(First published in THE GUARDIAN of 25 January 2024)
The farmer waits for rain in the early months of the year. If it rains properly,
not the scattered rain that deceives you to plant early, then the farmer
would know it is time to plant the yam seedlings. He prays for rain, and
when it comes, he prays for more rain.
Without the rain, the labour of the farmer would be in nullity. After the rain,
he would plant the yam seedlings. By the time the yam seedlings are
planted, he would have cleared the farm, cut and burn the bush and ensure
that the farm is ready like a bride. But then, the farmer can be deceived or
unlucky.
The result is the same.
After the first rain, the shoots of the yam seedlings would come out,
sometimes, shyly, often with greedy enthusiasm. The seedlings can survive
and become the harvest of the 2024 season if the first rain is followed by
more rain in reasonable intervals.
If the rain fails to come after the shoots are out, then there would be poor or
no harvest. The new shoots would be green for sometimes, but there would
be no growth if the heaven persists in withholding the rain. The angry sun
of January and February would consume them. The soil would burn and
the delicate shoots stand no chance.
The farmer would weep and pray and weep again. Sometimes, he would
weep inside like strong men are wont to do. If he lives in Ekiti State, he
would be used to the circle that only God can handle. Even now, bearded
spiritualists invite the farmer to vigils to help him pray for rain. It is a tough
life.
In November, December and January, before the rain comes, hunters and
Fulani herdsmen love to set fire to the bushes and forests of Ekiti for
different purposes. The hunters are looking for games as the frightened
animals run helter skelter, for safety, often abandoning their young ones to
the inferno.
The hunters get the games and run to sell them at the roadsides for
precious naira to rich motorists who love the taste of bush meats. After the
burning, the new land would produce succulent new plants and grass that
is so delicious to the cattle. The new grass is just like the shoots of the new
yam.
Sometimes, the cattle prefer the shoots of the new yam. It is a perfect
chemistry for conflict which would be repeated year after year until in the
distant future when the herders learn to build ranches for their cattle and
other herds. For now, the lean Fulani boys follow the hard life of their
forefathers.
Meanwhile, in New York and other fora of the United Nations, big men and
women are speaking big grammar on behalf of the farmer; they are worried
about global warming, carbon emission, climate change and food security.
They love the farmer only that the farmer is hardly aware of this love.
In New York and other fora of the United Nations, big men and
women are speaking big grammar on behalf of the farmer; they are
worried about global warming, carbon emission, climate change and
food security. They love the farmer only that the farmer is hardly
aware of this love.
In Nigeria too, those who are speaking for the farmers live in Abuja, the
glittering Federal capital of the Republic. In 2023, the Federal Government
budgeted N228.4 billion for agriculture. This year, it has budgeted more
than N350 billion for agriculture.
In every state of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, agriculture
is a priority of the budget. Everyone of those big men and women speaks
so passionately of the billions thrown into the direction of the farmer. It is
only that the farmer is not smart enough to catch the billions. Yet there was
a time when everyone knew the existence of the farmer, not just as
convenient statistics, but as crucial aspect of national aspiration.
There was a time when everyone knew the existence of the farmer,
not just as convenient statistics, but as crucial aspect of national
aspiration.
When the farmer was king, he was important in every region of Nigeria. He
was the important person who provided the North with cotton, hides and
skin, groundnuts and grains. He was the man who reared the cattle, the
sheep and the goats. In the West, the farmer was the producer of wealth
through the cocoa plantation, who tender the coffee farms and produce the
timber.
In the East, he was in charge of the oil palm, the timber and the plantain.
The farmer was also the Fulani herdsman and the Ijaw fisherman. In truth,
the farmer runs the economy before the black gold came to power and
inflicted on us the terrible dream of forgetfulness.
Yet there is no future for our country unless we discover the road to the
past. We need to bring the farmer back to the centre of our national effort at
greatness. We need to grow our own food, wear our own cloths made from
our cotton and transform the produce of this blessed land as fit enough for
international market.
In the past, one of the strongest sectors of the Nigerian economy was the
furniture manufacturing industries. We use Nigerian wood and export our
furniture to Europe and other parts of the world.
The late Chief Bisi Rodipe, from his Ijebu-Ode or Ibadan base, had
tentacles in different parts of Nigeria. He built first-class furniture for
universities, churches and hotels. He was so successful that he had outlets
in other countries, including Malaysia. Fawehinmi Furniture Factory, from
its base in Lagos and Ondo, had a showroom in the heart of London.
Where are we now?
Almost every Government House in Nigeria today boasts of how it is
furnished with the best of Chinese and Italian furniture. Even our generals
are kitted with foreign boots, foreign epaulets and uniforms made by foreign
tailors.
Some years ago, the then Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina,
introduced to the Nigerian public the Cassava Bread. Loaves were brought
to the sanctum of the Federal Executive Council chamber where the
president and his ministers had a taste of the future.
Since then, that future has become a mirage. It has since been revealed
that cassava can produce at least 200 items that could transform our land.
It is the most important crop used for the production of industrial starch. Yet
Nigeria spends valuable foreign exchange to import industrial starch!
This is time to change our story. First, each state should set up its own
Farmers Council, which would be made up of real representatives of
farmers who could help the government to implement its agricultural
programmes.
If the government is serious about saving foreign exchange and creating
employment, there is no better instrument than cassava. Every village in
Nigeria, no matter how remote, has been penetrated by the bread market,
which is made essentially from wheat imported from the United States.
Just imagine if it is our farmers growing the cassava used to produce the
flour for our bread. Think of the thousands, if not millions, of jobs that would
be created and the billions of dollars that would be saved for our country.
To get this done, the government has to demonstrate seriousness.
The farmers may still be king if we think less of the next election and more
of the future. If we watch out for the constituency projects of our
lawmakers, you will be amazed that only few of them remember the
farmers. Instead, they buy motorcycles for okada riders, grinding machines
for women and Keke Marwa for the not so poor.
What is clear is that the politicians don’t think the farmers’ vote is that
important. Instead, they concentrate on the armies under the control of
those tough boys of the National Union of Road Transport Workers and
similar organisations. And they don’t need to pray for rain or disappear into
the bush at the sound of the first rain.
What is clear is that the politicians don’t think the farmers’ vote is that
important. Instead, they concentrate on the armies under the control
of those tough boys of the National Union of Road Transport Workers
and similar organisations.
It is tempting to think of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu when you are
considering the predicaments of the farmer. Actually, the governors control
all the land in Nigeria, except the Federal Capital Territory, which is under
the President through his minister, Nyesom Wike.
It is the governors who need to remember the farmers. They need to know
that the farmers hold the secret to our country’s future. No country can be
truly independent when it cannot feed itself. Let us unite and restore the
farmer to his throne. We can start with cassava. Let us make 2024 Year of
the Cassava Bread.
It is the governors who need to remember the farmers. They need to
know that the farmers hold the secret to our country’s future. No
country can be truly independent when it cannot feed itself.
Babarinsa, a founding editor of TELL, Nigeria’s leading news magazine and editor-
in-chief of Gaskya Media, is one of the veterans writing for The Guardian
Newspaper.
