that’s not the way to solve the problem.

    These policies are not working. Unfortunately, Nigerians have voted for these policies. We voted for these policies either because we didn’t pay attention or we didn’t understand the implications of these policies. When you decide to say you vote for a government that said it would remove subsidies on day one, which was what President Tinubu said, which was what Atiku said, which was what Obi said. People thought they had experience and maybe they were more realistic than us. So, they voted that way. So, any of them that formed the government and adopted any of these policies will have, at the minimum, what we are experiencing now or even worse. These policies are not good, not because of the parties announcing them but because structurally they are not suitable for us.

    Of course, they come with some benefits, and you can see the benefits. More income to the government, for example, because they are not subsidising anymore. More income from the foreign exchange differential because they are not defending the naira in the old way anymore.

    You also have the benefits of goods becoming cheaper, that’s why people are saying they are exporting goods from Nigeria to Niger and neighbouring countries, because with lower currency, our goods and any other thing we produce become cheaper, those are the advertised benefits, but we are not structurally prepared for them.

    If you were President Tinubu today, what would you be doing differently?

    If I became president, I would not announce any of these policies. I would immediately go to the National Assembly to amend the Appropriation Act and the Petroleum Industry Act to remove these statutory mandates to yank off the subsidy.

    So, they need a change of direction even though I cannot guarantee that a well-experienced accountant who is a cost cutter like Tinubu who has Wale Edun around him and has chosen Cardoso as his preferred Central Bank Governor, I don’t think they are willing to change for now. I think they should just be a little more efficient in the macro-economy policies they have taken, and there are five measures they should have if they must take it. One such is that they must have a way to increase their revenue because right now, they are just collecting less than 20% of the collectibles.

    Secondly, they need to bring efficiency to their accounts.  Running a free market economy as they are going towards, they need more feedback, more sensitivity, and quicker reaction time, which means they need to put sharper and smarter people in their governance.

    Read Also: I will make impact as FCT Minister – Wike

    Thirdly, they need to restructure the government spending in such a way that they separate the fiscal spending that they are controlling and let the CBN governor run his monetary policy and be the banker to the country, not the banker to the government alone.

    Fourthly, they need to find ways to generate employment.

    Lastly, they need to do something about inflation.

    What should Tinubu do politically to douse the tension in the land?

    He needs to be like the head of state, like the father of the nation. He needs to engage people more. However, people need to understand at the same time that you voted for these policies. It is like the people of Israel asking Moses to lead them out of Egypt and on getting to the wilderness, they realised it was not an easy place to be and they started complaining. That is a normal thing. The people of Nigeria voted for these policies. The government should use humility to reach out to the people and at the same time, show social justice to the people by making sure that the burden of this hardship is not borne only by the less privileged.

    Do you think the president has what it takes to fix this country?

    I have the feeling that anybody who is determined to fix Nigeria and who wants to listen to Nigerians and carry everybody along and look for the best talent and not just political parties alone will do well. I would have preferred that Nigerians voted for me, which was why I didn’t support him.

    I think I would have done better than him. But anybody who is out there, and who is determined to use all the resources in Nigeria can succeed. Of course,  the president is a Nigerian,  a well-educated person, quite intelligent.

  • Abiodun’s N5b palliatives and food self-sufficiency

    Abiodun’s N5b palliatives and food self-sufficiency

    • By Femi Ogbonnikan

    Following the recent waves of protests against the rising cost of living in some parts of the country, Ogun State Governor,  Prince Dapo Abiodun, on Wednesday, February 14, 2024, announced a N5 billion intervention fund to cushion the effect of food inflation in the State.

    While addressing a press conference held at the Olusegun Osoba Press Centre, Governor’s Office, Okemosan, Abeokuta, the state capital, the Governor stated that provision would be made for food palliatives to include rice and other food items for about 300,000 households across the State.

    This, he says, “brings our total immediate interventions as a responsible State Government to about N5 billion across all sectors of the State economy.”

    For all intent and purposes, this is a time to know a leader who is proactively sensitive to the needs of the citizenry as against reactionaries. For being so swift in his response to the challenging socio-economic situation in the country, not only did the Governor appreciate the people for their perseverance, patience, and understanding, but he also assured them of food self-sufficiency in line with the agricultural policy of his administration.

    His words came like a soothing balm when he said: “As our administration acknowledges the concerns raised by many of our citizens regarding the rising food prices and shortages, coupled with the depreciation of the Naira value, we identify with you and are taking proactive measures to alleviate the impact of these challenges to guarantee the welfare, well-being, and wellness of our citizens in this difficult time.

    “Let me assure you that the present economic situation is just a transient phase that will soon pass. Whatever we experience now are just necessary sacrifices that we have to make towards ensuring a greater tomorrow.

    “In a special way, we extend our appreciation to the President and Commander-In-Chief of Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR), for his continuous efforts in navigating the complexities of our nation’s economic landscape.”

    As far as Ogun State is concerned, the latest intervention is not a one-off thing. Since he assumed office on May 29, 2019, Governor Abiodun has been consistent in his policy to boost agricultural productivity as a way of ensuring food self-sufficiency. For four and a half years of the present administration, agricultural development has remained one of the key pillars of development of the state. This has been sustained through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) with the commitment to boost the agriculture sector for the well-being of all and sundry.  

    And, of course, in a situation such as this, the only antidote against food crisis and hunger is a sustained effort to boost productivity. For this concern, Governor Abiodun has assured that he would continue to implement policies that would guarantee people’s access to affordable quality food to ease the burden of the rising cost of living. “In this direction and through targeted interventions, we aim to address these challenges by implementing a series of phased initiatives aimed at alleviating these burdens on all our citizens,” he stated.

