AgriReview West Africa

Agriculture and Green Revolution as a priority 

A transformational leader will commit to restoring Nigeria’s leadership and strength as a foremost agricultural nation in the world. Green revolution at all levels of governance is required to significantly increase the production, distribution and export of high yielding plant and livestock varieties in Nigeria.

As stated earlier, agriculture was the mainstay of economy of this country in the First Republic. The fact remains that agriculture is the major employer of labour all over the world. However, in Nigeria, agriculture is virtually abandoned. In court of law, particularly in election petition cases when witnesses are asked what their occupation is: the answer invariably is “politics”.

Our government has been paying lip service to agriculture by urging people to go back to farm. I do not know a father who will tell his son who has just graduated to return to the farm and use cutlass and hoe. Agriculture is an attractive business if we adopt mechanised farming as is done in other countries. I am confident that our youths can go back to the farms if the government can make available agricultural equipment to all local governments which can be hired by youths. All they need to do is pledge their farmland as security.

If soft loans at the rate of 2-3 percent is made available to youths, most of the young graduates will certainly want to go back to farming.

Generally, to revive the lost glory of agriculture in Nigeria, I suggest that:

(a)Agricultural science must be taught in Elementary and Secondary schools as a compulsory subject

(b)All universities must encourage students to study Agriculture by reducing school fees such as exemplified by my university ABUAD where tuition is reduced to 50%. In addition, the government should emulate how ABUAD empowers graduates in Agriculture with N250,000 as initial start-up on their farms.

Finally, each family throughout this country should be encouraged to come together and merge their small holdings for purpose of large-scale farming.

Population explosion is an anti-thesis to development 

Unless we deal effectively and decisively with the geometric rise and explosion of the Nigerian population, our search for transformational leadership and development could end in vain. It is common knowledge that the populations of African countries south of Sahara, including Nigeria, are increasing rapidly.

The geometric rise in population certainly impacts negatively on the yearly revenue of the government and the amount the government can reasonably budget for education. I believe that African countries should relate the growth in population of their country to the resources available to government in the midst of several needs they had to provide for. Taking Nigeria as an example, the population of Nigeria which was only 40million in 1961 is now about 230 million.

It is unfortunate that while other countries are curtailing population growth, Africans revel in producing children without caution. When China woke up to the reality of population explosion starring it in the face, it pegged number of children in a family to one. On the contrary, we continue to revel in the unwholesome habit of giving birth to a multitude of children. For example, one recalls the story of a 93-year-old Bello Abubakar in Nigeria who had 97 wives and 185 children. As a matter of fact, Bello at some point had 107 wives but the number got reduced to 97 after he divorced 10 of them.

The time has come for government to frankly convince the people of the need to moderate the number of children they raise. I, on my part, would recommend only two children per family. Government must make it abundantly clear that there is a limit to the amount of money it can provide for an ever-growing population in the midst of competing areas of need.

Politicians, particularly those aspiring to be governors, should stop deceiving the populace that, if elected, they would provide free education. This is how we came about several state universities which are only universities in name and are not better than glorified secondary schools. Transformational leaders will be bold enough to put in place public welfare programmes, such as free education and scholarship schemes, that are available but limited to two to three children in a family.

Citizen education and entrepreneurship to drive change 

Considering how heavily the Nigerian identity and global reputation has been dented over the last decade, communicating alternative narratives and vision of Nigeria is a pivotal driving force for transformation. Transformational leaders are required to build a new identity, ideology and positive narratives of what it means to be Nigerian. Citizen education starts with deliberate programming of our education systems to deliver civic education to the Nigerian people as early as from primary to tertiary levels on the history and progress of the country, as well as rights, responsibilities and duties of a true citizen. Furthermore, public sensitisation and awareness programmes will be essential to reinforce true citizenship to young and old citizens.

Similarly, the importance of innovation across all levels of education cannot be overemphasized.  Transformational leaders are required to promote entrepreneurship education and innovation at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. It is not a mere coincidence that Africa’s glorious years in terms of national economic development were years when our universities were equally known for delivering significant innovation and research.  Zimbabwe was known as the bread basket of the continent due to expansive agriculture; Nigeria was known as the largest exporter of cocoa and cassava. South Africa was known for high innovation.

However, what do we have today? Due to poor funding, brain drain, infrastructural deficiency, poor ethical standards and different levels of institutional corruption, our universities can no longer drive innovation. Despite the country’s reliance on agriculture for subsistence, we relegate agricultural education and sensitisation to the background.

We continue to perpetuate the colonial approach to education which was designed for that time to train skilled secretaries and white-collar officers that were needed for the work force. Times have changed, the demands of our time have changed, yet we have failed to change. In the UK, as well as other developed countries, universities are the key to spearheading research, applied technology, and economic growth.

Take Canada for example, where Aeronautical Engineering Departments have spurred key breakthroughs for aviation infrastructure, making Canada a leading manufacturer of airplanes (the Bombardier).  Electrical Engineering and Computer Science departments have also provided talented graduates who drive Canada’s electronics and software industry, which generates $50 billion in annual exports.

Furthermore, several Oxford professors have won Nobel Prizes in Medicine, Engineering and Sciences. Unless we drive and finance innovation in our universities, Africa will continue to depend on foreign technology and goods as the foundation for its infrastructural projects. This is an approach that has failed us for several years and will continue to do so. Countries that have achieved meaningful development realised this and have dedicated significant national funding to research and innovation.

As a university founder and administrator, I know the depth of human and intellectual capacity locked behind the gates of our universities. If well-funded and motivated, our universities hold the key to unlocking sustainable infrastructural development and agricultural innovation in Nigeria. The rapid development and growth of Afe Babalola University assures  me that private universities have prominent roles to play in national development and should be funded and encouraged to do so. Government must create an enabling environment for our universities to drive ethical entrepreneurship, agricultural expansion and innovation in Nigeria if we seriously wish to achieve sustainable development.

Conclusion

New narratives, ideologies and attitudes are required to move Nigeria out of the pressure-cooker of insecurity, economic decline, poverty, injustice, terrorism, crime and social-political degeneration that it current finds itself.

In order to be transformative, we need to overcome short termism, self-aggrandisement and winner takes all orientation of our current political systems.

Each election cycle presents an opportunity for transformation, a chance to reject transactional leaders, and an opportunity to enthrone transformational ones. The principles of transformational leadership elaborated in my weekly articles provide timely tools for identifying leaders that can genuinely move Nigeria out of an impending reconfiguration and devastation, to an era of positive growth and accelerated development.

However, transformation does not come easily. As John Mark Green, an acclaimed author rightly noted:

Change can be hard. It requires no extra effort to settle for the same old thing. Auto-pilot keeps us locked into past patterns. But transforming your life? That requires courage, commitment, and effort. It’s tempting to stay camped in the zone of That’s-Just-How-It-Is. But to get to the really good stuff in life, you have to be willing to become an explorer and adventurer.

To achieve transformational leadership and change in Nigeria, sustained courage, commitment, and effort is required to resist, reject, and disapprove of the old ways that have brought stagnation and intimidation instead of genuine change. The foregoing principles and manifesto of transformational leadership must be positioned, communicated and reemphasized by all stakeholders and thought leaders until they become ingrained as core components of our mainstream politics.

Electorates in Nigeria alike should be alert enough to elect only transformational leaders that are ready to move the country forward. Without doing so, the search for the soul, identity, ideology, and progress of Nation Nigeria may remain elusive and incomplete.