The Nation Newspaper

Tag: REVOLUTION

  • The silent industrial revolution

    The silent industrial revolution

    In an interview published in the August 30, 2014 edition of some national newspapers, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Governor of Ogun State, spoke about the danger that the growing army of unemployed youths pose to the country. The Governor should know. While superintending over a state like Ogun with 22 public and private tertiary institutions, and many more still under construction, Senator Amosun estimated that there must be about half a million unemployed graduates presently living in the state.

    The natural follow-up question is what the Governor is doing in the area of job creation. While the Amosun administration has directly and indirectly created over 50,000 jobs through employment in the public service, helping small scale entrepreneurs with soft loans to develop, sponsoring skill acquisition programme for youths, empowering traders to gain access to cheap funds and creating opportunities in agriculture for young graduates, it has also pursued with vigour one of its five cardinal programmes, which is Increased Agricultural Production leading to Industrialisation.

    In achieving the objective behind the industrialization programme, the Amosun administration deliberately set out to profit from the state’s contiguity to Lagos, the commercial capital of the country and the border it shares with Republic of Benin, which by inference made it a gateway to the over 300 million-population in the West African sub-region. The strategy therefore is to attract multi-national industries, both those already existing in the country but have expansion plans and those that are just coming into the country afresh. The state has abundant land resources, 16,432 square kilometers, available for industrial, commercial, agricultural and property development. This is a key factor that an investor will actually consider in deciding on a location for his new industry. More than that, the state government has equally liberalized the process of acquiring land, particularly for industrial, commercial and agricultural purposes.

    Add this to the fact that though industries located in Ogun State have easy access to the air and sea ports in Lagos, the state also boasts of having 84 percent of the strategic Lagos-Ibadan Expressway which is a link between Lagos and the rest of Nigeria, located within its territory.

    The numerous tertiary institutions in the state also provide a ready pool of skilled workers to industrialists. All these advantages have been harnessed by the Amosun Administration to create a bi-annual Investors’ Forum through which it shifts the focus of investors from across the world to investment potentials in the state and the benefits the state government offer.

    In addition, the state government has invested heavily in upgrading the infrastructure in the state. The emerging road network in Ogun State is comparable to the ones in many developed countries. The security system is so good that it is reassuring that one’s investment is secured in this environment, despite the challenge that its multi-border nature ought to pose.

    The result is that in the last three years, the state has become the industrial hub of Nigeria. The popular question in the investment community about Nigeria now is not ‘who is in Ogun State’ but ‘who is not in Ogun State’. With 47 multi-national industries having opened shop in the state in the last three years, Ogun State is now the industrial capital of Nigeria. According to Otunba Abimbola Ashiru, who handles the Commerce and Industry portfolio in the state, the new industries have altogether invested in excess of $8 billion in the state.

    The new manufacturing plants that have commenced production in Ogun State belong to the biggest industrial concerns in the world. These include May & Baker, Lafarge Wapco, Nestle, Procter and Gamble, Dangote Cement, among others. In the next few weeks, ten new industries, including Olams and Apple & Pears, will also join the train, as they are set to commission their industries. In fact, in the last three years, President Goodluck Jonathan had visited Ogun State three times to commission big industries. Today, Ogun state is the cement capital of Africa. With an annual total of 13 million metric tons of cement produced by Lafarge Wapco and Dangote Cement from their plants located in the state, (same as the total national production figure for South Africa), the state can rightly claim that appellation.

    While commissioning the Procter & Gamble Industry in Agbara, the largest American investment in Nigeria outside the oil sector, President Jonathan declared Ogun State as the most industrialized state in the country. Also, while commissioning the WEMPCO Steel Company Limited in Ibafo, the President praised the Amosun administration for creating the enabling atmosphere for industries to be trooping into the state. He added that in the nearest future, there will not be a single person who is willing to work but cannot get a job in Ogun State.

    The President’s testimony brings us back to the plan of the Amosun administration to systematically tackle the problem of unemployment among the youths, thereby laying a solid foundation for the socio-economic development of the state.

