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Mentors Are Life Savers By Henry Ukazu

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This is saying a warm, healthy, goodwill greetings to my friends all over the world. I regard each and every one of you as the real MVP’s (Most Valuable Players). You are the reason I do what I do.

It’s on this note I wish to inform you that you are my mentors. I have learnt a lot from my you, my friends. This is because you correct me when I make mistakes. Bill Gate was definitely right when he said, “Your most unhappy customer are your greatest source of learning”. That’s why I say my friends and readers of my column are my mentors.

According to Henry Ford, “My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me”.  I guess you may have heard of the saying, if you are the only smart person in the room, leave the room. You need people to learn from daily if you really want to progress in addition to making impactful difference. That’s why I’m of the humble opinion that mentors are life savers.

In the course of this discussion, we shall be looking at how mentors can shape one’s life; empower him, and make him a leader subject to his industry and set objective. We shall also be looking at the adverse effects of mentorships and its relativity to other factors.

You cannot underscore the importance of mentorship in the life of a progressive minded being. I can proudly say that I am a product of mentorship. Mentors have really shaped me to be a better person. My mentors have created so many opportunities for me. I cannot overestimate the role of mentorship in my life. They are priceless. I have always told my friends, I am not smart, rather I am smart by association. Let me take you on a brief trajectory path on my life.  I arrived in USA ten years ago and joined the Nigerian Lawyers Association as a graduate student in New York Law School. Later on an opportunity became available to serve in the association and one of my mentor who is a Judge me inspired to contest for the position of Public Relations Secretary in the association which I won by God’s grace and that position opened so many doors of opportunity for me. It was the Nigerian Lawyers Association that gave me the opportunity of meeting one of my most influential mentors Chief Dele Momodu who is the CEO Ovation Media Group and former presidential candidate in Nigeria. Apart from writing the Foreword to my book which has opened doors of opportunity for me, Chief Dele Momodu has been so resourceful to me. I’m deeply humbled to write on his online newspapers (Boss Newspapers) which is the biggest online newspaper in Nigeria. I can go on and on, but as the sage will say a word is enough for the wise.

 

Let’s go into the meat of the discussion. Who is a mentor? In lay man’s term, a mentor can be defined as a person or teacher who is very knowledgeable and experienced in a particular area of life. You can even say a mentor is a trusted adviser. Either way you define it, a mentor is a person who can either guide or inspire you for greatness.  A mentor must not necessary be older than you, he or she can be younger than you provided you are learning from the person. Mentors come in different shapes and sizes. The question now is, who needs a mentor, what are the roles of mentors? What are the characteristics of a mentor?

Before you choose a mentor must be sure of what you need in life and the role the person will play in your life. Isn’t it true that the journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step in the right direction? You must know where you are headed. In a nutshell, you must know your purpose in life. You can’t just wake up in the morning and say you need Mr. A or Mr. B just because he or she has money or famous. You must know the value and change in your life you want to see. I liken mentors as leaders. As mentioned earlier, people follow different people for different reasons. I will try and do justice to this situations which can be called pyramid of leadership:

  • Position: People follow you because they have a right to follow you which can be as a result of the position you occupy.
  • Permission: People follow you because you allow them. For example in relationships cases when you decide to allow people to build relationships with you.
  • Production: People follow you because of what you have done for the organization or association. This is result oriented.
  • People Development: People follow you because of what you have done for them
  • Pinnacle: People follow you because of whom you are or what you represent. The question now is where do you belong?

Mentors are very resourceful and one has to be very tactical when finding a mentor. You may be wondering how I do engage or find mentor?  Every case is different, but being strategic is very important. These are some ideas to finding a mentor.

First, define the mission, vision and objectives you intend to accomplish, learn or reach. For example, let’s say you have a sector/job type in mind. Do some research in the world of social media, online, podcast, conferences, YouTube and LinkedIn. You can even ask friends or colleagues via networking. You have to be specific enough because the more specific you are, the better. You have to know who the ‘influencers’ are. These ‘influencers’ are the people you will like to learn form. It’s imperative to learn about your mentor. Read as much information you can find about them.  Pay particular attention about what they did to get to where they are, their mistakes, strengths and trajectory journey. This will give you a general mental picture about them.  Also, see the value they can get from you. Some people feel they are being abused by their mentors due to the kind of assignment or deadline they are given, forgetting the words of Thomas Edison opportunity is missed by people because it is dressed in overalls and it looks like work’. Mentors like productive mentees.