    The essence of the planned interventions emphasised by the Governor is to underscore the readiness of the administration to frontally confront the hunger that is threatening the stability of the polity with a pocket of protests against the high cost of living in some states.

    The ordinary people of Niger State who could no longer remain silent in the face of the hardship of the economy recently took their anger to the streets of Minna, the state capital, protesting the high cost of living. Youths and women had thronged the popular Kpakungu Roundabout along Minna-Bida Road to lament their lack of access to food. Subsequently, the protest spurred similar indignations in some other parts of the country. 

    And because of adversarial politics going on in the country, some reactionary members of the opposition, who wanted to make capital out of the situation, turned the blame against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, citing the removal of fuel subsidy and foreign exchange rate unification as the reason for the current hardship confronting the people.

    That submission was shallow, hasty, and a lack of critical thinking in the analysis of issues. For all they care, such a triviality is undeserving of public attention. And quite interestingly, the insinuation has been rightly treated with benign neglect by the listening audience. There is no denying the fact that since the declaration of the two audacious policies, the hardship arising from the socio-economic consequences of the new regime of subsidy removal has taken the better part of the common people, questioning the reality of the “Renewed Hope Agenda” of the administration. Among other things, the combined effects of these two policies have resulted in a high rate of food inflation and a lack of access to basic needs. From the records, the current rate of inflation (28.92%) remains the highest in the recent past.

    But all Nigerians know that the food security situation in the country has over the years been impacted by insecurity, especially the insurgency in the North East; armed banditry in the Northwest; perennial farmer–herder conflicts in the North Central, South West, and increasingly across the country. Other factors contributing to the food insecurity situation include rising inflation, poverty, and unemployment with deleterious effects on the conditions of living of citizens, and their ability to access food.

    Before then, the food security situation in Nigeria had been a major concern with 17 million people estimated to be critically food insecure in 2022. A similar report by Cadre Harmonise, a government-led and UN-supported food and nutrition analysis, estimated that about 25 million Nigerians were likely to be food insecure between June and August of 2023.

    There is a nexus between the current food crisis and natural disasters, like floods in some parts of the country. For instance, according to the report of the National Emergencies Management Agency (NEMA), the 2022 floods led to the destruction and washing away of over 675,000 hectares of farmland. One can only imagine the extent of the impact of this scale of destruction of farmlands on agricultural activities and food production across the country. Farmers, the majority of whom are small-scale, lost not only crops and harvests, but also farm animals, poultry, fishery, and farm implements to the raging floods. 

    What all this means is that the food crisis has been a looming threat for the past two years but the cynics feign ignorance of the hunger that has been lurking long before the inauguration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    For the Patriots, this is not a time for a blame-game. We must all see the current situation as a collective tragedy that requires the collective action of all concerned stakeholders. As Jean Ziegler rightly quipped, “Hunger is a ‘Weapon of Mass Destruction.’ Hunger is not a respecter of tribal, religious, or racial boundaries. Hunger happens when people do not have enough food to eat. The main cause of hunger is not a collective shortage of food but rather access to food. Addressing hunger is more than just giving verbal support or condemnation”.

    To show that the APC-led administration is not shying away from the current reality, the Federal Government has identified food insecurity as well as climate change as factors responsible for lower incomes and higher prices of foods in the country. These challenges have seriously put food out of the reach of many Nigerians.

    In August last year, President Tinubu saw the threat of the looming crisis when he declared a state of emergency on food insecurity and unveiled a comprehensive intervention plan to ensure food affordability and sustainability. 

    The intervention plan involved 12 key action points. These include the release of fertilizers and grains to farmers and households, synergy between the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources for irrigation and all-year-round farming, creation of a National Commodity Board for price assessment and maintenance of strategic food reserves, increased security measures for farms and farmers, enhanced agricultural value chain and activation of 500,000 hectares of land for farming and river basins for continuous farming. Though the potential gains of the initiative have yet to manifest, the long-term effect will stimulate tremendous positive impacts on small and large-scale farmers, the poverty rate, and increased food security for the country.

    Read Also: Eight things to know about Mr. Ibu

    Regardless of political affiliations, to maximize the long and short-term benefits of the new policy direction of the present administration on agriculture, every patriotic citizen of this country must be ready to be a part of the solution to the existential threat of the lack of access to food has become not only in Nigeria but the entire global community.

    Already, Ogun State has commenced work on its action plan to stave off the threat of hunger in the country. For instance, on February 12, 2024, the state ministry of Agriculture organised a day retreat at Ijebu-Ode to brainstorm on the direction to take toward food self-sufficiency focusing on the theme: “Achieving Agriculture and Food Security in Ogun State: The Place of Public Servants.” This was part of the initiative to give a boost to agricultural policy of the Abiodun administration.

    The Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr. Bolu Owootomo, in his remark, explained that the retreat was to brainstorm on the best ways to achieve food security through an increase in food production, effective agricultural value-chain, access to inputs for the farmers and bringing youth and women into agriculture, among other things.

    Even before the situation assumed the current dimension, the State had distinguished itself as a pacesetter in agriculture. That explains why the immediate past administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari had chosen the state to serve as a pioneer in the South-West for the Federal Government’s mechanisation programme for the production of cocoa and rice in the country, noting that it is one of the states that had an interest in two vital areas of cocoa, rice production and also in agricultural mechanization.

    Suffices to say, therefore, that the Abiodun administration’s commitment to sustainable agro-allied industrial policy growth remains unwavering. One of the manifest evidence of that is the construction of Agro-Cargo International Airport, Ilishan-Remo, which has been a major attraction for prospective investors who see the state as an investment destination of choice.

    Ogbonnikan writes from Abeokuta, Ogun State capital