 |
| * Ogbeh |
By Tony Icheku
It took the intervention via a motion by the legislator representing Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency, Hon Sam Onuigbo to alert the nation of the intentions of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, FMARD, Chief Audu Ogbeh to cut students in-take, employment and overall investment at the three Federal Universities of Agriculture.
Between late last year and early this year, Chief Ogbeh had brought what can best be described as a 419 proposal to the Federal Executive Council, FEC meeting, that there will be revolution in agriculture if the three Federal Universities at Umudike, Abeokuta and Makurdi are handed over to FMARD. And only students interested in studying agricultural science and related courses would henceforth be admitted into the universities.
Without studying the proposal, FEC at a single sitting adopted the proposal and gave Ogbeh marching orders to implement.
Already a committee is working on the implementation. Part of the proposals include establishing a National Commission for Agricultural Univerisities, similar to National Universities Commission, NUC
So sad that Chief Ogbeh should resort to chasing shadows and mind games rather than focus on positioning Nigeria to achieve food security and joining the league of food exporting nations. Ogbeh read humanities in the University, and not agricultural science, but he has a farm!
In the sixties, when Nigeria was major exporter of agricultural produce like groundnut, cocoa, palm produce and the like, it did not have single University of Agriculture. So what is the nexus between Universities of Agriculture and sufficiency in food production?
Reports from thhe stakeholders meeting Ogbeh held with Vice-Chancellors and Governing Boards of the universities in Abuja had it that the Minister was even applauded for this half-baked, mischievous and illegal policy initiative.
Ogbeh was quoted as saying at the meeting that: “Henceforth, students who are not interested in becoming farmers should be made to seek admission elsewhere. “We are determined to offer you (the universities), the necessary support for your transformation, for research for a healthier realm of discovery and self-actualisation,’’ the minister said.
Ogbeh said the Federal Government’s decision to relocate its three Universities of Agriculture from the Federal Ministry of Education to Agriculture, was to refocus the schools as globally acclaimed citadels to move the agriculture sector forward.
He assured the universities that the government would actively support them by providing funds and grants to assist in research to move the agriculture sector forward.
To begin with, It should delight the Hon Minister to know that any action he intends to take in implementing his castles in the air dream breaches the Federal Universities of Agriculture Act CAP FOR CAN 2010, which established the three Federal Universities of Agriculture in Nigeria, unless he seeks first its amendment. Perhaps, he needs to study it before proceeding further.
On a painful note, Ogbeh pet proposal shows to what extent out so called elites and intellectual contribute and collaborate with politicians in deceiving Nigerians, just to keep eating crumbs from the master's table and lining their pockets with public funds
At that meeting the revered Prof. Anya O. Anya, the Pro-Chancellor of the Micheal Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia, reportedly applauded the Federal Government for the relocation of Universities of Agriculture to FMARD. Anya, who raised concern over disconnect with the science and practice of agriculture in the country, expressed hope that the domicilliation of the universities in the ministry would reposition the sector. What a hollow and hypocritical submission!
The mandate of FMARD is to regulate agricultural research, agriculture and natural resources, forestry and veterinary research all over Nigeria. And to help it achieve these mandate, the following specialist research institutions and schools were established
1. Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute, (ARMTI), Ilorin
2. Chad Basin National Park, Maiduguri
3. Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan
4 College of Forestry Mechanization, Kaduna
5. Federal Colleges of Agriculture Akure, and Ishiagu, Ebonyi State
6. Federal College of Fisheries and Marine Technology (FCTMT), V/I,Lagos
7. Federal College of Forestry, Ibadan
8. Federal College of Veterinary Research, Vom, Jos
9. Federal College of Wildlife Management, New Bussa, Bussa
10. Gashaka - Gumi National Park, Adamawa, Taraba State
11. Institute for Agricultural Research and Training, Obafemi Awolowo University
12. Institute for Agriculture Research, Ahmadu Bello University
13. International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan
14. Lake Chad Research Institute, Maiduguri
15. National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI), Shika, Kaduna
16. National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization (NCAM), Idofian, Kwara State
17. National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI), Bida
18. National Horticultural Research Institute, Ibadan
19. National Institute For Fresh Water Fisheries Research, New Bussa
20. National Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR), V/I, Lagos
21. National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike
22. National Water Research Institute (NWRI), Kaduna
23. Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR), Benin city
24. Nigerian Agricultural Cooperative and Rural Development Bank (NACRDB), Kaduna
25. Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), Abuja
Beyond these institutions there are river-basin authorities spread across the six geo-political zones of the country, but are they functioning optimally?
Even as Ogbeh resorts to empty promises, he fails to tell Nigerians how much 'funds and grants to assist in research to move the agriculture sector forward' had been given to the above institutions and schools. What had they done with such funds and if they had made breakthroughs in research, how had such findings boosted agricultural output in the Country?
What is the state of these research institutions? Are they lacking in competence and capacity in their areas of specialisation or they are handicapped by underfunding? To what extent has their research findings been commercialised?
Furthermore, how is Ogbe positioning them to contribute to his dream agricultural revolution? I believe Nigerians would be interested in the answers to these questions before considering if indeed restricting the Universities of Agriculture to only agricultural science and related course would be the catalyst for the long awaited agricultural revolution
In such countries like the United States of America, Canada and Western Europe, which had achieved self-sufficiency in food
production and leads in exportation of agricultural produce, we have not read anywhere how such capacity was driven by special universities of agriculture. Rather, we know that in these countries, infrastructure like roads are well-developed. Large scale and commercial farming is encouraged and supported by government. Likewise, irrigation is widespread and farmers use fertilizer extensively. Many farmers in these countries also use genetically modified seeds to increase yields and reduce the need for costly (and potentially polluting) fertilizer and herbicides.
Ogbeh, may even build additional universities of agriculture, for each state and even make acquiring first degree in agricultural science compulsory, but hunger will still stalk the land, unless government moves from rhetorics to action. In today's Nigeria, the challenge of becoming a farmer is intimidating: Acquiring land for commercial farming is a cumbersome and frustrating process, and often very expensive, infrastructure is extremely under-developed and simply getting crops to market (or inputs like fertilizer to the farms) can be a struggle. Likewise, irrigation infrastructure is lacking, leaving farmers much more exposed to the vagaries of weather. There are no storage or processing plants for agricultural products.
Perhaps, Ogbeh has never visited the rural farming communities in his Benue State. He should do so during harvest season, and see how much is wasted through lack of adequate storage facilities or processing plants. Enough yams and oranges are produced by the farmers, but significant portion either gets rotten or consumed by rodents. Indeed the economic fortunes of the average farmer in Ogbeh's Benue could be transformed if he is able to sell all his produce, or have them processed for export.
Rather than tussle with the Ministry of Education, Ogbeh should focus on getting the Federal governments to build roads, improve access to water, and irrigation and encourage the use of inputs,like fertilizer.
Nigeria has the capacity to achieve internal food security, but lack the will-power. More often than not such distraction like Ogbeh has resorted to, frustrates drivers of the system, causing them to lose focus.
Ogbeh's proposal should, rather than being given second thoughts should be consigned to the waste basket, it is diversionary, unprogressive and shadow chasing. Indeed, there is nothing to suggest it would achieve what he claims it would.
Icheku is the Lead Strategist and Executive Editor of theledgerng.com
0 Comments