You will agree with me that nobody has monopoly of knowledge. Therefore, the relationship between a mentor and mentee should not be parasitic, rather it should be a symbiotic one. Finally, define your strategy. How will you connect with that mentor? You can attend conferences, meet ups and so forth. You should bear in mind, there is no short cut to any place worthy going. You have to pay the price by learning the ropes. It’s quite unfortunate a lot people want to beat the gun by earning without learning. You have to learn first before you earn. How do you learn? You can volunteer your time, money or whatever you may have for your mentor. You just never know the opportunity that might be available to you. Some narcissistic minds believe once they are successful, they don’t need any advice, forgetting the words of Bill Gate “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people to think they can’t lose”. If mentees have positive minds in addition to being able to think out of the box, they will remember the words of Oprah Winfrey “Luck is preparation meeting opportunity”. Therefore you must be prepared and willing to do the needful in order to get to where you want to be. Let me share some examples; after I published my first book, I reached out to some of my mentors who are President and senior officials in NYC High School and Colleges, and they were not only receptive of my Executive Summary and curriculum, they were kind enough to take up teaching and administrative positions because of my work. The moral of this point is that, I have been able to build a strong relationship with my mentors and the right opportunity became available for me to share my work with them.

To know a good mentor. Look for certain qualities. A mentor should be a person who inspires and motivates you to progress in life. The person ought to display high integrity, honesty and must have a proven track of success. He/she must be able to teach or have expertise in a particular field of interest to you. The person should be able to refer you to available opportunities in addition to introducing to his/her network. A mentor must be strategic, able to solve problems by analyzing issues in addition to being able to innovate. Again, mentors are very resourceful beings. Their advice are priceless. Due to how busy they can be, I will strongly advise you grab every little opportunity they have for you. Though one of my mentor once told me, just like we shouldn’t be too busy for our friends and family, a mentor should never be too busy for his or her mentee. A mentee should always value the time his/her mentor shares with him/her. One of the most important skills a mentee ought to have is listening skills. It’s quite unfortunate many people listen with the intent to respond as opposed to understanding. When you listen you’ll be able to hear unspoken words. According to Bernard Baruch, Most of the successful people I have known are the people who do more listening than talking’.

Mentors helps you to realize your strength, they can facilitate or championing your cause by talking to others about you, they assist in conflict resolution by mitigating where necessary in addition to anchoring for you where necessary.

I found an interesting note on LinkedIn on How to find a mentor. ‘Sadly, people often go about finding a mentor by cold-emailing people who are more or less strangers and asking them this loaded question: ‘Will you be my mentor? . I have a few suggestions for a better strategy: 1. Do your research to know exactly who you are reaching out to. If they work in Sales and you want to go to IT, tell them you know it is not their area and ASK if they know anyone in the department you are interested in who they could introduce you to. 2. Compliment them. Follow their content and like, comment, or share. They will notice and appreciate you and be more inclined to want to help you. 3. Introduce yourself short and sweet. Then you are no longer a stranger. 4. Make a very specific reasonable request, like to answer a few quick business questions. Explain what you are looking for or the area you need advice on. 5. Keep up the dialogue. Keep on and develop the relationship, not only when you want something and then disappear. 6. Be very respectful of their time! If you find a genuine person and approach them the right way, you will quickly land not one but multiple mentors or advisors”.

A great quality of a mentor is their cognitive ability.  Mentors are very creative. They can safely be regarded as eagles because they have deeper insight. There is an African saying, “What an old man sees while sitting on a chair, nor matter how tall a child grows he or she cannot see it”. Talking about cognitive skill, mentors help us to adjust to stress, relationships, goals, work on our purpose etc. by adopting to ever changing situations. Mentors assists us in creating new experience. They share with us some of the valuable lessons or experience they have had in the past which might be relevant to us.  It should be noted that mentors don’t do the work for us, we do the work. They only facilitate the process for you so you don’t have to go through the length of time they had to go through.