    •Olaniyonu is Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Ogun State

  • ‘Road completion cardinal to Anambra agriculture revolution’

    The Anambra State Government has assured residents  of quick completion of the ongoing Atani-Ekwusigo road project.

    The Commissioner of Works, Mr Callistus Ilozumba, told  reporters in Atani, near Onitsha, that the road was vital to its Agricultural Transformation Scheme meant to generate employment and boost food production.

    Ilozumba said  the 12-km road would link many farming communities that would participate in the agriculture programme.

    Speaking after inspecting the ongoing project, the commissioner said  three bridges meant for the road had been completed while the work was going on at a good pace.

    “Atani-Ekwusigo road is a focal road for us, especially as it would support the Agricultural Transformation Scheme since in this axis of the state, we have very fertile arable land.

    “It would assist our farmers to get their produce to major markets in Onitsha in order to get good bargain for them as well as help those that would like to buy direct from the farms.

    “It would be a useless venture, if after producing these tonnes of food items there is no good means of transporting them out of here and getting them to the market. “Government would ensure speedy completion of the road which will provide a quicker passage in and out of Onitsha,’’  he said. The commissioner stressed that the road would act as a good alternative by-pass to ease traffic jam at the Upper Iweka axis of the Onitsha-Enugu road. “The road, when completed, would also bring considerable relief to commuters using the Onitsha-Owerri road, as they would easily connect the Niger Bridge to Delta State through the road, instead of contending with the usual traffic jam at Upper Iweka through the Onitsha-Enugu road,’’ he said.Ilozumba thanked the people of Ogbaru council for the support they had given to the state government as well as contractor handling the project.

     

  • 2015: Only revolution can bring credible leaders, says Balarabe Musa

    2015: Only revolution can bring credible leaders, says Balarabe Musa

    A former governor of the old Kaduna State and National Chairman of the deregistered Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Alhaji Balarabe Musa, has said the masses should prepare for a peaceful revolution for the 2015 general elections to be fair, free and credible.

    The former governor said only such a revolution would bring the exemplary leaders the people deserve.

    He noted that since the country’s political system had been hijacked by moneybags, the hope of the people getting credible leaders through their votes would remain a mirage.

    Musa spoke in Kaduna at the weekend after meeting with members of the National Executive Committee of the party to find alternative political strategies, following its deregistration by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The former governor said PRP would continue to fight for the cause of the downtrodden.

    He said: “I know Nigeria’s situation; it is impossible to have free, fair, credible and transparent elections leading to a democratic mandate. We need a revolution; we need a peaceful democratic revolution …to bring about the condition that will bring about free, fair, credible and transparent elections that will lead to legitimate leadership.

    “Let us be objective. Elections today are decided by three factors: money power, incumbency and balance terror. That was how elections were decided in Ekiti and Osun states. The ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) can do and undo with the people’s votes. So, a revolution is the answer, whether peaceful or otherwise.”

     

  • A digital revolution in Kaduna

    A digital revolution in Kaduna

    Education is believed to be the bedrock of development in any nation but in Nigeria it is facing serious challenges. Not much attention is paid to the development of skills and capacities through information and communication technology (ICT).

    It is in the face of these challenges that the digital revolution of Hon. Usman S. Bawa, popularly referred to as Shehu ABG, in Kaduna is worthy of emulation by all stakeholders in the education sector. Shehu ABG, the member representing Kaduna North in the House of Representatives, is the son of Alhaji Bawa Garba, a Kaduna-based business tycoon and telecommunications magnate who founded the first Cable Satellite TV in West Africa. As a businessman, his father digitalised TV network with the state-of-the-art technologies in Nigeria, at a time when cable network was out of the reach of many Nigerians.

    Although, he is a member of the House of Representatives on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), he has brushed aside partisan politics and political sentiments to develop the education sector in Kaduna State, not minding that the state is governed by the opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which is indisputably responsible for the development deficit in the state. Shehu ABG sees his mission as a partial fulfilment of his covenant with the people of Kaduna North, his primary constituency and the state at large.

    In the first phase of his digital revolution, eight schools in Kaduna were selected for the laudable ICT Programme. The schools include Kaduna State University; Kaduna Capital School and Sardauna Memorial College; Government Secondary School, Doka; Government Secondary school, Ungwan Sarki and Government Girls’ Secondary School, Independence Way Kaduna.

