The Nation Newspaper

Tag: the future

  • Preparing the youths for the future

    Pupils of Halifield Schools, Lagos explored the diverse culture of countries such as New Zealand, Greece, Jamaica and Mexico in dance, drama and song presentations tagged One world, diverse culture and Joseph and his Technicolor dream coat. The two-in-one concert held at Terra Kulture Arena, Victoria Island Lagos, was part of the school’s commitment to building a total child that can confidently face the future as well as build one global village.

    The pupils’ presentation showcased New Zealand as a small island nation home to around 4.5 million people located in the Pacific Ocean. It is famous for its national rugby team, its indigenous Maori culture and its picturesque landscape, among others.

    Mexico on the other hand has large majority of Mexicans have been classified as “Mestizos”, meaning in modern Mexican usage that they identify fully neither with any indigenous culture nor with a Spanish cultural heritage, but rather identify as having cultural traits incorporating elements from indigenous and Spanish traditions.

    Oreofe Oyemade who represented Mexico said she talked about one of Mexico’s famous games referred to as Charrería, a modern bullfight which includes traditional folk dancing and equestrian events such as   charrería (or charreada). Charrería, like a Mexican rodeo, is the national sport of Mexico.

    Jamaican culture is mixed with diverse ethnic groups, stemming from a history of inhabitants beginning with the original Taino people.

    Pupils also showcased Jamaica as home of Bob Marley’s roots reggae, which is so much more than just Bob Marley. Bob is only one out of literally thousands of amazing reggae artists in Jamaica.

    They also mirrored Greece as the cradle of Western culture and democracy. The ancient Greek pioneered in many fields that rely on systematic thought, including biology, geometry, history, philosophy and physics. They introduced such important literary forms as epic and lyric poetry, history, tragedy, and comedy.

    On the essence of the event, Mrs. Halimat Oke said it was a show of different cultures, even though it’s one world, there are differences. “But these differences should seal the whole world because amidst the differences we still see things that pertain to each and every culture. Cultural diversity is a valuable resource for attaining developmental goals,” she said.

    She added that one of the reasons for the presentation was to promote long term study, which she said, is the best way to teach children not to forget. She added that it also affords learners to imbibe a lot of knowledge. “What these children have learnt during the time of practice they will never forget. They have learnt about different cultures and anthems most adults don’t know,” she said

     

     

     

     

  • Osun: Projecting into the future!

    It is a matter of days before the electorate in Osun goes to the polls to elect a successor to Rauf Aregbesola, the outgoing state governor. Nature, they say, abhors vacuum. As Aregbesola’s administration is gradually but furiously winding down, it is incumbent on the people to assess where they are coming from, with a view to picturing into what the future holds in stock.

    Flipping back to the last eight years with the benefit of hindsight, Aregbesola had met a state at its developmental nadir. The governor met a rudderless state, where every facet of government was comatose. Worse hit were social infrastructure, education, health and commerce. The preceding government, overseen by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was profligate with the state resources owing to its misplaced priorities and astounding banality. Then enter Aregbesola who worked assiduously to change the state’s narrative. With a landscape littered with infrastructural edifices, ranging from landmark road networks to social amenities, the economy and commercial activities of the state jumpstarted from their dying ashes. This story of success may be a harrowing one, but the fact remains that Aregbesola has done what ought to be done to rescue an ailing state.

    With few days to Aregbesola’s handing over the flag to his successor therefore, where is the state headed in a way as to avoid a reversal of the gains of the last eight years and who does the cap fit? Well, a peep into the profile of some of the contenders to the throne will suffice.

    First is AdegboyegaIsiakaOyetola, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Born on September 29, 1954, Oyetola holds a Bachelor’s degree (B.Sc.) in Insurance and Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) in Finance. He has served as Area Manager at Leadway Assurance Company Limited; Underwriting Manager at Crusader Insurance and Technical Controller at Alliance and General Insurance.