Mentorship must not always be a one on one relationship. Just like you can learn by observation, so also you can have online mentors who might not even know you have been understudying and following them. These category are the people I call pinnacle style of mentorship. You develop pivotal relationship with this kind of mentorship.

Once you learn a lot from your mentor, it’s your responsibility to apply what you have learnt in your daily and professional life. You must find a way to use what you have learnt in addition to what you know to create something unique. As mentioned earlier, you have to take the bold step in addition to desiring a change in your life before a mentor can come in. According to the sage, once the student is ready, the master materializes.  According to the former President of America, Barack Obama “change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we are waiting for”. According to Beverley Hills, “There’s no shortcut to any place worth going“.

Though mentors are good, some can have adverse effect. You must continually check on time to know what is happening. Listen to news, read articles, visit them. Some mentors are destiny killers. Some can have you work out yourself in the name of mentor-ship. Some can be wolves in sheep clothing and the list is continues. You simply have to know when to bow or leave as Kenny Rogers said in his track “the gambler”

In conclusion, I will leave you with two great quotes from Paul Ryan and Brian Tracy; According to Paul Ryan ‘Every successful individual knows that his or her achievement depend on a community of person working together”. Therefore you cannot attain success alone. You need a mentor and community to shape and guide you. Is it true that it takes a community to train a child? No matter where or what your case or situation might be, never be hard on yourself, just continue working hard and smart, trust me, your works are being noted. You may have had a thousand nos, remember all you need is one yes and the narrative will change. I have been there (called names due to my failures and mistakes) and I can tell you from experience that mentors are very resourceful. Per Brian Tracy: “It doesn’t matter where you are coming from, all that matters is where you are going”

Lastly, do you have a mentor? If yes who is your mentor?

Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He can be reached via henrous@gmail.com

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Opinion

Catalyst of Exploits (Pt. 1)

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By Tolulope A. Adegoke

“Look past the exterior, and see that there is so much more within. Then decide to unleash that potential to the fullest” – Lincoln Patz

I have no doubt that you have stepped into a greater realm of inspiration with the discovery of the potentials of the so-called zero. The next question therefore is, how can the possibilities embedded in a perceived nonentity become a reality? The answer, as you may have observed from the various examples that we considered in the previous chapter, is consciousness development. Or simply put, TRAINING.

Training has been rightly described as the process of acquiring the skills needed to succeed in a profession, vocation or venture. It is training or conscious development that turns trash into treasures, just as processing turns raw materials into finished products. Training is an indispensable requirement for bringing out the best in people. Even the most gifted people must go through some form of training to sharpen their innate abilities – how much more those who appear to be deficient!

The interesting truth here is that regardless of a person’s level of natural abilities – whether you consider it zero or zillion – training will always bring about a noticeable transformation in their lives. Take the case of Abraham as an example. Being an exceedingly great man, he had hundreds of servants who had been born in his house by his labourers and domestics. These might have been considered nobodies, having been born by lowly people. Yet, Abraham so trained them that they became valiant soldiers. And they were the ones who accompanied him to wage war against the captors of Lot and his household, and the expedition proved mightily successful (Genesis 14:14).

Two vital truths can be gleaned from the above. One is that you never can tell the true measure of a person’s potential until they have been thoroughly trained. This clearly tallies with our earlier assertion that everyone needs some form of training, whether formally or informally. The second vital truth is that everybody can indeed be trained to thrive.

From Vagabonds to Champions

Here is another proof that there is innate greatness in everyone that can be unlocked through training. 1 Samuel 22:1-3 says, “David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him.”

The first thing to notice here is the deliberate reference to the profile and pedigree of these men who joined themselves to David. I believe that the purpose is to make us see that no one can be rightly written off as a failure or a never-do-well. As subsequent exploits of David would reveal, these average men who enrolled in the military academy of David were soon transformed into mighty men of valour.  2 Samuel 23:8-17 narrates the accomplishments of three of these men:

“These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-Basshebeth the Tachmonite, chief among the captains. He was called Adino the Eznite, because he had killed eight hundred men at one time. And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel had retreated. He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand stuck to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to plunder. And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils. So the people fled from the Philistines. But he stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory.”