    Others include Nuruddinil Islamic Society school, Malali and Government Junior Secondary School, Badarawa. Importantly, letters have been sent to these schools, notifying the appropriate authorities about the timely commencement and implementation of the ICT projects in their respective schools few weeks from now.

    From available statistics, over 100 computer sets have been donated and distributed to each of the selected schools by Hon. Shehu ABG. In addition, Kaduna Capital School and Kaduna State University each boasts a new ICT complex constructed by Hon. Shehu ABG to house the ICT centres with brand new power plants. The other schools have not been left out, as they have equally benefited from renovation of blocks of classrooms that have mostly been converted to ICT centres, in addition to the solar panels provided to power the centres. Considering the importance ICT to effective learning, the computer sets provided to the selected schools have been accompanied with unlimited internet access.

    Personally, I happen to be part of as an external observer when the lawmaker paid a courtesy call to some of the schools. It was, for me, an eye opener to the noble cause of the honourable member and his faithfulness to his covenant with the people. I, therefore, wish to commend the lawmaker for his impressive contribution to education in my state, especially Kaduna North.

     

    •Muhammad writes from mukycent@gmail.com

  • ‘How varsities can spearhead farm revolution’

    The National President, Cashew Association of Nigeria, Tola Faseru   said universities have a huge stake in the success of the farm sector as well as welfare of the common man.

    Driving a sustainable green revolution, he noted would require  high-level human capital, that  will come  functional, relevant and consistent tertiary education institutions.

    According  to him, universities have been neglected for decades and are now all too often non-functional institutions with dilapidated infrastructure, unmotivated staff and poor learning environments and this  is not helping the growth of agriculture.

    To  revamp the food production system, Faseru said the  government must support the university research systems to  produce  new technologies.

  • ‘Nigeria needs industrial revolution’

    A lecturer at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Prof Daniel Nnamdi Obikwelu, has described as counter-productive Nigeria’s methods for acquiring technology.

    Speaking while delivering the 79th inaugural lecture at the institution, Obikwelu, said government should learn from the industrial revolution of the Great Britain.

    He said: “Drafting from the stone to modern age where man’s activities were technologically-driven, industrial revolution is a phase in human history when the predominant agrarian rural societies in Great Britain, Europe and America became industrial and civilised.”

    Obikwelu, who spoke on the theme: Metallic materials: challenges in the 21st century Nigeria and didactic lessons from the 18th century industrial revolution, said metallic material especially steel, stood out as man’s major resource that fostered industrialisation in the 18th century industrial revolution.

    He added that metallic material played vital role in the life of man and every technologically-driven nation, explaining that metallic materials have become invaluable resources for improving the standard of living and developing indigenous technologies.

    He noted that growth in the nation’s industrial sector was hampered by foreign assistance without proper development of available resource.

    He noted: “Nigeria doesn’t have the wherewithal to develop her resources, the resources can only be carried overseas and developed and sold back to us.”

    He added that some regions of the country were backward in industrial revolution because of high level of negligence of their natural resources.

    He called for partnership approach among the government, private sector and research institutes to develop indigenous technologies for sustainable development. “Nigeria governments are urged to learn the lessons of the industrial revolution of the 18th century in Great Britain by providing conducive political and industrial atmosphere to promote the avalanche of industrial inventions that would eventually lead to the much needed revolution in Nigeria’s industrial sector,” he stated.

    A participant, Chris Egwuatu, said the Federal Government should implement the recommendations of the lecture and revitalise the state of industries in the country. Obetta Emmanuel, 300-Level Metallurgical Engineering, said steel was the king of all material and government should understand the importance of the nation’s resource base and utilise them to achieve development.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Benjamin Ozumba, who was represented by the VC (Academics), Prof Polycarp Chigbu, thanked participants for turning out en masse for the lecture.

    Highlight of the event was the presentation of award of excellence to Prof Obikwelu by the National Association of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Students (NAMMES), UNN chapter.