    In 1991, Oyetola founded Silvertrust Insurance Brokers Limited, a firm he has successfully managed until he was appointed as Chief of Staff in 2011. He was also chairman, Ebony Properties Limited; executive vice-chairman, Paragon Group of Companies; and Director, Pyramid Securities Limited.

    Oyetola served as Aregbesola’s Chief of Staff until his election as APC governorship candidate. A certified insurance broker by training, the quiet, modest and witty APC flag-bearer is said to be among the founders of the now-rested Alliance for Democracy (AD) in 1998 and has since then remained a notable figure in Osun’s political scene so much that when the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, birthed, he was one of the party’s notable chieftains.

    He is a loyal, pronounced technocrat, result-oriented progressive and philanthropist par excellence whose capacity for generosity remains endless. As a matter of fact, no fewer than 400 students have benefitted from his scholarship grants in the last 25 years. He is married with children who are doing fantastically well in their chosen fields of endeavour.

    As fate would have it, his deputy, Benedict Olugboyega Alabi, also holds a Master’s degree in Economics which makes the team a perfect combination.

    Next is Ademola Adeleke of the PDP. Reports have it that he is a secondary school dropout, whose candidacy has been dogged by controversies. As at the time of writing this, many court cases, bordering, principally, on certificate forgery, are hanging on his neck, all of which are making the coast unclear for his candidature.

    With the benefit of hindsight, Adeleke is an accidental politician who was shot into limelight following the sudden death of Isiaka, his elder brother. The concern in some quarters is how the son of a former senator missed the golden opportunity of acquiring the best education that money could provide. Unfortunately, the PDP standard-bearer seemed to have learned nothing from the rise and fall of Salisu Buhari, Nigeria’s former Speaker of the House of Representatives. As he now parades “badly-damaged” credentials, the candidate is seen more as a spoilt brat who is being pushed by his elder brother’s humongous wealth. In any case, it is yet to be seen if he will survive the allegations against him in court. In my considered opinion, a vote for the Ede, State of Osun-born candidate, popularly referred to as Ajobiewe, will be a vote for emptiness and untoward setback as the 58 year-old candidate has shown himself as having nothing to offer.

    MoshoodAdeoti is the governorship candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP). Adeoti is the immediate past Secretary to the Government of Osun State (SSG). Born on February 27, 1953, Adeoti defected from the ruling party and resigned his appointment as SSG to protest the choice of Oyetola as the candidate of the party in an election that was adjudged free, fair and credible.

    A Bachelor’s degree (B.Sc) holder in Business Administration, the ADP candidate was at various times the councillor, secretary and chairman of Iwo Local Government before becoming the chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) which eventually metamorphosed into APC. Aside from his appointment as SSG, the only known place the Iwo-born politician seemed to have had a ‘cognate’ experience was in the sawmilling industry where he served as manager.

    Last but not the least is IyiolaOmisore, the veteran governorship candidate has at one time or another served the state as deputy governor and senator representing Osun East Senatorial District. However, despite Omisore’s claim to sound academic acquisition, he is perceived more as a man of slothful pastimes and unstable whims whose schemes cannot do the state any good. It is believed that his desperation may not be for the genuine interest of the masses after all. As such, his victory at the polls may translate into converting our collective patrimony into personal use. Remember: the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate still owes Nigeria a huge sum of money, part of which he has been struggling to refund through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

     

    • Komolafe writes in from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State.

     

  • The future

    Poor Carl Ikeme. The doctors have told him to quit the game and stay alive. There is life outside the beautiful game. Ikeme’s story is an open book. The only thing left in his career is a World Cup appearance which he missed in Russia. But he can look back at his career with plenty of medals and trophies, enough to show his grand kids while reminiscing on the past.

    Ikeme is a product of the current NFF’s recruitment policy, which exploits the possibilities of having Nigerians in the Diaspora participate in the country’s quest for football honours, provided they are willing to do so. And so when the dragnet caught Ikeme, he didn’t think twice. He ensured the process of making him eligible to play for Nigeria was seamless. Credit must, however go to Sunday Oliseh for believing in Ikeme’s talent.

