THE PRETTY FEMALE FARMER

Did I hear you say, this blogger seems to be a feminist. Guess you are 90 percent right. Sometimes I sit down at a corner in my room and wonder how these perceived fragile being prosper in their homes and profession. Delicate, yet dynamic and industrious.

This brings me to a pretty young farmer on this part of the world, who has established herself as a success in Agro-business - Mosunmola Cynthia Umoru

 

A 2004 graduate of Zoology from the Lagos State University (LASU). An Ashoka fellow. Alumnus of the U.S Department of States International Leadership Programme, and Pan African University under the Enterprise Development Center. Mosunmola is passionate about food, farming, youth’s development and community development.

She registered her company in 2004 when she was in her final year in the university. Honeysuckles PTL Ventures with the primary aim of selling processed food produces was launched to serve food retail chains in the country, when the fast food restaurant industry was emerging in Nigeria.

The first major business her company did was to supply chicken, snails and catfish for some branches of Tantilizers. This business opportunity came when her father tried to get her a paid job. Reluctantly, she went to see the procurement manager for Tantilizers – Her father’s friend and rather than get interviewed for a job, she got a business offer based on her experience in procurement. Though 25years at this time, Motunrayo took the challenge to become a vendor for Tantilizers.

As months passed, she had more outlets to supply and had to borrow money from family and friends to meet the ever increasing demand. By age 27, Motunrayo already owed twenty seven million naira (27m). An equivalent of 1million naira (1m) for every year she had lived. Did you just say, “Oh my God.”

It was during this challenging time, she came across a Goldman Sachs programme sponsoring 10,000 women in business. It was after this programme, Goldman Sach sponsored an article on Motunrayo Cynthia Umoru (aka Pretty Farmer) in in-flight magazine of an American airline. This singular event gave her the push that led to stardom. Soon, she won ‘The Future Nigeria Project Awards in 2009.

As years ran by, scarcity and low quality of farm produce she source for her different clients led her to venture into full time farming. Though started with a 4-Acre leasehold farm, Honeysuckles PTL ventures recently settled into a 25 Hectares (approximately 62.5 acres) property in Ogun State. This will not only increase the production of farm produce for consumption by Nigerians but provide more employment opportunities for the ever increasing unemployed youths. However her new company Harvesters Farm Limited acquired 3000 hectares of land in Osun State for its expansion.

Pretty farmer’s aim is to make farming a glamorous and cool profession to be cherished by all.

Some other achievements, awards and recognition attributed to Mosunmola Cynthia Umoru (alias Pretty Farmer) are listed as follows;

·         Founder, ABIRA Agribusiness Support Initiative

·         Consultant to African Union in 2011 on Youth Development

·         Participated in a book review on Africa Development at the World Bank in 2011.

·         African Union 2011 West African Youth representative

·         Owner, Farmshoppe

·         ELOY recognition Award in association with UBA for Entrepreneur role in the Agricultural Sector 2013

·         Youth representative at the National conference (CONFAB) at Abuja in 2013.

·         Member of the Catfish Farmers Association of Nigeria,

·         An affiliate member of Poultry Farmers Association of Nigeria

·         Member of Lagos State Catfish Farmers Association of Nigeria.

Mosunmola Umoru with Former minister of Agriculture, Mr Akinwunmi Adesina

CREDIT: www.woman.ng, www.girlyessentials.com.ng, www.bellanaija.com, businessdayonline.com, demo.afuyemedia.com, The Fountain magazine

FARMING: THE SPRINGBOARD FOR NIGERIA'S DEVELOPMENT

Nigeria is endowed with abundant resources (agricultural resources inclusive) yet the agricultural sector has suffered neglect, and this can be traced to a decline that began with the advent of petroleum boom in the early 1970s.

This distortion produced adverse effects on our agricultural products production level. Before now, government used to pay farmers low prices on food for the domestic market in order to satisfy urban demands for cheap basic food products. This policy made agricultural work unattractive, and as food production could not keep pace with its increasing population, Nigeria began to import food. It has also lost its status as a net exporter of such cash crops as cocoa, palm oil, and groundnuts. 