  • Quiet revolution in Abia

    Abia surges ahead! The state is navigating through a turbulence of siege mentality expropriated by the deposed taskmasters. The sort of turbulence that normally herald a cruising swagger on the airspace. Expectably, the victorious march elicits excitement and anxiety alike. But the shouts of freedom reverberate louder in the air. Abia situation is akin to the transition from the biblical Egypt to the promise land – Canaan. The relocation to Canaan, though a land flowing with milk and honey, was a grueling journey – sleepless nights, hostile weather, scarcity of basic necessities of life, and the risk of carnivorous animals – yet the game was worth the candle.

    Those who felt that their empire has decapitated are not sleeping. They want to pull the roof down on all of us. They are leaving no stone unturned in order to reverse the hand of the clock. But Abians have vowed not to return to Egypt. Sadly for them, the era of royal hand-pickings after demonic oath-taking in altars of principalities are gone for good. The era of celebrating illiteracy and glorification of mediocrity has expired. The chief architect of modern Abia and the champion of the liberation struggle, Governor T.A. Orji is not also losing steam in cleaning up the Augean stables.

    Governor Orji has institutionalized a sustainable peace among the stakeholders which has never been witnessed since the creation of the state. If he is a dictator or averse to alternative view points, as advanced by a section of the media, he couldn’t have continued to strike healthy collaboration from Abia leaders. Not even pecuniary consideration could make virtually all of them to sacrifice their pedigree and hard-earned reputation, if not that things are working out well in Abia. Indeed, Governor Orji is a rare consensus-builder.

    He battled the den of kidnappers and stamped out violent crimes from Abia domain. The state received accolades from far and near for squaring up with the challenge of arresting the menace. Businesses picked up once more. Investors regained confidence in Abia’s friendly business climate. Laying a solid foundation for the state became the flagship of Orji’s administration. Monumental structures for conduct of government business are built. New office complexes for the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government which previous administrations treated with ignominy are erected in the state capital, Umuahia. Umuahia has been transformed from a glorified village to a sprawling 21st century city. Markets that used to occupy the heart of the town had been relocated to the suburbs and the hinterland. Network of new roads, that criss-cross the state capital – opened up new areas for investments and property development. Many Local Government Areas have also benefited from the aggressive rehabilitation and reconstruction of rural roads infrastructure.

    Governor Orji’s poverty eradication strategy has become a benchmark for other public officers. He started with a monthly stipend of N15,000 each to over 4500 indigent youths across the 17 LGAs. The package was largely for students and those in apprenticeship, and the confessions of the beneficiaries indicated that it was a veritable stop-gap measure. It indeed acted like an economic soothing balm, in a country where there is no welfare anchor or social security package, for the weak and the less-privileged. At the last count, over 700 youths are beneficiaries of Governor Orji’s free distribution of buses and taxis under the state youth empowerment programme. No strings attached! It has boosted intra and inter-city transportation and created jobs in the transport sector. Hitherto, what was presented as empowerment packages were wheel barrows, machetes, hoes, and hire-purchase tokunbo motorcycles but today there is a quantum leap to reflect the present economic realities. Youths are no longer impoverished with tools that confine them to perpetual menial jobbers. Most of the beneficiaries are working towards boosting their transport businesses with a fleet of cars and buses in the near future. That is the reward of vision and human face disposition to governance.

    Of all the Governor Orji’s legacy projects, the modern dialysis centre at the newly constructed Abia State Specialist & Diagnostic Hospital marks an uncommon radical approach in health service delivery in Nigeria. It has considerably helped to curb medical tourism to medically-advanced countries.

    The classy International Conference Centre that is almost completed marks yet another giant stride of Governor Orji. Repositioning the state to host topflight events is an awesome idea. With an inviting façade, the centre houses four conference halls-the main hall, the banquet hall and two other halls with VIP Lounge and gallery. The main hall has 5000 sitting capacity while other halls can accommodate about 4000 other persons. The International Conference Centre is digitalized with a full complement of latest information technology facility that is seen in all modern centres for conferences, conventions and business cocktails. It has an in-house IT and audio-visual facilities. Activities there can be streamed live on television stations and various social media platforms.