    He joined the Super Eagles in one of the country’s qualification games held in Dar Es Salam, Tanzania. Not many trusted Ikeme to keep a clean slate for the Eagles.

    Goalkeeping had been Vincent Enyeama’s birthright, since he hit the international scene during the Korea/Japan World Cup in 2002 against star-studded England. The game ended on a barren note. Enyeama lost his mother shortly before the Tanzania game, but chose to report the sad event on his twitter page. He had his reasons. But the unfortunate incident led to all the problems associated with his uneventful exit from the Eagles. I really don’t want to write about the details, given Enyeama’s immense contributions to the Eagles, which far outweigh his flaws.

    Coach Oliseh stuck to Ikeme against the Tanzanians. And he distinguished himself on that unforgettable night when Super Eagles struggled to match the host players’ pace, zeal and determination. Thrice in each half did Ikeme pull off incredible saves.Ikeme’s heroics earned him the Man-of-the-Match award and the reassurance of his admirers. With Ikeme showing good form, it didn’t take long for Oliseh and indeed NFF chiefs to call Enyema’s bluff. Was there any need for the Enyeama face-off? No. Oliseh ought to have forgiven Enyeama. Perhaps, a surprise visit to the goalkeeper after their face-off could have humbled Enyeama to return to the team.

    What won’t ego destroy? Two legends of the game who may never be on speaking terms over nothing. The silver lining in Ikeme’s early exit from the game is the novel decision by Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) chieftains to make him a goalkeeper trainer. He is to comb the nooks and crannies of the country for potential star goalkeepers. Of course, NFF’s masterstroke would have impressed his European side Wolverhampton Wanderers’s eggheads, since they had offered Ikeme lifetime wages and some ambassadorial roles in the club to celebrate his exploits with the club.

    The bigger picture is that the world is watching. Nigeria-born kids will be further encouraged to play for the country, knowing that their efforts won’t be in vain. It is also a welcome development for our stars since they can transit to become coaches using the national team platforms whenever they so desire.

    Now that Ikeme’s career is over, can the NFF and its coaches look for other goalkeepers, irrespective of the fact that Francis Uzoho passed the debut test in Russia. Our problem with getting goalkeepers is that we idolise them until they age before we struggle to get their replacements.  This problem pre-dates the current era. It took a Brazilian Otto Gloria to bench the great Emmanuel Okala for the late Best Ogedegbe ahead of the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations hosted by Nigeria, which we eventually won by beating Algeria 3-0 in the final game at the National Stadium, Surelere Lagos.

    Okala had been the face of the Africa Cup of Nations and our administrators cried blue-murder when the Brazilian coach settled for Ogedegbe. The coach had his say because he was a foreigner. No Nigerian coach would have had the guts to take such a decision, which helped Ogedegbe grow. Check out how long it took us to replace Peter ‘Dodo Mayana’ Rufai. How about getting a replacement for Peter ‘the cat’ Fregene? The difference now is that young goalkeepers can benefit from Ikeme’s experience unlike what we lost when Okala was sidelined to his country home  in Anambra State.

    Clemens Westerhof’s era threw up a few new goalkeepers, asides Rufai. But such new lads came by default because Westerhof couldn’t stomach Rufiai cult hero relationship with the fans. Westerhof wanted to be the Sheriff in the Eagles camp. He couldn’t condone the standing ovation which Rufai got whenever the team tried to train. He also was awed at the applause from the fans anytime Rufia made fantastic saves in training.

