The GOD of Agriculture

It took me about three days to finally make the decision to write this article, i knew what i wanted to write on but i just didnt know how best to write this without being subjective. i eventually decided to go with the flow just as it came to me, who knows if it might take me another 3 days before i could get the motivation to write again, so i'll let you be the judge as to how objective this write up is.
There's been so many opinion and theories about the origin of man, some claim that they came from the family of  apes (so true, but we are not talking about their family here), some have claimed and even attempted to proof that man came to be as a result of a big bang, some say oduduwa is their fore father, some are of the opinion that they originated from the dust orchestrated by a supreme being, GOD. I want to base my write up on this last class mainly because it draws light to my profession which originally is the reason why i'm writing.
According to the bible, man was created by God, and the intricasies of this creation are well detailed in the very first few pages of the bible, and i'm tempted to say it seems like God was indeed a farm manager. From that account, you will agree with me that after the sun, moon, the land, the seas, the next is plants and animals, God being the first agricultural Economist was careful to create them in succession, he first created the factors neccessary for a productive enterprise, the sun, the land, then the vegetations.
apparently if we are going with this story, you will agree that agriculture is the very first practice in the history of existence, God did a good job putting into consideration the factors of production, ensuring that the resources neccesary are readily available, i hope we can take cue from this example and understand that agriculture is not just about making money, it's about creation and as such, a lot must run in the background before production. I've had many people come to me to tell me they want to venture into agriculture and they dive in with the major aim of making profit but if you ask me, anyone who is capable of creating something is definitley capable of making profit from that same thing created. Just hold that thought as i continue with my write up...
so after a really nice job, God had invented agriculture as it were, everything he made was good, the factors of production were starting to come together, he had made the land evaluting the science of the soil and proper management of the available land, he gathered the capitial, this time the capital was provided in raw materials, he looked into the plant's physiology so He could get optimal crop productivity, bearing in mind the seed's technology he made provisions for plant breeding and in his best capacity provided protection for the crops. it's all sounding familiar right? In the same manner he reviewed the animals' physiology, He quickly established a range and pasture land for the animals to feed knowing fully well that their nutrition was tantamount to their opitimal productivity and health, he studied their genetics and began breeding.
Thus the capital was ready, and he was certain that the only missing puzzle was Labour, so he reached out to his human resources and managment department and began a staffing process, using a pre-existing staffing policy, he created man according to this policy and began extension work, he showed him round and taught him the procedures neccesary to be just like him. For the man to be able to function on his own, God made a garden and made man the manager and he became the sole administrator, at the end of the day, they (God and man) have a meeting where they discuss the strength, weakness, opportunities and threats facing this new enterprice called the Garden of Eden. And from this garden agriculture was born.
"And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good..."
Genesis 1:31