    In the education sector, which is the bedrock of every developed society, it is no longer news that Abia State came second in the overall best result of schools in Nigeria in the just released results of the May/June 2013 West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination Certificate (WASSEC). According to WAEC, “the breakdown of the results show that 12  states in Nigeria recorded percentage that were above national average   in the following order:  Anambra State (67.85 per cent), Abia State (65.17 per cent), Rivers State (58.56 per cent), Lagos State (56.03), Cross River State (53.34 per cent), Bayelsa State (51.66 per cent), Enugu State (50.22 per cent), Delta State (46.49 per cent), Imo State (46.03per cent), Abuja (43.9 per cent), Ogun (39.92 per cent), and Kaduna (39.47 per cent)”. Abia students have continued to sustain the winning streak because of Governor Orji’s robust transformation in the education sector. The State Universal Basic Education Board that is primarily charged with the rebuilding and rehabilitation of classroom blocks and maintenance of standards in primary schools was recently adjudged the best-managed board in the South-east by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Abuja. Besides, the students that represented Abia State in the Grand Finale of the 10th edition of NNPC Annual National Quiz Competition held last year in Abuja came first and the winners are automatic recipients of scholarships to any tertiary institution of their choice in Nigeria. The scholarships will cover the duration of their course of study.

    In agriculture, the Ochendo Liberation Farms- a farm settlement scheme in the three senatorial zones of the state has rebound agriculture to the front burner for food security and job creation.  At Okeikpe, Ukwa West LGA, the State has a four-hectare plantain plantation. Already, it has provided employment opportunities to over 100 youths and young-adult rural dwellers in that domain while people have been encouraged to develop personal farms to eke a living. At Lodu, Umuahia North LGA, there is also a four-hectare plantain plantation; and another five hectares of land was designated for massive production of special varieties of cassava. The Isiala Amaba in Isuikwuato LGA of the State, has equally earmarked a four-hectare land for plantain plantation. These are meant to encourage people to build careers in the sub-sector. So far, over 200 farmers in the state have benefited from the suckers freely distributed. Abia has also been allocated 10,000 suckers of exportable improved variety of banana in the 275,000 stems of banana suckers procured by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. Currently, the Golden Guinea Breweries Ltd Umuahia that was moribund before the governor assumed office is being revisited with aggressive rehabilitation to enable it to take off again. The news and the sight alone have rekindled hopes of new things and robust economic activities that would come alive in the state capital. And with the two new power plants almost completed in Ala Oji and Osisioma, which Governor Orji boosted with the provision of security, road network and tax waivers, the state is poised for  a fresh golden era in all facets of human life.

    •Uche lives in Umuahia

  • Youths and the revolution we need

    SIR: Revolution as a radical change in a system could be through a peaceful process or violent one. More often people clamour for the latter out of ignorance or desperation for change. History is replete with narratives of successful process of revolution that was striking and spellbinding in articulation and execution. However, contemporary socio-political realities on ground today give no option than the revolution of the mind. I advocate the principle laid out by D.J. Hopkins in his book, Revolution of the mind. When you juxtapose the social malaise endemic in our society with the maxim that the youths are the leaders of tomorrow, you will be at a crossroad to grapple with the reality.

    The youths of the 21st Century are distinct and unique in the true sense of globalization. We have to create wealth than instant riches; be solution providers than problem creators. Our role in society and nation building lie more on wealth creation, strategic thinking and logical reasoning. For us to lead tomorrow, we need to equip ourselves for the daunting task else history will never forgive us.

    The task before us is enormous, in order to create a paradigm shift from struggle for access to public fund to sustainable wealth creation. We therefore unanimously advocate incorporation of Information and Communication Technology into education. One of the biggest challenges in education today is incorporating ICT into learning.

    Today’s youths must be prepared to compete in a word of rapid technological change and innovation. The leadership of this country need answers as regards how to equip them with the skills they need and equally, how technology be used to improve their education. It is estimated that 95 percent of the decent work in the coming few years will require ICT skills. ICT literacy and its use as a training tool is therefore a must for any competitive nation and company. Since it is a must, we challenge government to make it happen as a matter of urgency.