    For Westerhof to be the boss, Rufai had to be given good competition. First he dropped Rufai for David Ngodigha in the last game against Cameroon in Yaoundé, his first game in charge. Ngodigha left the pitch with a broken tooth after a collusion with a Cameroonian in one of the Italia ’90 Cameroonian in one of the Italia ’90 World Cup qualifiers in Yaounde. He was replaced by Alloy Agu at the end of the first half. Westerhof combed the league venues and discovered other goalkeepers. With time the goalkeeping department had stars, such as Rufai, the late Wilfred Agbonivbare,  Ngodigha, Agu and Ike Shorunmu. But Westerhof earned his stripes when he got  a professional goalkeeper trainer for the US’94 World Cup to pick his best goalkeeper. When the expert rated Rufai as the best, Westerhof swallowed his pride and used Rufai in all the matches, not forgetting that Dodo Mayana was also the regular choice at the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations which Nigeria won 2-1, beating a resurgent Zambia in the final game.

    The point to be made here is that those who gave Rufai a fight for his jersey (Agu, Agbonivbare, Ngodigha et al) came from the domestic game, which credit to Westerhof, he patronised when he was in the country.

    Nigeria has several U-17 World Cup winning teams with many of the goalkeepers being adjudged the best or second best. Where are they now, despite the euphoric promises by previous governments to monitor their career growth to Europe?

    Since the Chile 2015 event Nigeria has produced 12 goalkeepers at the U-17 World Cup tournament, with Uzoho rated the third best in the Golden Eaglets squad of 2013. The 12 goalkeepers are: Akpan Udoh, Amos Benjamin, Chisom Chiaha, Dele Alampasu, Abdulazeez Abubakar, Francis Uzoho, Dami Paul, Amos Izuchukwu, John Felagha, Oladele Ajiboye, Laide Okanlawon and Uche Okafor.

    Where are they now? How many of them qualified for the Super Eagles? The world laughs at us anytime they do a comparison between De Gea and Ajiboye. In 2007, Ajiboye was rightly adjudged to be better than De Gea, who now plays regularly for Spain and Manchester United FC in England. Need I try to locate where Ajiboye is beyond the fact that he was dropped shortly after Nigeria released her 23-man squad to the Russia 2018 World Cup?

    Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Ajiboye and Daniel Akpeyi  can effectively challenge Uzoho for the shirt, but they must play regularly for their clubs, which can be made mandatory, if there is a synergy among the clubs, the NFF and the team’s coaches. Alampasu is the outside choice in Europe but the team’s manager should spend more time in the country watching our matches to pick younger players from the domestic game. No country measures its football growth by relying on over 80 per cent foreign-based players.

    Nigeria’s next assignment is the game against Seychelles in Victoria on September 7, which ought to be a stroll in the park if the Eagles play to their potential. But, in soccer, anything goes, with the underdogs aiming to create upsets to improve their ranking in FIFA monthly.

    Nigeria was adjudged the 25th best country at the Russia 2018 World Cup, which is nothing to cheer from a pool of 32 countries which partook in the Mundial. We need to use Seychelles as the stepping stone to glory. The boys have promised to give the Africa Cup of Nations’ series their best, having lost the first game against Bafana Bafana inside the Nest of Champions Stadium in Uyo. Happily, our players have started scoring goals in the European clubs, with the season set to begin next weekend. Gernot Rohr should be told that if we fail to lift the Africa Cup of Nations’ diadem, he should be prepared to lose the job. Nigerians like winners.

  • The future is bright, says APC

    The future is bright, says APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has assured that the nation’s future remains bright with sound economic policies of the current administration.

    The ruling party, in an Independence message by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, called on Nigerians to support the Buhari-led government to deliver on its agendas.

    The statement reads:  “While there is still so much work to be done to achieve the Nigeria of our dreams, the All Progressives Congress (APC) is delighted with the enormous strides that have been made in the last two years under President Muhammadu Buhari to bring our nation back to the path of rectitude and sanity away from the wanton profligacy and impunity of recent years.

    “The party is confident with the support of all Nigerians we can reach our economic development goals sooner than skeptics believe is possible.

    “With diversification of the economy by the current administration, with special focus on agriculture, the creative industry, solid minerals and other viable sectors, the hidden potential of the nation will come to full bloom sooner rather than later.”