Isn’t this amazing! See what a bunch of men that people would have described as “frustrated failures” had become! What was the secret? Someone believed in them enough to train them, and they themselves were humble and disciplined enough to submit themselves to the training process. And the result was that they were transformed from being men of no repute, men of no value (more or less human trash, or simply zero) to history-makers!

Self-Application

So, what’s in all of this for you? What has all that we have discussed so far have to do with you? I’ll unravel it for you shortly. But, first, here is an insightful quote from Bishop David Oyedepo, “We go to school to acquire the literacy skills required to train ourselves most effectively in our fields of choice. Schooling is not the same thing as the real training! That is why there are many certificated, uneducated people! They have degrees but cannot deliver, because they are not trained to deliver!”

This is exactly what I wish to point out here. Everyone must take personal responsibility for being the best that they can be. Success is not an accidental occurrence. You cannot be wasting your precious time on irrelevances and expect to amount to much in life. You must wake up to the task of being positively responsible, deliberately reaching out and taking advantage of opportunities to enhance and deploy your skills.

As the example of the men who placed themselves under David’s tutelage shows, you are the one who must make up your mind not to settle for a worthless, defeated or frustrated life. Regardless of what people say or think of you, it is up to you to decide the direction you want your life to go!

As I earlier observed, training is not only meant for the ignorant or the inexperienced. It is an on-going activity that everyone must actively and constantly engage in, as long as we wish to stay afloat and be ahead. In other words, while schooling is periodic, training is for a lifetime!

The Place of Discipline and Diligence

Let’s face it: Training – whether formal or informal – is never an easy process. Even the Bible admits, “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful…” (Hebrews 12:11). It is in the fallen nature of man to prefer the comfort of self-indulgence to the stress of self-enhancement. This is why many visions are aborted and many destinies are ruined. It is for this reason that discipline plays a crucial role in being a beneficiary of the power of training. It takes plenty of discipline to maintain a training lifestyle so as to emerge a relevant and dominant force in your generation!

It is possible to waste a whole lifetime if you do not understand the place of discipline and responsibility in achieving greatness in life. So, you must settle it in your mind from the outset that you are undoubtedly a Kingdom treasure that cannot afford to be comfortable with a substandard, mediocre or “trashy” life. The possibilities that God has wired into you must be empowered to find expression. You must therefore be ready to pay whatever price it requires. Let me quote Bishop Oyedepo again, “You belong to dignity, royalty, excellence and you have your excellence in Jesus Christ. Therefore, you have the mind of Christ. You have the creative, intellectual capability of the mind of Christ. You are not an ordinary person; you are a peculiar person in the order of existence!”

Closely attached to discipline is diligence. The two must function together to produce the expected result of excellence. Diligence simply means hard work. Interestingly, “hard work” is a term that many in this generation hate to hear. I often hear youths talk about “soft-work” almost everywhere now. They want the easy route to success. Of course, they may get what seems like success but because such is not built on the solid foundation of diligence, it often crumbles within a short time.

Proverbs 22:29 says, “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.” Proverbs 12:24 (NKJV) adds that: “The hand of the diligent will rule, but the lazy man will be put to forced labour.” The revelation here is that it is diligence that establishes enthronement. There is no future for an idle man in the Kingdom. Christ Himself demonstrated this when He said: “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5:17).

Make no mistake about it – it is work that defines your worth! In other words, it is how much you work on yourself that will determine your ultimate worth. Work is a must for anybody who desires to take the lead. Even with the abundant favour and grace of God upon your life, you still must work because that is the God-ordained pathway to the top. In fact, the grace of God being upon you to guarantee success in all your ventures should spur you to attempt greater ventures than the average person. Paul the Apostle shares his own experience thus: “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all…” (1 Corinthians 15:10).

