30<strong>—</strong>V<strong>an</strong>guard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2019
On the cattle colonies G OVERNMENT spokespersons in Abuja have denied reports that the Muhammadu Buhari administration pl<strong>an</strong>s to establish ruga, so-called cattle colonies, in the 36 states of our peculiar federation. The colonies are Abuja’s cure-all response to herdsmen-farmers clash. This step, going by the words of the paid mouthpieces, is apparently the only way Abuja knows towards perm<strong>an</strong>ently ending incess<strong>an</strong>t violence between these two groups. Ful<strong>an</strong>i herders are the main suspects in cases of violent attacks bordering on ethnic cle<strong>an</strong>sing on farming communities whose farms have been tr<strong>an</strong>sformed into grazing fields. President Buhari has been at sea finding a solution to the problem posed by the attacks that have polarised Nigeri<strong>an</strong>s along ethnic lines. Is the latest gambit of <strong>an</strong>y credibility? C<strong>an</strong> this be the <strong>an</strong>swer that we have all along been looking for? Abuja pl<strong>an</strong>s to establish cattle colonies in states in mostly Hausa-Ful<strong>an</strong>i speaking parts of the North that are predisposed to such activity. Which is to say that states in the Southern <strong>an</strong>d other parts of the country that do not w<strong>an</strong>t these cattle colonies are free to opt out of the arr<strong>an</strong>gement. No group or individual is obligated to establish ruga against their wish. Fair enough, you may say. Indeed on the face of it, this would seem a good <strong>an</strong>swer to the whole question of unconscionable attacks, often gory, that are perpetrated by cattle herders. It has to be admitted, though, that some of these attacks, alongside b<strong>an</strong>ditry <strong>an</strong>d armed robbery, are executed by opportunistic Nigeri<strong>an</strong>s of other ethnicities hiding under the guise of being Ful<strong>an</strong>i. Yet what we c<strong>an</strong>not run away from is that the vast majority of the attacks are the h<strong>an</strong>diwork of Ful<strong>an</strong>i herdsmen m<strong>an</strong>y of whom are allegedly of foreign descent. So I ask again: Are cattle colonies the final solution to the conundrum of hate-filled encounters between farmers <strong>an</strong>d herders? Who bears the cost of the establishment of these colonies? Who owns the l<strong>an</strong>d on which the colonies are to be established? Does the establishment of the colonies offer closure to victims of herdsmen attacks, violently raped <strong>an</strong>d killed after the communities have been destroyed? In what way does the government of the day hope to address the sense of wrong <strong>an</strong>d resentment borne by victims <strong>an</strong>d casualties of herdsmen attacks? These are questions that the willful step to establish cattle colonies fail to address. The terrorist enterprise of these herders has been recognised worldwide for its deadly efficiency leading to their being labelled one of the most d<strong>an</strong>gerous terrorist groups in the world. The Nigeri<strong>an</strong> government is far from acknowledging the complicity of the Ful<strong>an</strong>i herders in these attacks, to say nothing of labelling the herders terrorists. It may be a measure of government’s ambivalence, if not confusion, about the matter that, beyond the isolated cases of arrests made in some South- Western states like Ekiti, Ondo <strong>an</strong>d parts of the Middle Belt, there has been no deliberate Buhari appears to enjoy governing Nigeri<strong>an</strong>s along separate lines attempt to go after the armed men masquerading as cattle farmers that have been fingered in the m<strong>an</strong>y cases of violent attacks. M<strong>an</strong>y Nigeri<strong>an</strong>s believe that the only reason government responses so far have been lame is simply because the president, Muhammadu Buhari, is Ful<strong>an</strong>i. His situation is nowhere helped by the fact that he is also a patron of Miyetti Allah, the umbrella body of the cattle herdsmen. In a word, m<strong>an</strong>y Nigeri<strong>an</strong>s believe that Buhari’s h<strong>an</strong>ds have been tied by his ethnic affiliation to the group of Nigeri<strong>an</strong>s <strong>an</strong>d foreigners repeatedly accused of the w<strong>an</strong>ton elimination of Nigeri<strong>an</strong>s <strong>an</strong>d the decimation of their <strong>an</strong>cestral homes. V<strong>an</strong>guard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2019<strong>—</strong>31 Send Opinions & Letters to: opinions1234@yahoo.com In the wake of Abuja’s nonresponse to the countless cases of herdsmen attacks on farming villages, in the absence of <strong>an</strong>y coherence, rhyme or reason to Abuja’s knee-jerk responses to questions about its pussyfooting ways, its determination to establish cattle colonies in parts of the country which, before it was denied, looked like a test run for all the country, is a needless insult. Is it not enough that this government is not only seen or perceived as doing nothing but is in fact not making attempts to convince Nigeri<strong>an</strong>s that it pl<strong>an</strong>s to address cases of herdsmen attacks