    The party restated its commitment to restructuring, saying “we believe that our ongoing efforts in that direction will address some of the underlying concerns that have emerged.

    As we celebrate our 57th independence anniversary, we must sustain the hope that brighter days are ahead of us.

    Let us join in the effort to build a more vibrant nation that every Nigerian will be proud of. The future holds great dividends.”

     

  • Now … the future

    How can Nigeria be so big, yet so foolish? Who do we tell that a country with over 170 million people cannot qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations from a group that had Congo, South Africa and Sudan? How are the mighty fallen?

    Who can quantify how much would be lost by Nigerians, firms and others in the business of sports now that Nigeria is out of the Africa Cup of Nations? When Nigeria has a soccer game, the streets are empty. If we win, the talk everywhere the next day is on the victory. Everyone becomes a pundit. Nigerians put aside their religious inclinations and creed to embrace one another when the Eagles score goals. For the 90-minute game, Nigerians are united in their quest for victory. The urchins and roughnecks leave their vices to watch the matches. What would all these people be doing next year when the competition begins without the Eagles?  How would the domestic league grow when our national teams are populated by Europe-based players? Who would watch the local games without our idols?

    Women are excited anytime the Eagles are playing because they are sure that their husbands would come home to watch the match. Kids look forward to watching the matches with their parents. Young boys and girls use the viewing centres to rake in cash. All these are gone – no thanks to this avoidable ouster from the 2015 edition.

    So, Nigeria couldn’t beat Sudan and Congo home and away? Ah! Is it not a shame that we could garner only eight points from the designated 18? Is there any difference in the coaches’ World Cup matches where we secured four points from the possible 12? Rather than sack the coaches then, we pampered them and hounded the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) men.

    Countries have sacked their fumbling coaches and reconstituted their teams, midway into World Cup qualifiers and secured the ticket. Brazil used five coaches and 99 players during the qualifiers to the 2002 World Cup co-hosted by Korea and Japan. They eventually won the trophy. So, what was that foolish talk about sacking ours with two matches left in the qualifiers? How has the reversal given us the ticket to defend the trophy we won in South Africa on February 10? The new NFF helmsmen wisely sacked these fumblers. Just when we were celebrating the soul-lifting change, the tide changed.

    Look at what a reversal of decision has done to the psyche of Nigerians. Nigerians are now forced to watch the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations slated for Equitorial Guinea on television; so sad.

    Sports, the only thing that unites us, is being used sadly to cause us pains because of our incompetent coaches and their players who made us a laughing stock at the Brazil 2014 World Cup, when they shamelessly refused to train until they were paid their appearance fees. Luck, which has been the basic ingredient in the Eagles’ past feats, eluded the team after sharing our collective wealth ($3.85 million) till the wee hours on match day against France.

    Super Eagles under these coaches have been living on the edge, a team bastardised by the inclusion of bench warmers, injury-hit players and recuperating ones. Indeed, the team has not been a platform to showcase our best. Rather it has become a rehabilitation centre.

    There was so much hoopla about the Super Eagles’ “comeback” from the dead in terms of the country’s chances of qualifying for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations slated to hold in Equatorial Guinea, simply because we beat Congo in Pointe Noire. We forgot that the Eagles are the defending champions. We were celebrating a feat where we are ninth in Africa and 42nd in the world. We did not see anything wrong with this euphoria in a group that had Congo, South Africa and Sudan.

    Imagine Sudan beating Nigeria! Just imagine. Sudan is the last team in the group table. We couldn’t grab all the six points allocated to this fixture. South Africa (our former wives, they say in soccer parlance) did. They won two of their three away games. Is there any reason for us to celebrate? Shouldn’t this period be for sober reflection, if we are truly the African champions? When would we stop this hail ‘him today, crucify him tomorrow’ style of running our football?