    Technology is set to be a preferred way of learning in the future. Government should increase access to mobile broadband for subscribers providing tremendous opportunities to education in underserved areas. We must take advantage of the digital revolution to raise our youths to have the same level of education as the rest of the world as we are part of a global village that is our world today. A failed generation of youths is a harbinger of bad omen for the entire society now and the nearest future.

    This vicious cycle of reproducing youths who are not adequately equipped to participate in nation building portents a time bomb. The pockets of anomie being the order of the day lately seems just a prelude to a full blown anarchy that may set in motion distasteful outcome for the nation. This ugly unforeseen calamity is what we the advocate of youth’s empowerment, earnestly seek to halt before it get out of control as it were. Investment, not spending on education and youth-oriented policies are the core thrust of our advocacy for better and capable youths that surely will be the leaders of tomorrow. Most great personalities of old were in their 30’s when they attained such feats that marked their names on the sands of history. Give the Nigerian youths a chance to utilize their inherent talent and the knowledge of their time to take Nigeria to the next level.

    • Comrade Ogbu Alexander Ameh,

    Abuja

     

  • Agric revolution in Western Nigeria

    Agriculture in the Southwest is about witnessing a turning point and the long-awaited “green revolution” may be within reach. Governments in the region are adopting market-friendly policies and committing more resources to the sector. This was the high point of the meeting of Commissioners of Agriculture in the Southwest held in Abeokuta. Daniel Essiet who was there, reports.

    Governments in the Southwest region are increasing their expenditures on agriculture. To support this, a Comprehensive Regional Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) has been drawn up.

    The programme, among others, aims “to help the states critically review their own situations and identify investment opportunities with optimal impact and returns.”

    The states include Lagos, Ogun, Ekiti, Osun and Oyo. Director-General, Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN), Mr Dipo Famakinwa, said the guiding framework of the DAWN‘s vision is make the Southwest region the first place of choice to live, to work and to visit. Famakinwa said the DAWN’s Framework projects initiatives that will harness the abundant resources of the region and unleash the collective enterprise to promoting the well being of the people.

    He said DAWN will foster regional cooperation and integration as a catalyst for decentralisation. The region is an economic block, and as such, a regional approach will be cost effective and economically viable especially in the areas of infrastructure, industrialisation, commerce the environment and agriculture .

    He said commissioners of agriculture in the Southwest have a vision of a united, and prosperous agricultural sector based on three strategic goals of access and participation, competitiveness and profitability and of sustainable resource management.

    This, he stressed is a long-term vision that will be pursued to bring about a new, different and superior agricultural order from the present one. The implications of the partnership, he explained, was that the governments of the region share a common perspective on the sector’s strategic issues; the burden of economic empowerment and enhancing the profitability of agricultural industries.

    The envisaged new sector, he maintained is geared to play its historic role of providing food and agricultural products and services to the region. To this end, he said the group has identified proposed actions that government is expected to perform, and has incorporated those applicable into its strategic plan for the coming years.

    He said the governments of Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Osun and Oyo have agreed on a common set of development strategy that enables the states in the region and its indigenes to experience a common level and set of development across all spheres of existence .

    Specifically on agriculture, Famakinwa said the policy framework aims at linking agriculture to manufacturing through extending agricultural value chain to storage, processing and manufacturing. It also aims at encouraging the modernisation of agriculture and agriculture related infrastructure and transforming the sector such that it becomes a source of employment and entrepreneurship for graduates and young persons.

    He said the states have resolved to achieve rapid investment in modern agricultural and industrial infrastructure through agricultural estates for middle and small farms as well as industrial estates, parks and export trade zones.

    He stressed that there was a need to aggregate and consolidate farmlands under cultivation to achieve economies of scale in farm operations.

    Rising from the meeting in Abeokuta, the commissioners said rising food prices has contributed to raising the number of undernourished people.

    In its resolutions presented by the Ekiti State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Babajide Arowosafe, the commissioners noted that the states were determined to have a positive effect on inflation and food security and above all, significant reduction of poverty.

    To this end, the commissioners resolved to tackle the spike in food prices due to soaring commodity costs and a growing population.