In past years, the federal government has consistently created policies to revive the agricultural sector but the poor implementation of these policies and programme designs as become a distress factor for the growth and development of the Nigerian agricultural sector. For instance, the trend in the share of agriculture in the GDP shows a substantial variation and long-term decline from 60% in the early 1960s through 48.8% in the 1970s and 22.2% in the 1980s.

However, the Nigerian economy has continued to grow rapidly in recent years despite the persistent structural weaknesses, with growth concentrated primarily in trade, agriculture, and telecommunications. In 2013 Nigeria’s agricultural sector contributed an estimated 22 percent of GDP, the oil and gas sector 14 percent, the telecom sector 9 percent, and the manufacturing sector 7%. Overall, services including telecommunications, finance, and construction, contributed 52 percent of our GDP. 

The agricultural sector in Nigeria sustains over 80 percent of rural households; and the government is working to expand private agro-businesses access to finance, relieve farm-to-market transport infrastructure constraints, and increase the use of irrigation and improved seed varieties.

A strong and efficient agricultural sector would enable NIGERIA to feed its  growing population,  generate  employment,  earn  foreign  exchange  and  provide  raw  materials  for industries. The agricultural sector has a multiplier effect on any nation’s socio-economic and industrial fabric because of the multi-functional nature of agriculture. At such, the agricultural sector has the potential to be the industrial and economic springboard from which Nigeria’s development can take off. Largely because it’s primary role is to provide food and manpower to the expanding industrial economy. Indeed, more often than  not,  agricultural  activities  are  usually  concentrated  in  the  less-developed  rural  areas where  there  is  a critical  need  for  rural transformation,  redistribution,  poverty  alleviation  and socio-economic development.

In recent years, Nigeria’s food import bill declined from N1.1 trillion in 2009 to N634 billion in 2013 and continues to decline; the number of seed companies in Nigeria has increased from 11 to 134 within the past three years, allowing farmers to be reached with high quality seeds. The volume of seeds available to farmers has increased from 4,252Metric tons in 2011 to over 149,484metric tonnes today; and the number of integrated rice mills has increased to 24 today.

The profitability of any nation’s resource depends on the importance attached to it. According to Mr Adesina (Ex – Agriculture minister), “the change we need as a nation is a shift in mindset. Agriculture is been looked at as a developmental activity – A social responsibility to develop the rural areas. Wrong! Agriculture is a business. Seed production is a business; fertilizer production is a business, the storage facility as well as the logistics and transport.”

Nigeria has great potential to become the food basket of the West African Sub-region given that she is endowed with huge expanse of arable land, beneficial climate, abundant streams, lakes, forest and grassland, as well as large, active population that can sustain a highly productive agriculture system.

The future of Nigeria lies in harnessing her resources, and agriculture is paramount. With agriculture, we can stop hunger within and outside of our borders, provide food for neighboring countries, engage our youths with meaningful employment opportunities, make money and save for investment purpose. There is no limit to the benefits agriculture can give.

Credit: Daily Independent Nigeria, National Bureau of Statistics, nationsencyclopedia.com, eujournal.org, ajol.info, forbes.com, US Department of States

A FACE-LIFT TO SOCIETAL MENACE

 From recent reports, over 10.5 million Nigerian school-age children are out of school, with the large number of these children coming from the North. Majority of these out-of-school children in the North are the Almajiris, commonly found on the streets and highways, begging for alms and food.

The Nigerian federal government has often come up with ways to deal with the menace and future threat to democracy and our society. Unlike other government who scrap laid down development programmes, kudos to the current government which has decided to build on what the previous government had started by increasing the momentum of the development programmes created to take away this unappealing situation.

Though, the government of former president, Goodluck Jonathan built 125 Almajiri Model Schools in 13 states of the North through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETF) and Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to help get these kids off the streets and deal with the menace of Almajiri phenomenon in the Northern region, the newly elected government of Buhari has made a more decisive development decision to enforce the integrate of the elements of basic education into the Quranic school system, where pupils are imparted with knowledge and skills beyond Quranic recitation via the Tsangaya Model Schools. 

The new name “Tsangaya” unlike “Almajiri”, in my own opinion will bleach our thoughts of what people perceive the children to be.