    It did not matter that South Africa beat Sudan and Congo at home to top the group. We were pleased with the fact that we beat Congo. But, did we take the pains to find out why we tottered all through the qualifiers? Indeed, we started the competition by losing 3-2 at home to Congo, though many have ascribed the loss to the impasse at the NFF.  What a weak excuse, especially as the Falconets emerged runners-up at the FIFA U-20 World Cup held in Canada. It is important to stress here that the Falconets barely made the trip because Nigeria was cleared for the competition by FIFA, less than five days to the tournament.

    Eagles’ campaign in the qualifiers was shambolic, unworthy of true champions. Swept under the carpet were the coaches’ poor tactics, their refusal to subject their players’ invitation list to scrutiny and the continuous inclusion of half-fit and recuperating stars in their squads. Is it not laughable that we invited Kenneth Omeruo for the two games against Congo and South Africa, in spite of the fact that he had not played a game for four consecutive weeks for his English Championship side Middleborough? Shouldn’t the coaches have asked Omeruo’s manager what the problem was? Omeruo was the worst culprit in the game against Bafana. He knew he wasn’t fit, yet he couldn’t tell the coaches to leave him out of the game. Today, his rating has fallen and it could affect his place at Middleborough. Omeruo shed crocodile tears after the game. Too late!

    Godfrey Oboabona’s in-and-out appearance for the Eagles is worrisome. Is it not time we asked him to undergo a surgery to solve this recurring injury, if we think he is integral to the coaches’ permutations for the team? Oboabona is our best defender. His absence due to suspension exposed the Eagles’ defence against South Africa on Wednesday.

    Word was rife that the coaches wanted to move Efe to the central defence position. Is it now that they have realised that Efe functions better in the position? Is that not where Efe plays for Celtic in the Scottish Premier League? So, why did the coaches settle for a rusty Omeruo? One of the sins of Nigerian coaches is the fixation about where players should and play and who does what. They are scared to take risks.

    Looking at the Eagles today, it is apparent that Ambrose Efe has lost form. The coaches must scout for his replacements. And the immediate place to find them will be from the youth teams, especially those who are now in Europe, pending when they would have come of age to play the game there.

    Credit must go to goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama for saving our blushes of not qualifying for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. His timely penalty save changed the face of the game in Pointe Noire. No team can win laurels if its best performer is the goalkeeper. Our coaches need to evolve systems that would invigorate the Eagles’ midfield to produce the passes for the strikers to score goals. The beauty of football rests with the goals. Only goals win matches.

    My problem with the Eagles is that the coaches have refused to use their matches to tacitly rebuild the team by introducing younger players. Hope Akpan is a wonderful addition to the Eagles but the coaches need to visit Arsenal to lure the Nigerian-born kids under Arsene Wenger’s tutelage. They also need to integrate some of our age-grade stars, such as Kelechi Ihenacho, into the team.

    The coaches must begin the process of getting the Eagles’ squad to represent Nigeria at the 2018 World Cup competition in Russia. They need to watch how other countries are replacing their ageing stars with younger players, ahead of the World Cup qualifiers next year.

    Enyeama’s heroics are heart-warming because goalkeepers get better as they age. But can we say the same for our strikers, defenders and midfielders? I don’t think so. This is the puzzle that the coaches must fix immediately, instead of waiting to restart the rebuilding next year.

    The coaches have no deals. They can take a walk, but we must ensure that only players who play in the European and domestic league make the country’s squad. No coach should be given the freehand to pick Eagles players. Coaches’ players’ lists must be vetted by the relevant people, if we must avert what caused our ouster from the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. The reasons are the same when we also crashed out from the 2012 edition.

    I’m a fan of foreign coaches. We need one, but he must be prepared to live with us. He must have a culture for soccer academies to fish out talents in the grassroots. Such a foreign coach must be prepared to train and re-train our coaches. The European coach should be allowed to come with his men. They must work with our age-grade teams’ coaches as their Nigerian assistants. The reason for this change is that these Nigerian coaches (Samson Siasia, Manu Garba and Emmaneul Amunike) can take what they learnt back to their teams. This way, we can have a football culture and a playing style. This arrangement will settle the problem of replacing ageing players. I look forward to seeing Kelechi Ihanacho playing for the Eagles against Brazil on March 25 in Uyo.