Every successful person (empowered zero) is a product of favour from the factory of labour. You can never take out of life more than what you have invested into it. Galatians 6:7 says it accurately, “Be not deceived…whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” 2 Corinthians 9:6 explains it further, “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”

It is only hard workers who become great leaders (heroes)! There is nothing called “luck” in determining leadership or empowering a zero! The harder and smarter you work, the greater the level of your success. This is why someone ironically says, “I’m a great believer in luck and I found that the harder I work, the luckier I become.” So, dear friend, if you can concentrate more on empowering your zero, rather than wasting time lamenting, complaining, regretting, envying others, chatting on social media, listening to irrelevant talks or spending so much time watching the television, you will soon find your circumstances changing on their own. You will not even need to shake the Heavens before your blessings unfold!

Personal Experience

Permit me to use myself as a case study here. There was a time I sowed out my television in order to be on television. There was also a time that, for over a year, I did not subscribe to any cable channel, just to be able to meet up with the demand of delivering possibilities beyond the ordinary frequency. Here is Bishop Oyedepo again: “I have invested an average time of 16 hours a day from the time I stepped into ministry to date, no matter how odd the night may be, I still have my night to work. Seest thou a man diligent in his business, he shall stand before kings and not mere men…Our business that did not look like anything – it was trash when we came into ministry; it had no form of comeliness that anyone should look for it. It is what you invest or put into a trash that will bring forth its treasure! You need to show the world out there that you are on a mission (that is to take the lead in your field). But you cannot take the lead without doing the work to make it happen. So, go on and do the work!”

You can always change your level. It all depends on your level of investment. Just by re-aligning your mentality to believe that you do not belong to mediocrity brings you closer to excellence! Just by evaluating your activities and relationships and severing all unprofitable ties will give your life a sharper focus and clearer direction.

Note it again – hard workers fly higher! Nothing is a substitute for hard work. Be ready to go through the incubation process of becoming a hero. Subject yourself to the diligence and discipline that will transform you to a solution-provider to the people of your generation.

Sacrifice: The “Extra” in Extraordinary

Added to your discipline and diligence is the need for sacrifice, or going the extra mile. Essentially, it is not enough for you to be disciplined and diligent – you must also go the extra mile in doing these. Sacrifice is the scar (or scars) that we bear in the process of carrying our crosses towards getting our crowns.

There is no star without a scar! The scar of every star is sacrifice. It is nothing else! It is simply the ticket towards delivering possibilities. Sacrifice is going the extra mile, paying the extra price and taking the extra steps towards delivering your mandates! Your extraordinary inputs will precede your extraordinary impacts. You must go the extra mile in discipline and diligence – and then the star in you will emerge.

So powerful is sacrifice that it can turn a “dummy” into a genius. It can make a so-called misfit become a maestro. There have been cases of people who had great gifts and potentials but found themselves in fields that were different from what they were meant to do in life. Many of these have had to put themselves through the rigours of returning to their natural passions and getting trained to live out their dreams.

See, you cannot have your cake and eat it! You cannot make omelette without breaking eggs! Not even faith is a substitute for sacrifice. Vision is not a substitute for sacrifice! Sacrifice is a covenant requirement of every Kingdom star! Apostle Paul again says, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians1:21). The apostle is simply saying, “I’d rather die than allow anyone despise my glory in Christ”. This is a classic portrayal of what sacrifice entailsBeing crucified with Jesus Christ is sacrifice!

Every star has a story of sacrifice to tell. It is a must for you to rouse yourself from slumber and invest your time in creating the future that you desire! Until you do what others do not do, you will still remain on the same spot as others! You must therefore wake up and tell yourself the bitter truth and design for yourself an enviable destiny. Never let a year end without preparing a schedule of accomplishments for the following year. This will show that you are really on a mission to deliver your world from its aches!

Jesus Christ, the most anointed Achiever, says in Luke12:49-50: “I am come to send fire on the earth…But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!” That was someone who had a clear picture of His mission and what it would take to accomplish it.  Anyone who desires to have a “global impact” must pay a “global price”. Yes, you cannot accomplish that glorious dream of yours without understanding its true worth and paying the necessary price!

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Enhancing Food Security: Governor Umo Eno’s Worthy Interventions

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By Michael Effiong

 

Today, the biggest threat to the survival of mankind is food security. Indeed, the phenomenon has taken a global dimension and is not confined to the borders of any nation.