    The commissioners stressed the need to implement policy reforms to help transform high economic growth rates into widespread employment, broad-based poverty reduction and improved food security across the region.

    In order to increase agrifood production, the commissioners resolved to implement actions that will transform the face of agriculture by providing effective support for subsistence farmers and those engaged in commercial agriculture.

    Through dialogue and shared responsibility between the governments and farmers across the region, the commissioners expressed confidence they will be able to build the necessary agreements for the integral transformation of the rural sector.

    The commissioners maintained that food production is a top priority and a long-term public policy framework will maximise the potential of the region.

    The commissioners agreed to strengthen the resilience of the economy by improving local communities’ capacity for food production, expanding access to credit, , and reinforcing food security and food-crisis preparedness.

    The commissioners pledged to implement improvements in food availability and nutritional health as well as access to land.

    The commissioners agreed to promote private-sector-led growth by improving the functioning of the agricultural input market and consolidate key reforms in input management.

    The meeting agreed to increase investment in research, training, irrigation and storage to improve farm productivity in the region.

    The commissioners said there were ongoing efforts to catalyse private-sector growth and job creation, improve governance and enhance public-resource management, build economic resilience and reduce the vulnerability of its many farmers to drought and other shocks

    Ogun State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs Ronke Sokefun said the meeting of agriculture commissioners in the Southwest was established as part of the regional development plan to stimulate a broad range of investment in agric infrastructure.

    She said Ogun State government is set to establish a cocoa plantation in Alagbagba in Odeda Local Government Area of the state. Already work has started with the first phase of the project which is on a 50 hectare land.

    Mrs Sokefun said the project which will bring back the lost glory of the state and Southwest will equally provide employment to hundreds of farmers who will be engaged directly on the plantation thereby improving their livelihood. She said planting will start early next year with improved varities that has 18 month gestation period.

    She added that the second phase of another 50 hectre will start immediately after the planting of the first phase and called for the cooperation of the community to make the project a huge success.

  • Kwankwaso’s silent revolution in Kano

    Poverty is a common affliction of our people. It strikes you directly on the face whether you are in Ughelli, Owerri, Ekiti or Kano. And the consensus of experts and friends of Nigeria including Britain and the US is that poverty in Nigeria is government-induced either through its policies that have no direct bearing on the lives of the people, or as a result of mindless looting of the nation’s resources by those who have access to power. What this therefore means is that the battle for poverty alleviation will have to be led by few in government ready to offer selfless service. I think when we see some that are making efforts at implementing policies that have the potential to reduce poverty among our people, they deserve to be celebrated.

    One such creative response to the scourge of poverty is Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso’s ‘organized mass marriages and empowerment of women’ in Kano, which he initiated at the onset of his administration three years ago. If his initiative received any attention at all, it could only have been in form of severe criticism by uninformed non-indigenes of Kano. In fact it was the scurrilous attack on the person of the governor in the social media by professional mourners who weep louder than the bereaved that compelled me to take another look at Rabiu’s initiative. It turned out in my view that the governor’s ingenious response to poverty alleviation in Kano which focuses on women training and women empowerment is a silent revolution. This is because the UN as a body has long established that the neglect of women in terms of education and empowerment, described as ‘feminisation of poverty’ is partly responsible for poverty in the Third World nations.

    The forth phase of Kwankwaso government’s ‘divorcees, widows and spinsters mass marriage’ programme of 1,111 including 60 Christian couples took place last week, at a cost of some N278.270 million to the government. This meant that government is investing an average of about N250, 468, on each couple. The amount according to the governor covered procurement of furniture, textile materials, foodstuff as well as grants for the brides and other essential items. Kwankwaso who wears the shoe and knows where the shoe pinches also stressed that ‘the marriage programme would help ‘people strengthen the family institution and halt social crimes in the society, most of which were as a result of erosion of family values.’

    The governor has also initiated a special ‘family orientation programme aimed at preventing and minimizing the rising cases of divorce in the state in addition to evolving capacity building programmes especially for women to enable them support their families.’

    The governor did not stop at that. His administration refurbished 20 cottage industries and handed them over to women co-operative groups accompanied with empowerment packages to the beneficiaries.