    Our coaches are not knowledgeable enough for the Super Eagles. The talk of getting our past stars who played in Europe to handle the Eagles has caused us more pain than glory. Eagles is definitely too big for Nigerian coaches, especially ex-internationals.

  • Agriculture…the future Nigeria is avoiding

    Agriculture…the future Nigeria is avoiding

    In the 1960s, before it turned to oil, Nigeria was one of the most promising agricultural producers in the world. Between 1962 and 1968, export crops were the country’s main foreign exchange earner. The country was number one globally in palm oil exports, well ahead of Malaysia and Indonesia, and exported 47 percent of all groundnuts, putting it ahead of the US and Argentina.

    But its status as an agricultural powerhouse has declined, and steeply. While Nigeria once provided 18 percent of the global production of cocoa, second in the world in the 1960s, that figure is now down to 8 percent. And while the country produces 65 percent of tomatoes in West Africa, it is now the largest importer of tomato paste.

    Nigeria’s minister for agriculture, Akinwumi Adesina, reels off these statistics with regret as he discusses the country’s deteriorating agriculture sector. “Nigeria is known for nothing else than oil, and it is so sad, because we never used to have oil – all we used to have was agriculture,” he says.

    Nigeria’s oil has come at the detriment of the agriculture sector, he claims, “and that is why we had a rising poverty situation. We were having growth but without robust growth able to impact millions of people because it is not connecting to agriculture.”

    That might explain why Nigeria’s economic statistics are so puzzling. While the country has been posting high growth figures, and makes it into Goldman Sachs’ ‘Next 11’ emerging markets group, absolute poverty is rising, with almost 100 million people living on less than a $1.25 a day. The National Bureau of Statistics says 60.9 percent of Nigerians in 2010 were living in absolute poverty, up from 54.7 percent in 2004.

    But it is not just oil that has hollowed out the agriculture sector, with knock-on effects on poverty rates. Restrictive trade policies also had an effect, especially in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Tariff increases, a rise in import licenses and duties, and export bans and tariffs – as well as a centralisation of marketing of agricultural produce through the formation of crop-specific commodity boards – all created a lumbering, inefficient private sector, as well as opening up many opportunities for corruption. Today, Nigeria has transitioned from being a self-sufficient country in food to being a net importer, spending $11bn on imports of rice, fish and sugar. “It just makes absolutely no sense to me at all,” says Mr Adesina. “My job is to change that.”

    Not everything is in the minister’s hands, of course. Climate change poses a threat to Nigerian agriculture – the World Bank recently predicted an up to 30 percent drop in the country’s crop output due to erratic rainfall and higher temperatures. But when it comes to achievable changes, Mr Adesina seems well placed to act on what lies within reach, combining an encyclopaedic knowledge of his country’s agriculture sector with a clear strategic vision.

    While ministers’ portfolio’s are often fast-changing, giving them limited time to develop expertise in any given sector, Mr Adesina has a strong background as vice president of policy and partnerships at the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra), and a decade at the Rockefeller Foundation. He was appointed by UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon as one of 17 global leaders to spearhead the Millennium Development Goals. His energy is palpable, and he looks well positioned to engineer a major turnaround in Nigerian agriculture.

    The change needed, he says, requires a shift in mindset. “We were not looking at agriculture through the right lens. We were looking at agriculture as a developmental activity, like a social sector in which you manage poor people in rural areas. But agriculture is not a social sector. Agriculture is a business. Seed is a business, fertiliser is a business, storage, value added, logistics and transport – it is all about business.”

    He wants to change the sector’s image, putting it at the forefront of national development. “Agriculture is the future of Nigeria. And agriculture that is modernised, that is productive, that is competitive. We must be a global player,” he says.