 

Growing hunger has been fueled by a toxic mix of climate change, insecurity and a global economic crisis that has exacerbated poverty and inequality, affecting the ability of many families and communities to cope.

 

In Nigeria, at least in the last few months, there is no topic that has been more discussed than that of the rising cost of food stuff and the hunger in the land.

 

As US President John F. Kennedy once said, “The war against hunger is truly mankind’s war of liberation.” This is a war that must be fought with vigor and won.

 

On his visit to Niger State on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu called on states to support the federal government’s effort in the area of agriculture and food security.

Interestingly, long before this call by Mr. President, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno has already taken action.

 

How? Well, you can call him the modern day Nostradamus and will not be wrong. It was not that he was clairvoyant but we can adduce it to his power of vision because agriculture was one of his focus areas even before his overwhelming victory at the polls on March 18, 2023.

 

The then candidate Umo Eno had developed an economic blueprint for his campaign dubbed the ARISE Agenda. A of the A-R-I-S-E stands for Agricultural Revolution.

 

Having had this as part of his economic blueprint, it is no wonder that the Umo Eno administration had already hit the ground running and has been laying out plans, programmes and projects that are worthy of emulation in a bid to stem the tide of the current national crisis.

Perhaps what can be described as the most impactful and innovative intervention in the area of food sufficiency and sustainability in the country at the moment was signed into law on Thursday, March 14, 2023 as the Akwa Ibom State Bulk Purchase Agency which aims at ensuring that staple foods are available, accessible and affordable to the most vulnerable in the state.

 

Everyone knows that implementing this kind of programme can be herculean, but the government set up a committee with a well-laid out plan to ensure this works efficiently.

 

This programme, like others the Governor has initiated, would be devoid of any political coloration. Already, government has met with traders and market associations. Foodstuff agents will be selected and trained.  They would all sign an agreement with government and would be the ones to operate branded shops and redemption centres that will be located in selected markets and points across the 31 LGAs.

 

The Agency would use a voucher system akin to the Food Stamps now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the United States.

 

The Akwa Ibom equivalent when deployed, will operate in a similar fashion because it would be strictly for vulnerable indigenes who will exchange the monthly vouchers for staple food items.

 

The beneficiaries would get direct subsidies as they would pay well-discounted prices to the agents for the value of the food item on each voucher. The accredited agents would later present these vouchers to government for reconciliation and reimbursement.

 

Furthermore, the Governor’s 368 Personal Assistants in the wards are to help implement the programme at the grassroots while names of all agents and beneficiaries ( drawn from the state social register which had recently been updated) would be published.

 

It is expected that from this arrangement and involvement of many stakeholders, the Agency’s mandate would be delivered within a short period of time.

 

Knowing full well that the Agency’s work is a short term measure, Governor Eno is also thinking long term and has started preaching the “Back-To-Farm” message. His goal is to inspire Akwa Ibomites from all walks of life to see the benefits of farming.

 

In his words: “Please everybody, no matter how small your land is even if it is just behind or beside your house, sow something. We must return to the farm”

 

Let us cast our minds back to what used to be the norm back in the day. Our parents and grandparents used to have little farms around the house where green vegetables, tomatoes, pepper, okra, maize, yams, cassava e.t.c. were grown. Some even reared chickens and goats too.

Governor Umo Eno signing an MOU with Prof. Godfrey Nzamujo of Songhai Farms Initiatives Nigeria

 

Many may see this as a call to subsistence farming in today’s technologically-advanced world, but in truth, if we are able to grow a few of what we eat, it will not only reduce the hunger in the land in a matter of months, but it will free up funds for people to use for other things.

 

This initiative by the Governor for rural and urban dwellers to go back to the farm is already being practiced by other countries to boost their food supply. It is called urban farming.

 

Countries such as Argentina, Australia, Canada and China are way ahead and have incorporated this into their urban planning and city regeneration projects.

