I must confess that I was gleeful when I heard that northern traders had decided not to transport their foodstuff to southern Nigeria. I was even happy for them when I saw evidence that they had found alternative in neighboring counties.
It was therefore,tp my consternation when I read that their dogs had gone back to their vomits.
O was happy for their initial moves because they by their actions they would have been unwittingly resolving some problems Nigeria was facing as a nation
The first would have bren the issue of herders. In the days of my childhood, herders were very peaceful. They went about with wooden staff to direct their animals. Now, they use AK47 rifles. In addition,they rape, kill kidnap and do all kinds of terrible things to people.
In the past, the Southwest was well known for its agricultural prowess That was due to a number of factors. It has the most fertile land Nigeria can boast of. It also had good leadership in the person of Chief Obafemi Awolowo. It wasn’t really difficult for the Southwest to become a center of excellence as fsr as agriculture was concerned.
But as soon as the first republic was deleted by soldiers coupled with the discovery of petroleum in commercial quantities, the southwest discovered its agricultural products were inferior to those produced in the north. Coupled with the insensivity of government, the farm settlements which had been established by the Awolowo government started becoming a shadow of themselves
With these morass, there was nobody to replace the ageing farmers. In any case, the farmers were actually encouraging their wards to go look for jobs in the cities.
To cut the story short, I was actually hoping for a revival of agriculture in the southwest
But here we are.
I only hope some lessons had been learned!
Adewale Sobowale.
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