    Nigeria’s respected finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, speaks positively about Mr Adesina’s reforms to date – especially in cleaning up the corrupt fertiliser industry. Now, rather than directly participating in the delivery system for fertiliser, the government leaves that to the private sector and only provides the subsidy. This change has tackled 40 years of corruption, and ended it – Mr Adesina claims – in 90 days.

    Ms Okonjo-Iweala says it has been easier to work with Mr Adesina than previous ministers. “It is not only about doling out subsidies which do not reach farmers,” she says. “That was frustrating for me the first time [I was finance minister]. Now he came and cleaned up the fertiliser issues.”

    Nigeria is now seeking to add 20m metric tonnes to the domestic food supply by 2015 and to create 3.5 million jobs through agriculture. This requires more sophisticated thinking about the value addition of individual crops – cassava being but one example. “We are the largest producer of cassava in the world, at 40m metric tonnes, but I want us to become the largest processor of cassava as well,” Mr Adesina claims. “We can focus on using cassava for starch, dry cassava chips for export to China, cassava flour to replace some of the wheat flour that we are importing. So we are restructuring the space for the private sector to add value to every single thing.”

    Finance is the critical catalyst to growth, and in Nigeria it has proven hard to link the two. “You find that only 2 percent of all bank lending in Nigeria goes into agriculture – a sector that is 40 percent of GDP and 70 percent of employment. The reason was because banks could not find the money trail in the agriculture sector,” Mr Adesina says.

    That is beginning to change, with banks starting to look again at the opportunities offered by agriculture – which in part follows the reforms implemented by Mr Adesina’s administration to root out corruption and improve efficiency. Last year, his ministry developed a facility with the Central Bank of Nigeria – helped by donor assistance from the UK, German and US development agencies – called Nirsal, an agribusiness initiative that provides risk management, financing, trading, and strategic solutions.

    The $50m facility, which leverages $3.5bn, reduces the risk of agricultural lending by providing credit risk guarantees and brokerage services to buyers and sellers of agricultural commodities, including structured buyer forums. It also, selectively, buys on its own account to bring stability to markets. In addition, Nirsal offers advice designed to connect suppliers with downstream buyers.

    This is part of a market-smart initiative, rather than a heavy handed intervention in the sector. “With banks you cannot beg them to lend because they are taking care of their people’s money, so you create the value and they see the value and lend,” he says.

    While banks have often had a high perceived risk of lending to agriculture, the terms can be competitive if the sector functions well. Mr Adesina worked directly with the managing directors and chief risk officers of Nigeria’s banks in order to tackle what he saw as a misperception of risk, at least if the sector’s flaws – including inefficiencies and corruption – could be cleaned up. “What we have shown the banks is that agriculture gives as high and competitive a rate of return as other sectors if structured properly. But for banks to lend, we had to fix the agricultural value chain. Now the banks are all exploding on agriculture in Nigeria.”

    The percentage of lending by banks to the sector was just 1 percent in 2010 – now it is 4 percent, with a target of 10 percent. Last year, banks embarked on lending to seed companies for the first time in Nigeria. “We did an assessment at the end of the season,” recalls Mr Adesina. “The central bank governor asked the banks how much money did you lose lending to these guys last year? All the banks said zero percent. This year we expect the banks to lend $400m to seed companies alone. The reason their losses are zero is because we have changed the way we structure our agriculture sector.” The best performing stocks in the Nigerian Stock Exchange are now not banks, but agricultural companies.

    Crucially, it is institutional reform – rather than simply heavier public spending – which can best unleash financing in the sector. “I do not think that throwing money at anything solves problems. It is all about policy reforms, creating incentives, getting the private sector in there, getting financial markets behind agriculture. Our goal is to become an agriculturally industrialised economy. Nigeria should be like Brazil, as far as I am concerned,” says Mr Adesina.

    “Of course you need public financing of critical things like infrastructure, roads, and irrigation facilities – those are public goods that governments are obviously spending money on. But the greatest way is through the private sector.”