According to Mr David Apeh - the Public Relations Officer of UBEC, in a recent press release, this intervention programme will enable these children to integrate effectively into the Federal Government’s Universal Basic Education programme by bridging the gap between Islamic and Western education in the region.

This is a quiet revolution, we should be proud of. It will change the perspective of the world concerning children in the North and Nigeria as a whole.

Tsangaya Model School (Boarding)

Credit: The Punch Newspaper, mjemagazine.com, thewillnigeria.com, Lindaikeja, gamji.com, 

A $300MILLION SMART MALL IN ABA CITY

In this part of the world, the mere mention of dollar get our ears tingling. A $300million dollar investment in Aba City (Not Lagos or Abuja) gets the ordinary Nigerian eyes popping.

Aba city is known as a strategic trading hub in the Southern part of Nigeria. Paul Obanua, CEO of Greenfield Asset management has been able to tap into this potential by building Aba Mega mall.

The mall which has world class features (like a 10MW Power Supply, Cinema, Hotel, Online Mall and Recreational facilities) is surrounded by States like Abia, Imo, Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Bayelsa, and Delta. Cameroun is also a neighbour country.

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NIGERIA STOCK EXCHANGE WINS THE AFRICAN REGULATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD

On July 25th 2015, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) was named the African Regulator of The Year at the 6th African Business Leadership Forum & Awards organized by African Leadership Magazine in United Kingdom (UK). 

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A BILLION NAIRA REVENUE RAKING POSSIBILITY: LAGOS CARNIVAL

Ever thought of why England, Brazil, Germany and other countries spend so much to keep their carnivals going. The answer is simple. They make more than they spend. The ratio of the expenditure on this carnivals to the revenue is like pouring a cup of water into an ocean. The hospitality, aviation, beverage, fast food, bureau de change, banking industry and others are beneficiaries of such events.

Lagos carnival celebration like Nottingham carnival show cases the artistic, cultural and joyful spirit of Lagosians. Prior to 2010 when Ex-Governor of Lagos State - Babatunde Raji Fashola put up a team headed by Mr Adeogun Adeola that organized the first Lagos carnival, many communities organize street carnivals at a chosen time in the year to wine, dance and dine. These carnivals usually occur at Easter or the month of December and January, depending on each street’s organizers. However, the earliest recording of a carnival in Lagos was 1881 after the completion of the Holy Cross Cathedral on Lagos Island - Called Carreta. It used to be held three times a year- Easter Monday, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

But with Lagos State government intent to build and brand itself as a mega city, such initiative like the Lagos carnival was birthed. The carnival allows participants to showcase effigies like; camels, butterflies etc.

The glamorous carnival procession is within the Ikoyi axis and the grand rendezvous for everyone is the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) – a Remembrance Arcade (with memorials to World War I, World War II and civil-war victims) and the 26-storey Independence House.

Some of the junior and adult carnival groups include Locomotion, Oko Faji, Obalende, Isale-Eko, Ogba, Africarebeanna, Ikeja, Surulere and Lafiaji.

Some of the dignitaries and celebrities that have graced the carnival so far are; Ex-Governor of Lagos State (Babatunde Fashola), Abimbola Fashola, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire (Ex-Deputy Governor of Lagos State), Chief (Mrs) Kemi Nelson, Mr Disu Holloway (Ex-Commissioner for Tourism, Lagos State), Professor Wole Soyinka, Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi (Business mongul), Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi, Oba of Lagos (Oba Rilwan Akiolu I), Oba of Badagry (Whenu Aholu MenuToyi 1), Late (Chief) Molade Okoya Thomas, American film star - Danny Glover, Opral Benson and many more.

The future is bright. We can only be hopeful. God bless Nigeria! God bless Lagos!

Effigy of Obafemi Awolowo

Effigy of Prof Wole Soyinka

Effigy of Late Fela Kuti

Credit: The Punch Newspaper, Leadership Newspaper, Thisday, CP Africa, Lukesh Photography, Bella Naija, Village Square.

THE BIRD EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT

Asa (Pronounced "Asha")

Hahaha! Guess I caught your attention with the topic. Okay! Do you remember the sound track for the 2007 movie “The First Cry” - Kokoya? Or the popular GTBank welcome song in all its buildings – Place to be?