 

A good example of the success of this initiative is the city of Rosario in Argentina. Rosario’s Urban Agriculture Programme (Programa de Agricultura Urbana, or PAU) started small, but now grows nearly 2,500 tons of food each year. What started as a means of feeding the population in the wake of an economy in tatters is now a cornerstone of the city’s food sustainability initiative. This shows that the Governor’s call is a much needed step in the right direction.

Also, the government has commenced Phase II of the AK Cares Programme. Beneficiaries across the 31 LGAs would get farm implements, seedlings, poultry birds or fish juveniles and adequate training.

The Ministry of Agriculture is also being galvanized to distribute improved seedlings and support agriculture cooperatives to help increase their productivity. And the Ibom FADAMA Microfinance Bank has been restructured in line with the present realities.

That is not all, the Governor who takes the welfare of the citizens seriously also signed the Akwa Ibom State Agricultural Loans Law (Amendment) Bill, a private member bill sponsored by Hon. Mfon Idung. The law has increased the amount to be granted as loans to individual farmers, corporate entities and cooperative societies  and would enable them expand their operations, embrace modern farming techniques, boost productivity and ultimately, drive economic transformation.

 

It is worth mentioning also that Governor Eno’s people-centred intervention strategy also includes a rejuvenation of the rural communities through construction of rural roads and provision of key amenities. This idea is well captured in R (Rural Development) of the ARISE Agenda. The nexus between rural development and agriculture are as inseparable as a set of conjoined twins!

This school of thought concerning the importance of rural development as a way of boosting agriculture is also held by former Agriculture & Rural Development Minister and current President, African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwunmi Adeshina.

He expressed these sentiments most succinctly while delivering his acceptance speech on his conferment with the Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership in Lagos recently.

According to him “Nigeria must completely transform its rural economies to ensure food security for all. A better Africa must start with the transformation of rural economies. That is because some 70% of the population live there. Rural poverty is extremely high. At the heart of transforming rural economies is agriculture, the main source of livelihoods.

“As a young student who attended high school in the village, I witnessed the high correlation of agricultural performance with education. “It was common then to hear the phrase “Agbe lo ba” . (farmers are kings), uttered with great pride

“The transformation of rural economies must therefore be structural, systemic, strategic and comprehensive. Doing so, means agriculture must be turned into a wealth creating sector. Sound public policies transform the lives of people”.

No one can dispute the need for sound policies as enunciated by Dr. Adeshina and this is reason as an ardent advocate of agribusiness and with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 in mind, the Governor’s earliest move in the agricultural sector on assumption of office was to sign an MOU with Songhai Farms for the development of Ibom Model Farms.

 

This long-term partnership is aimed at driving a technologically-driven agricultural revolution that will boost food production, tourism, youth development, knowledge transfer and job creation.

 

While construction has already begun at the first farm located in Nsit Ubium LGA (others will spring up when LGAs make land available), the Governor has shown his seriousness for this project by sponsoring some youths on training programmes in preparation for the Farm’s take off.

With all hands already on deck and machinery put in motion to operationalize the multi-layered approach initiated by the Gov. Umo Eno-led administration, the indigenes of Akwa Ibom State are soon going to heave a sigh of relief. Not only would the issue of high cost of foodstuff be history but food sufficiency would become the new normal in the state.

 

 

.Effiong, a journalist, is Senior Special Assistant (Lagos Liaison) to Governor Umo Eno

 

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Opinion

Opinion: The Truth Nigerians Do Not Want to Hear

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By Femi Fani-Kayode

Sadly most Nigerians will not read or appreciate this contribution because frankly it is beyond them.

Worst still many of them, particularly in the younger generation, find it difficult to read more than three lines even though it is to their own shame and detriment.

For those that have the gravitas, insight, foresight, profundity and intellectual virility to read and comprehend the counsel I have offered in this write-up I urge you to bookmark it and wait and see what unfolds unless and until we quickly identify and recognise the problem and address the issues raised.

There are two reasons for the mass abductions and kidnappings that we are witnessing in our country today.

Firstly to garner cash which is then sent abroad to buy more arms and fund terror and secondly to destabilise our country and to discredit and undermine the credibility of our President and the Federal Government.

I hope and pray that someone is listening because this is precisely what we witnessed when the Chibok girls and other children were abducted over the years and the motives are the same.