fairly? Does the government need to be told of the urgency of the matter at h<strong>an</strong>d <strong>an</strong>d the need to be sensitive to the concerns of Nigeri<strong>an</strong>s who have for long read ethnic me<strong>an</strong>ings into the behaviour of the president <strong>an</strong>d his minders? It may now look very gross <strong>an</strong>d uncharitable that Nigeri<strong>an</strong>s are opposed to the siting of <strong>an</strong>y kind of colonies, called by whatever name <strong>an</strong>d for whatever purposes, in their domain. But the Buhari government should take the greater part of the responsibility <strong>an</strong>d blame for this. Its laidback, even indifferent posture, in the face of the numerous attacks by Ful<strong>an</strong>i herders on communities in the Middle Belt in the last two years portrays it as insensitive to the concerns of non-Ful<strong>an</strong>i Nigeri<strong>an</strong>s. The gory killing of nearly 80 Nigeri<strong>an</strong>s in parts of the Middle Belt in J<strong>an</strong>uary 2018, killings that did nothing to stir the president into action of <strong>an</strong>y kind (rather he m<strong>an</strong>dated his then Inspector General of Police, Idris Ibrahim, to go on a fact-finding mission to Benue <strong>an</strong>d Taraba states), his government’s pl<strong>an</strong> to create grazing routes from one end of the country to <strong>an</strong>other without first bringing the rampaging herdsmen to justice - blightly ignoring all of these concerns for about four years only to wake up with suggestions of cattle colonies is a disregard of civilised conduct. Otherwise, there could be a way about this <strong>issue</strong> that is not as polarising as what we have now. Buhari, however, appears to enjoy governing Nigeri<strong>an</strong>s along separate lines. Now it has been decided to establish cattle colonies, where are the thous<strong>an</strong>ds of hectares of l<strong>an</strong>d owned by a ‘federal’ government that, itself should be the creation of the constituent states where these colonies are to be established? Since cattle herding is a private concern, does Abuja pl<strong>an</strong> to establish <strong>an</strong>d fin<strong>an</strong>ce, say, cotton or cocoa farms for farmers in parts of Southern Nigeria? These are questions thrown up by this latest pl<strong>an</strong> that Abuja chooses to ignore. The push to establish cattle colonies for the use of cattle herders reconfirms what m<strong>an</strong>y have long suspected <strong>an</strong>d alleged: that the government of President Buhari operates a hierarchy of ethnic groups in which the Hausa- Ful<strong>an</strong>i occupy the highest rung with all the adv<strong>an</strong>tages that come with that. How c<strong>an</strong> he use ‘government’ money to create r<strong>an</strong>ches for private investors even if they are illiterate Ful<strong>an</strong>i herders <strong>an</strong>d not expect other Nigeri<strong>an</strong>s to ask questions? Where are the python d<strong>an</strong>ces he has created to address Ful<strong>an</strong>i herdsmen attacks? What is Buhari doing to create a sense of unity among Nigeri<strong>an</strong>s? Practical agriculture, vocational education, <strong>an</strong>d the school curriculum By D<strong>an</strong>iel Ighakpe AGRICULTURE was once the mainstay of the Nigeri<strong>an</strong> economy. Before the discovery of oil, commercial farms blossomed <strong>an</strong>d farming was seen <strong>an</strong>d practised as the main occupation. The North had cotton, groundnuts <strong>an</strong>d other products. The East had palm oil, while the Southwest had cocoa. Agriculture laid the foundation for Nigeria’s industrialisation, contributing the largest share to <strong>an</strong> economy that was experiencing very boisterous growth. However, after the discovery of oil, with its increased production <strong>an</strong>d the huge revenue which it attracted, less <strong>an</strong>d less attention beg<strong>an</strong> to be paid to agriculture. Nowadays, most people in Nigeria, particularly the youth, are not interested <strong>an</strong>d do not w<strong>an</strong>t to engage in farming <strong>an</strong>y longer. Most young people <strong>an</strong>d unemployed graduates today are only interested in whitecollar office jobs. Unfortunately, there still exists the misconception that farming is a profession for the poor <strong>an</strong>d illiterate, which entails grueling toil in the farml<strong>an</strong>d, with a mere pitt<strong>an</strong>ce as returns. These notions have been fuelled over the years by lack of proper training for those who go into agriculture, causing them to demonise <strong>an</strong>d ab<strong>an</strong>don the venture. This leads to <strong>an</strong> ageing farming population. Nigeria’s population is currently growing faster th<strong>an</strong> there are farmers to feed the nation. Nevertheless, agriculture still remains the largest sector of the Nigeri<strong>an</strong> economy. It employs two-thirds of Nigeria’s working population. Agriculture accounts for approximately 22 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP. Our priority now should be to get young Nigeri<strong>an</strong>s acquainted with the nitty-gritty of agriculture at <strong>an</strong> early age, introduce