The artiste responsible for the lovely piece of music is Bukola Elemide (Popularly known as ‘Asa’). Born in Paris, France to her Nigerian parents. Asa’s family returned to live in Nigeria when she was two. It was during this time she got herself acquainted and inspired by her father’s musical collection. Collection which included the likes of Ebenezer Obey, Aretha Franklin,  Fela Kuti,  and Mavin Gaye.

Twenty years later, Aṣa returned to Paris where her life as an artist took off. She got signed to Naïve label and in 2004; she met her manager and friend Janet, who introduced her to Cobhams Emmanuel Asuquo, who became her musical partner and producer. This partnership resulted in the release of her first album in 2007 ‘Asa’ which won her the prestigious Constantin Award in 2008 and Headies Album of the year (2008). She has since released ‘Live in Paris’ (2009), ‘Beautiful Imperfection’ (2010), and ‘Bed of Stone’ (2014).

Asa during a video shoot

Prior to the release of her first album Asa (pronounced “Asha”), she (Asa) confessed she wanted a very peaceful, soulful sound for the whole album. Something that will connect with lots of people that have lost hope. According to her, “she felt that through her music she could help these people see life in another way. Which is why, at the end of the day, hope is the one theme that connects all the songs." The insightful and passionate tracks on the album like `Bibanke`, 'Fire On The Mountain' and the anti-slavery-themed 'Jailer' saw Asa rise to the top of her game with an almost unbelievable global appeal .

Are you going to be in France this month? Asa – the African pop queen with global acceptance will be performing at the “Festival de Thau – Meze, France 17^th July 2015”, Pleins Feux Festival (Bonneveille) 25^th July 2015, and “Festival du Bout du Monde – Crozon, France 31^st July – 2^nd August 2015”.

Asa performing in France - Jolly little fellow

 Credit: Asa-Official, Wikipedia, T.I.N Magazine, Blues and Soul, and CNN African voices

ONE OF AFRICA'S MOST INFLUENTIAL FIGURE

Though an alumnus of Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Programme, Tony Elumelu had his education in Nigeria contrary to the norm that it has to be white to be right. A graduate of economics.  Known for his philosophy “Africapitalism”, a development model he propagated. According to him, Africapitalism sees the African private sector as the catalyst in ensuring Africa’s sustainable social and economic development.‎

In 2011, he was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in Africa by New African magazine and in 2012 Forbes Magazine recognized him as one of "Africa's 20 Most Powerful People. A year later, Mr Elumelu was awarded the Leadership Award in Business and Philanthropy by the Africa-America Institute (AAI). African Business Icon at the 2013 African Business Awards. Also, ESI-Africa, frequently described as "Africa's power journal", named Mr Tony Elumelu in its 2015 'ESI Most Influential Figures in African Power' list in January 2015.

Tony Elumelu, who is the current chairman of Heirs Holding and founder of Tony Elumelu Foundation, was responsible for the acquisition of Standard Trust Bank by United Bank for Africa (UBA) when he became chairman of UBA in 2005. In five years he transformed UBA from a single-country bank, to a pan-African institution with over 7 million customers in 19 African countries.

Tony Elumelu with President Buhari

Elumelu (CON, MFR) serves as an Advisor to the USAID’s Private Capital Group for Africa (PCGA) Partners Forum. He sits on the Nigerian President's Agricultural Transformation Implementation Council (ATIC). He is also vice-chairman of the National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria (NCCN) whose formation he was a key driver in, and serves as Co-Chair of the Aspen Institute Dialogue Series on Global Food Security. He also serves as a member of the Global Advisory Board of the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All Initiative (SE4ALL) and USAID’s Private Capital Group for Africa Partners Forum.

Tony Elumelu with President Barrack Obama

Tony Elumelu is happily married to Awele and they have five daughters and two sons together.

"Everything I have today is because of Africa, I was born here, went to school here, I work here and I'm achieving some level of financial comfort here" - Tony Elumelu

Credit: Heirs Holding, Tony Elumelu Foundation, UBA Group Plc, Wikipedia