Those that think it is only about the acquisition of money are naive and ignorant.

There is far more to it than that and there are numerous shady and sinister characters, international criminal cartels, foreign Governments and intelligence agencies and local accomplices and facilitators that are involved in this great evil.

Nigeria has been targetted for destruction, division and disintegration by those that see us as a threat to their regional hegemony, strategic national interests and imperialist aspirations but most of us still don’t get it and perhaps never will.

They do not want a strong, united, prosperous and regionally dominant Nigeria but would rather turn us into a pathetic and pitiful shadow of our former selves, a cowardly and quivering caricature of what we once were and a weak, divided, incredulous and headless pawn and set us up for self-destructive economic and military annihilation.

They know that a strong Nigeria, like a strong South Africa, would stand up to them in the arena of world politics and international affairs and ensure that our collective interests as Nigerians and Africans would be protected and they do not want this.

As a matter of fact for us to achieve that enviable status is not just their greatest fear but their worse nightmare.

They ask themselves in their corporate boardrooms, presidential palaces, cabinet meetings and legislative chambers, who can stand up to a strong Nigeria?

They wonder where else they would get their free mineral resources and be in a position to manipulate and dictate to servile leaders if not Nigeria?

And if Nigeria were to fail, fall and go the way they want us to who would stand and speak for Africa and the black man in the comity of nations?

If the truth be told without a strong, flourishing and virile Nigeria Africa is nothing and the black man is nowhere and this is precisely why the powers that be, when it comes to world politics and the international community, do not want us to succeed.

As far as they are concerned we are too weak, corrupt, ignorant, primitive, backward, servile, self-hating and dumb to achieve anything meaningful and we are more than happy to spend the next 100 years as a nation and a people that seek nothing but validation, leadership and guidance from them.

Yet how wrong they are. They have no idea who and what we are and deep down they fear us and recognise the fact that an unbound and unfettered Nigeria with strong, bold, articulate, confident and fearless leaders that do not seek their approval or validation and that have no interest in remaining as their slaves would be their worse nightmare. Such leaders would be dangerous to their evil cause and their attempt to sow the seeds of civil war, hardship and economic paralysis in our country.

It is time that we confront the matter with an iron hand and fight back to save Nigeria.

It is time for us to get off our knees, to throw away the begging bowl, to stop constantly seeking validation from those that do not wish us well, to stop blindly implementing their disastrous economic models which seek to impoverish and destroy our people, to uproot and reject their well-planted seeds of division and to stop tolerating their subversive activities.

Ask yourself, who funds the terrorists and bandits and where do they get their weapons from?

They did it in Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Algeria, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, Syria and so many other countries over the years and decades and now they are doing it here.

Ask yourself who was behind the attack on a mosque in which worshippers were killed on Friday in Kaduna and what was the purpose of this abominable and condemnable act of terror if not to destabilise us and create panic and chaos in our nation?

Again how is it that just a few days after the mass abduction of women in Gamburu Ngala, Borno state and just one day after the kidnapping of 280 female students in Kuriga, Kaduna state yet another 15 students were abducted in Gidan Bakuso, Sokoto state just yesterday.

All this nonsense must stop and we must desist from refusing to acknowledge that we now have and indeed have always had a major problem which needs to be acknowledged and be solved.

None of these things happen by chance and what we are witnessing is a deep seated and long term conspiracy to literally end our nation as we know it and throw us into a state of fear, poverty, anomie, anarchy, fratricidal butchery and carnage.

Worst of all is the fact that our so called “best friends” and “allies” in the west and the international community are the ones behjnd it.

We need help and if we can get it from the Russians, the Chinese and even the Iranians in order to restore our peace, self respect, freedom, dignity and prosperity we should do so.

Asking the West for help either in intelligence gathering, advice or covert Military operations when it comes to the fight against the terrorists and insurgents in Nigeria is like asking the big bad wolf to save little Red Riding Hood.

It cannot work because ultimately they are the hidden hand behind our numerous travails and they are the enemy.

May God open our eyes and deliver our nation and may we cultivate the fortitude and courage to come together as a people, eschew our differences, resist the evil and save our nation.

(FFK)

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