SOUTHERN LEADERS TAKE THE ADVANTAGE
I wish we can pick up the challenge just as Isreal did when the Arabs were blocking food to them in 1952.The state of Isreal swore on two grounds:1. That they would turn their land which is a desert into an arable land that can feed a continent four times per day. THEY DID IT.
2. Under the leadership of Golda Meir the first female Israeli Prime Minister, they swore that any more attempt from any country or group of countries to replicate the Jewish genocide, they would pull down the temple on humanity. Those were their words which meant ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
In no long time, Isreal became the world’s biggest producer of agro products, feeding her neighbors with high taxes of agro-goods.
Our own renowned Dr. Micheal Okpara traveled to Isreal those days to tap into their knowledge and understudy the Israeli-code in agriculture, which gave birth to a lot of agro institutions and businesses in the East.
One is the Micheal Okpara Agricultural institution, Umuahia where the first mushroom grafting was carried out in the world.
Yes! We can do it. We can pick up this challenge and set a new course for ourselves as a region. Under 18 months, we can scale up our agriculture.
My people, let’s learn how to pick up challenges and run with it. That is how to outclass your enemies. You do better in the face of such brazen challenge.
This is the best time to rise above food dependency on the North. This is the best time to cripple their comparative advantage on food supply and break that maxim of “food basket of the nation” and it’s semantics.
If only we can boldly accept the North’s suddenly decision to divert their agricultural produce to the neighboring west African countries instead of the West, East and Southern part of the country, they would be bleeding in no time.
They will because the other parts of the country are the biggest buyers of their agricultural produce.
Togo, Cameroon and Ghana doesn’t have the purchasing power of even the East.
These countries have their own viable agribusinesses, so whatever the North hopes to sell to them will be priced down. Simple economics.
It will bite us temporarily, no doubt but this is a welcome development that should make us all happy if only we have visionary leaders in the other geoeconomic zones.
I won’t be surprised if the eastern governors all board a jet to the North to beg for food and the unblocking of the delivery channels. That is how stupidly unproductive they have grown.
LET US MAKE A HISTORY NOW!! WE CAN DO THIS. YES WE CAN!!
Written by Cheqnus Kucho