The POLICE are ROBBING US

This past few weeks met students of the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta sleeping with one eye opened, not because they have a disorder or because they were tempted by the "eye catching" side attractions in their apartments (even though there's no such thing), but for the unwelcomed guests that's been making their visits a tradition, i had a conversation with one of the students who hosted these guests, she recalled that she was shaken and rendered mute by the sudden presence of these guests, just like the holy book had said about the coming of christ, these young men as we later came to find out from their benefactors, came in the dead of the night armed to the teeth with cutlasses, axe and all sorts, while the students were busy living out their second lives in the dream world, their dreams were cut short by the awkward reality of the august visitor sitting right across the room with his fingers across his lips signaling SILENCE!
These visits have become nearly a daily routine, everyone now lives in fear, trying to come to terms with the reality of who would be the next host. The nights turned to day as students keep watch all night and the ones who knew God from a distance begin to draw really close to him, the fear in the hearts of the ladies is of rape, the gentlemen seem to be the more confident group but they also fear for their most priced gadgets and the little cash they have with them. The paranoia worsens such that the flap of a butterfly's wings was enough to send everyone into the innermost parts of their apartments, bolting the doors behind. An acquitance was narrating her experience to me and i couldn't help laughing, though she was also laughing at the time she was narrating her ordeal , it wasn't as funny when it happened, she recalled hearing the sounds and thinking to herself that it must be the men at the window, then she she added that she saw figures that looks like men, and she held her bible close to her chest and started praying, i was rolling on the floor laughing by now.
Another incident i heard of was that of a student who locked himself in the toilet on the slightest indication that the guests had arrived, he left all his personal effects and possesion out in the room, the laptop, phone, wallet all on the table.  Luckily, the guests overlooked our friends inability to host them properly by giving them a beffitting welcome, they let themselves in and as you guessed it, met the peace offering on the table, our dear friend called out from the toilet that they should take as much as they can, but just leave him alone. I couldnt contain my laughter when i heard, i never realised how hospitable students can be, how close we could draw near to God and our capacity to ignite the rarest form of humor from our misfortunes.
Well personally i have not being visited, probably because i dont know how to play a good host or because i have a terribly bad sleeping habit and once i'm on the bed, it's only my alarm clock that can revive me. I tried imagining a senario where these said guests find their way into my room, make themselves at home, search all over the room to find nothing...yes i mean nothing and then frustrated they whisper "guy!!!", i reply sleepily "no carry my charger ohh" then i turn the other direction on the bed and off i go... now they look around see the charger and the pathetic excuse i have for a phone, irritated they drop off one of the good offerings they collected from thier previous expeditions and quietly they leave me be helping themselves out.. .yes...that would just be the best... then i smile and suddenly i sense a cold metal on my skin, i open my eyes to see it was all a dream and the real guests are here and it didnt look like they are in the mood to drop anything other than hard punches and a really displeasing beat down... the rest is left to your imagination.
But while we have a good laugh amidst all this, some elements of truth still creep out of the humor and i wonder where the police were? A few days ago a hostel not far from mine was visited and in the usual Nigerian police routine, the cops arrived hours after our  guests had left, then beefed up security in the area, secured the perimeter and began to take statements, i have nothing against their procedures or their protocols but their timing? let's not go there, they show up at the wrong time, arrest the wrong people for the wrong reasons and collect money for the wrong reasons.
i have cause to believe the police have robbed us of our sleep, our safety and definitely our rights, the police have the core responsibilty of protecting and serving us, they are supposed to be on alert, on the call and we should be able to sleep with assurance that our lives and properties are safe, but even the average police officer is more afraid for his life than some of the students, the government employed a bunch of amateurs and gave them  ridiculous uniforms with the sole responsiblity of directing traffic, in the name of check points, collecting little bit of hand outs here and there with little or no tactical knowledge of how to protect and secure lives and property, our school also followed suite in the same manner, with our able mango security. I cannot confidently say that even in the school there is security, unless of course you are refering to those men you see at the busstops and colleges who wear yellow shirts on green pants a.k.a mango.
I should inevitably state here that i love the police and i love my FUNAAB, but i must confess my love for my school or the police has not in any way influenced my trust in the system as pertaining to security. As far as I'm concerned a police truck is not the definition of security and if i can see police officers drinking even while in uniform i wonder what law they would enforce to that effect, it's the little things that matter, if every police officer would think of the citizens as their family and protect and serve like a player in the community then i'm certain that the war againt curruption is half won, if our law enforcers will stop negotiating with offenders and do their job, our streets will be safe again, our nights will be peaceful and both eyes can finally get equal ammount of sleep and maybe what you imagined would be of me if i was visited would only be a scene in my dream that ended with the police coming in to save the day and i'ld wake up to another beautiful day in a beautiful country where the police is my friend.

The GREEN city

I recently had reasons to move across Abeokuta running few personal errands and as fate would have it, a close friend of mine was in need of the dailies, that day's edition, so i decided to help her get a copy along the way.
"It's just a newspaper, i should be able to get it anywhere", i had thought to myself, but i was wrong, the situation of fuel scarcity coupled with the scorching sun only made the day seem like an horror scene on a fun day... Who doesn't like the hot sun beaming wonderful hot rays on their head, everybody loves to pay extra for cab fare since there's fuel scarcity...
I'm not here to rant about my horrible day but about an observation... I couldn't find a newspaper stand in Abeokuta from my campus to the commercial Centre of the city, a newspaper stand was more or less extinct... But in my short ride across town i was able to understand something.
In Abeokuta the people rely more on radio than they do printed materials, so in the cab i heard the news, listened to some of the latest tunes, even had the privilege to hear the call for prayer for the muslim folks, it was much better than reading but i still longed for the physical paper, the smell of the news, It's so distinct and i can refer to it whenever.
After a while listening to the radio, I'll keep an eye out again in search of a newspaper stand... But still couldn't spot one, instead i saw agricultural stores, from a vet clinic to a poultry supplies store, every potential newspaper stand spot was occupied by agricultural linkages.
This is my own picture of growth, if only more structures could be erected, a farmers market, a feed mill, a slaughter house, a silo, a service center for farm machineries, a training  center for potential farmers, agricultural banks, etc. The list is endless.
Abeokuta can compete with Lagos if it can specialize on agriculture, create a niche for herself and watch the world crawl at her feet in demand for her fruits. There's hope for Abeokuta and the only way the rock city can stand with other cities is it's ability to utilize agriculture in every form, and turn this city to a green land, a farm.
So i don't mind if i can't find a single newspaper stand, as long as i can find a fertilizer store and the radio house is still operational... I think I'm satisfied.