    With these measures in place, the governor has gone ahead to perform what was considered impossible in the history of Nigeria and West Africa,- signing in to law ‘the Street Begging Prohibition Bill 2013’ which prohibited children and adults from begging on the streets, motor parks and other public places. To give the law a human face, the state government would train 2,205 people with disabilities in various entrepreneurship skills that would suit their individual capacities. He has also promised to absorb those so trained into the public service while ‘’the state government will give N10,000 monthly to those with disabilities that lack the wherewithal to engage in any trade.”

    I think we must salute the governor for this bold and creative initiative. It will most likely succeed because of its focus on women who, studies have shown, will spend about 80 per cent of their earnings on their children. Rabiu initiative will also appear to have better prospects than the federal government nomadic school project which was a reaction to Boko Haram insurgency. As we have seen in the case of federal government involvement in ‘unity schools’ and federal universities, funding may dry up for the nomadic federal government initiative. In any case mere provision of school building and facilities to shelter those picked from the streets will not automatically turn those who are already hardened into good citizens. What we all know is that the socialization processes that will enable children imbibe positive values starts at the family level.

    I think Rabiu’s modest initiative can serve as a model for many of the states in the north currently battling the social malaise of almajiris who often become easy tools for violence and other crimes. Empowerment of over 1000 women in Kano has the potential of grooming about 10,000 children yearly for a secured future.

    Of course other states outside the north also have much to learn from Rabiu’s initiative. What some of the virulent southern critics of Rabiu initiative have failed to see is the parallel between the social malaise called almajiris and thousands of young men who cannot read and write hawking smuggled substandard products on the streets of Lagos and other southern major cities. If this southern equivalent of northern almajiris are not taken off the streets and trained, they are going to become a threat to those we are currently investing on as leaders of tomorrow in our various universities. And already in Lagos, it is the focused leadership of Governor Fashola that has invested heavily on security, which has reduced incidences of gun totting ‘hawkers’ holding up motorists inside traffic demanding for money, trinkets and telephone handsets.

    Besides Kwankwaso’s modest efforts at attacking the root course of poverty and securing a better future for Kano children, he is said to be setting the pace in other areas such as leadership by example, transparency and accountability in governance. Dapo Thomas in a piece in last Sunday edition of The Nation called attention to Kwankwaso’s unique attempt at removing the myth of secrecy surrounding governance by advertising the minute of his state Exco meetings every week, spelling out in details, debates on government policy initiatives and policy implementation for everyone to see. Cited in one of such advertised minute of Kano exco meeting by Thomas was the approval of Kano State Scholarship Board’s recommendation and government approval of N320, 000 to each of the 53 Kano indigenes that qualified for Law school.

    Kwankwaso’s modest efforts are aimed at reclaiming the soul of Kano, a beautiful city of life, energy and humanity, a city with paved ways, uncharted safe alleys and ever bustling Kirki market where the heterogeneity of our nation is in full display daily as one encounters a Christian Yoruba woman trader momentarily take over the wares of her Hausa co-trader observing one of the five daily mandatory Muslim prayers. But it is also a challenge to not only his brother governors but also the federal government where we hear stories of missing N500b SURE-P funds, NNPC unremitted $48b now negotiated down, to $10.8b, N500b missing kerosene subsidy payment etc.

    There was a report by a committee set up by President Jonathan to look into issue of abandoned projects early this year which stated that, if no fresh projects are initiated, it will take three years of annual capital budget to implement abandoned projects on which substantial payments had been made. These contractors are Nigerians and some of them are in government. The 2014 budget proposal was presented to the National Assembly early this week, yet not even the constituencies have been told what percentage of the constituency projects supervised by the lawmakers was implemented.

    Kwankwaso is set for the battle for the soul of Kano. Talk to Kano tomato retailer or orange hawker in Lagos, they will tell you of a cousin in Malaysia or USA on scholarship. But beyond this, he has also hinted at the source of pervasive poverty in our nation and has demonstrated by his own personal example that it can be eradicated by a leadership style that removes the myth of secrecy about governance.