them to the business aspect of agriculture <strong>an</strong>d also ignite the interest of school students in agriculture <strong>an</strong>d encourage them to pursue agriculture-related occupations. One such initiative that aims to accomplish the above-mentioned objectives is the recently launched ‘Green Schools Initiative’ by Notore Chemical Industries - one of Nigeria’s leading agro-allied comp<strong>an</strong>y. This initiative rallies stakeholders in the agricultural <strong>an</strong>d educational sectors to exp<strong>an</strong>d the secondary school curriculum with the intention to get students more involved in the practical aspects of agriculture within dedicated farml<strong>an</strong>ds in their respective schools. According to the comp<strong>an</strong>y, the scheme will involve Notore partnering with secondary schools across Nigeria to establish demonstration farms that will be used to teach students modern agricultural techniques <strong>an</strong>d best practices. The h<strong>an</strong>ds-on approach of demonstration farms accelerates the adoption of international best practices, which will give the students a competitive edge over their counterparts in other sectors. The initiative, it has been said, will start off with 120 unity schools <strong>an</strong>d top state-owned colleges across the country, with pl<strong>an</strong>s to signific<strong>an</strong>tly increase the number of participating schools. This is certainly a worthy initiative that should be commended <strong>an</strong>d encouraged indeed! Private schools, the private sector, other non-governmental org<strong>an</strong>isations, <strong>an</strong>d other extension agencies c<strong>an</strong> also emulate such a novel initiative. This will help to inculcate the love of agriculture <strong>an</strong>d farming among the Nigeri<strong>an</strong> youth. Another import<strong>an</strong>t area of the Nigeri<strong>an</strong> educational system that needs to be given serious attention is the inclusion of vocational education <strong>an</strong>d training in the school curriculum. In Nigeria, there is too much emphasis on university education <strong>an</strong>d merely acquiring paper/academic qualifications, not bearing in mind whether the holder possesses the required knowledge <strong>an</strong>d skills. Nigeri<strong>an</strong>s Schools in Nigeria need to introduce vocational education <strong>an</strong>d training into their curriculum to enable students to develop skills that c<strong>an</strong> be of benefit to them in the future generally have this mentality that a university degree is more import<strong>an</strong>t th<strong>an</strong> technical/ social/vocational training. We live in a society that places a high value on white-collar jobs <strong>an</strong>d ‘professionals,’ a society where blue-collar work is considered as low status. Parents w<strong>an</strong>t their children to pursue careers that will enable them maintain or even increase their high status. They w<strong>an</strong>t their children to get high-paying professional jobs. They see vocational education as ‘secondary’ <strong>an</strong>d ‘not import<strong>an</strong>t’. They just w<strong>an</strong>t academic success for their children. M<strong>an</strong>y schools even place a high premium on college admissions <strong>an</strong>d gaining admission into top ivy-league universities. This has reduced the economic opportunities for those who are more work oriented. It is, therefore, very necessary <strong>an</strong>d import<strong>an</strong>t that parents be re-educated <strong>an</strong>d enlightened regarding the value of occupations that are not high on the social status scale. The inability of our educational system to provide youths with the dem<strong>an</strong>ds of industries has led to increased frustrations. This further validates the fact that vocational education brings both immediate <strong>an</strong>d lasting economic returns for the country <strong>an</strong>d its citizens. Schools in Nigeria need to introduce vocational education <strong>an</strong>d training into their curriculum. By doing so, it will assist students to develop skills that c<strong>an</strong> be of benefit to them in the future. Until vocational education is taken seriously, only then will the economy become better. Vocational education <strong>an</strong>d training c<strong>an</strong> contribute to the reduction of poverty, hunger <strong>an</strong>d unemployment. It c<strong>an</strong> also help people become self-reli<strong>an</strong>t. Vocational, entrepreneurship, or skill acquisition programmes include training in skills such as agriculture, tailoring/sewing/ fashion designing, cooking <strong>an</strong>d baking, photography, video editing, hair styling <strong>an</strong>d making, barbing, musical instruments training, cobbling, make-up <strong>an</strong>d gele tying, carpentry, painting, plumbing <strong>an</strong>d so on. It c<strong>an</strong> help students to build up their talents <strong>an</strong>d also enable them to be self-reli<strong>an</strong>t, or otherwise to secure well-paying jobs that c<strong>an</strong> help them take care of themselves <strong>an</strong>d their families. •Ighakpe, a researcher/author, wrote from Lagos C M Y K
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