Readers’ comments on Dangote’s refinery and Food security, by Prof M.K. Othman
Deep Thought with Othman
A weekly article has always been a tasking assignment in the face of several contending issues demanding time and attention. Academic activities- teaching, research and knowledge dissemination, community services – consultancy, mentorship, etc- are time-consuming and attention-seeking events. So, the best way to sustain weekly articles is to allow the views of my readers to be published from time to time. This week, I am publishing views on two critical issues – Dangote’s refinery and food security. The articles on these issues were published some weeks ago.
Dangote Refinery: Pride to the Nation and Beacon of Hope
Many odd things are happening in our oil industry in quick sessions and getting out of control. The sector has been tirelessly working to produce overnight multi-billionaires while milking the nation and impoverishing the citizens. First, the International Oil Companies work upstream of the industry and refuse to touch downstream. They limit their activities to oil drilling and crude sales and smile lavishly to the bank while enriching their countries with easy money. Second, the refineries are old and almost obsolete, with no available spare parts, but can only be manufactured when placing an order that takes at least three months to produce desired results. So, rehabilitating the refineries is an unending effort and a money guzzler with nothing to show. Hence, Nigerians need to wait for the kingdom to come and enjoy the refined products of their refineries. Third, assuming refineries become functional, how will they get the crude to refine? Nigeria sold a significant percentage of its crude oil in advance a few years back and “invested” the proceeds in other sectors, so will the refineries be buying oil from different countries like what Dangote is doing today to refine and supply Nigerians? This brings the gracious order of President Tinubu to NNPCL to sell the crude oil to Dangote in local currency for refining to Nigerians; how can NNPCL carry out this order? Your thoughts are as good as mine.
Now, I am back to my article on the above subject; it generated many reactions and commendations of Dangote’s patriotism and commitment to solving one of the perennial National problems – scarcity of petroleum products.
READ ALSO: Dangote Refinery: Pride to the Nation and beacon of hope, by Prof M.K. Othman
Dear Prof. Othman, thank you so much, Sir, for this great article. It is timely and insightful. We believe the lawmakers will do what is necessary to unravel the circumstances behind this high level of sabotage to the Refinery and Nigerians at large. It is a great one indeed.
Engr Austin Uzonwanne
President Tinubu should wield the big stick to clear the Augean Stable of the NNPCL. Let heads roll no matter how highly placed. It is so shameful for Nigeria to import refined products with all its refineries deliberately prevented from working. Now that Dangote has come on stage, the saboteurs have sharpened their instruments of sabotage to castrate Dangote and make him docile economically. If this refinery does not work, it is Nigerians who have lost. All well-meaning Nigerians should reject the narration from the managers of NNPCL garnished with flowery lies to create what looks like the truth. This is a clear case of giving a good dog a bad name to hang it.
Dr. Iyongo Terungwa Titus
“Sabotage” is what defines most Nigerian leaders. May Almighty Allah save us, May He also change their mind to a good one, or may He replace them with better ones that will move the nation positively
Khuzaifa Abdulkadir
Emergency on Food Security: Policy Dereliction, Consequences and Possible Solutions
This piece was published on June 20th, 2024, and it is still relevant. Many families go to bed with empty stomachs, which resulted in hardship protests at the beginning of this month. Some of the views aired here are important and may be the key to unlocking the glorious path to achieving food security sooner rather than later. Happy reading.
Great piece, prof. The government needs to revisit and modify the farm settlement scheme to suit our current condition. The scheme could be designed so the herders and crop farmers could collaborate symbiotically. For instance, within the settlement, an area of land, say 100 ha, could be used for grazing in a given year, while an adjacent 100 ha could be used for crop farming. The following year, the herders move into the cropland, and farmers take up the already fertilized rangeland. With this simple model, farmers-herders conflict will be minimized since the identity of the farmers and herders is known. The Republic of Cameron effectively used this model to resolve the farmers-herder crisis and achieve food security.
Within each settlement, there could be security units, mini-factories, mechanical workshops, a tractor-hiring service, and other social amenities to make life enjoyable.
Mr. Boniface
Sir, I sincerely appreciate your time and effort in finding solutions to our general problems in Nigeria by preparing informative and educative articles like this. I must admit to you, sir, that the issue of Food Security is a broad topic for discussion, meaning to solve a significant goal of preventing world hunger. Several times, ASABE AIMs have centered on this. But my greatest worry all these years is how we are making good use of all this advice obtained from our gatherings. Look at the Malabo 2014 declaration, where all African Heads of State agreed to provide 10% of their overall budget allocation for use by the agricultural sector. Only now, in Nigeria, we have yet to see these words of theirs coming into action. At this point, implementing good policies is our most significant problem in Nigeria and other African countries, bringing us to the level we are at. I wish our government would follow up on any good policy they formulate to make this country a better nation for us and the unborn generation. It is well with Nigeria.
Engr Dr. O. A. Oyelade
Prof M.K., thank you for the well-written article. It is factual and well-researched, devoid of any political intonations. The situation is very dire, especially in the North; it will undoubtedly escalate poverty. What are state Governments doing to alleviate the problem?
Prof Rabiu Adamu
This is a very correct solution to the problem of food insecurity. The noninclusion of relevant stakeholders in the planning and executing government-approved intervention will continue to hinder progress. As much as declaring a state of emergency on food security is political, Prof., forget it, Kawai. A severe nation like Nigeria, with all the abundant human, capital, and natural resources, should have no reason to cry about food insecurity, even in the face of banditry and terrorist attacks. The government’s push to cushion the effect of the high cost of inputs and access to finance is enough to do some magic. Just let the government do what is needed after the declaration, Shikenan.
In the agro pocket, we know what happened during wheat production: connivance, political godfatherism, and corruption derailed the program. The dry season for maize and rice was to kick off at the end of June when the wet season had gone far in some places. What an irony! We need to be more serious about achieving food security.
Prof Sani Isiak
Professor Othman is the Executive Director of National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS), ABU Zaria.
Disclaimer
The opinions and views expressed in this article belong solely to the original author and other contributors. They do not necessarily reflect the official policy or opinions of Neptune Prime.
Follow the Neptune Prime channel on Whatsapp; https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va74ZvU2v1IqKByXoX3d
Follow the Neptune Prime channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va74ZvU2v1IqKByXoX3d
Do you have breaking news, interview request, opinion, suggestion, or want your event covered? Email us at neptuneprime2233@gmail.com
