News

Ministry not needed to boost livestock

Published

2 months ago

July 15, 2024

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu’s creation of a new Ministry of Livestock Development again underscores the inherent contradictions in efforts at resource management.

Besides struggling with sundry economic woes including a debt of N121 trillion, expanding the government with the creation of yet another ministry, which brings the number to a record 49, suggests a lack of commitment to trimming governance costs.

The Federal Government already runs over 1,000 ministries, departments, and agencies including foreign missions per Federal Civil Service Commission. Most are poorly funded, ineffective, and perform overlapping functions. Reversing this anomaly by merging some MDAs was the kernel of the Steve Oronsaye Report that Tinubu promised to implement. The President is now going in the opposite direction. So, the ministry is not needed.

The new MLD is one of the 21 recommendations of the National Livestock Reforms Committee set up in September 2023 under Abdullahi Ganduje, chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress with a mandate to suggest solutions to the age-long herders attacks on farmers.

The committee recommended the resuscitation of grazing reserves and other methods of land utilisation as part of the conflict mitigation and resource utilisation agenda. The rationale for the new ministry’s creation is a strong institution to implement these and other recommendations.

The ministry seems to be a political gambit designed to appease the northern bloc. It revives the contentious RUGA policy of the Muhammadu Buhari administration (2015-2023).

The herders’ conflict was triggered by decreasing access to land and economic and sociocultural divisions between populations. Crucially, it is a direct result of the failure of cattle breeders and owners to invest in modern animal husbandry techniques and models but prefer a zero-cost approach to the detriment of sedentary farmers. This is the issue that must be addressed.

The conflicts have resulted in over 60,000 deaths across 22 states since 2001 according to researchers from the University of Abuja and the displacement of hundreds of thousands, especially in the North-Central.

This is due to declining pasturelands, desertification, expanding populations, poor agronomy practices, the proliferation of small arms and crime in rural communities, and the breakdown in traditional conflict resolution mechanisms of land and water disputes. Several unregulated militias have sprung up to protect communities, farms, and cattle exacerbating the general insecurity across the land.

The livestock reforms committee recommended the resuscitation of the 415 grazing reserves, which cover about six million hectares in the 19 northern states of which only 115 have been developed. Miyetti Allah, the umbrella body of cattle breeders has urged states to make the land available since pastoralists do not have any land to settle.

Without a doubt, cattle farming is a big business. More than 200 million cattle live and graze in Brazil, bringing $123 billion into the country’s economy annually, about 8.5 per cent of GDP. In 2023, Brazil further boosted agricultural production with $91.8 billion in financing for farmers and ranchers to expand an already formidable sector.

The government cannot manage ranches having failed woefully with past experiments such as the Mokwa Cattle Ranch established in 1964 specifically for fattening purposes by the German and Nigerian governments with full compliments of infrastructure, facilities, and machinery at European Union standards. It collapsed in 2004 under the weight of mismanagement.

The solution lies in commercial cattle ranches, which must be the prerogative of the states and private investors. The idea of grazing routes should be buried. The livestock ministry should not be a compensation for herders who have driven cattle into people’s farms to destroy crops.

The government should limit itself to technical and financial interventions to support settled ranchers. The nomadic lifestyle to support cattle breeding is incompatible with 21st-century living apart from the conflicts it generates.

News

Govt cites security threats, bans Telegram for officials

Published

1 hour ago

September 20, 2024

Naijablitznews

By Mario Deepromoter

Ukraine on Friday restricted the use of Telegram for its government, military and security officials, citing “threats” to national security on the app founded by Russian-born Pavel Durov.

“The National Security and Defence Council decided to restrict the use of Telegram in government agencies, military formations and critical infrastructure facilities,” the council said in a statement on Facebook, saying it was a “matter of national security.”

News

Ooni unveiles launch of Olojo Festival, reveals ancestral significance

Published

1 hour ago

September 20, 2024

Naijablitznews

By Mario Deepromoter

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, on Thursday, announced the commencement of the 2024 Olojo Festival, revealing the event’s ancestral and spiritual significance.

Ogunwusi spoke at his palace during a news conference on the 2024 Olojo Festival with the theme “Evolving Transformationaly Domestic Tourism With Community Festivals.”

According to him, the festival is significant because of the spiritual exercises that characterise it and the testimonies it attracts.

He said the celebration of the revered cultural event was held annually in the ancient city to celebrate the day of the first dawn.

The Ooni said the festival was in remembrance of “Ogun,” god of iron, who is believed to be the first son of Oduduwa, progenitor of the Yoruba people.

He added that the festival marked the birth of the “Aare Crown”.

Ooni said that several prayers rendered to Olodumare through the iconic “Aare crown” during the Olojo festival had been answered with so many testimonies.

He stated, “Olojo is the festival of dawn and the birth of the crown, “Ade Aare”, the crown of all crowns. The crown that gave birth to all crowns all over the world with all the colours of the rainbow. It is called the spectrum of rainbow crowns.

“The crown does everything humans do, it is a very spiritual crown, very sacred. I am a living example and witness. I have actually charged the crown, I have prayed with it, that I want this done, this particular time.

“This is my ninth year on the throne, going to my tenth year by the grace of God, I have seen a lot of testimonies.

“I will pray with the crown worn on my head, I pray to the almighty God, Olodumare through the crown. I have never seen any failure in it. It is our strong heritage, our strong culture and tradition and we will continue to uphold it forever.

He added that they were not idol worshipers, but rather custodians of their ancestors’ legacy, which continued to benefit them.

“These are things we should not joke about, It is our heritage, we should not compromise it with anything. It is created by nature, by God Almighty who is the supreme being,” he said.

Explaining the nature of the “Ade Aare”, Ooni described the crown as a sacred, mysterious being which bears the nature of humans.

According to him, the crown functions like humans.

He said, “Olojo is the time when the crown comes out for blessings. This is a crown that has life in it till date, right from time immemorial.

“The crown changes the weather, it does not see the atmosphere except once in a year, during Olojo festival.

It’s fake news, Ooni’s palace denies marriage trending story
“In the crown, we see everything complete, we see the day, night, four corners of the world, the northern, southern, eastern and western poles.

“The birth of the crown is actually the first dawn pathfinded by Ogun, which is linked to our celebration.”

The Ooni added, “Olojo is the main new year celebration and this dovetails to everybody’s new yam festival all over because what is used to bring out yams are cutlasses and hoes made with iron.

“This is the time we get beautiful harvests, the time we get wallnuts, bitter kola. For us in Ile-Ife, we still uphold our heritage and that is why we celebrate the first dawn.”

Ogunwusi appreciated the sponsors for the festival.

“I want to appreciate you all, our sponsors, for everything you have been doing. For always responding to my calls. May God bless you and may our ancestors guide you all. I appreciate the state government as well,” he added.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Osun, Abiodun Bankole-Ojo, appealed to sponsors of the Olojo festival to look into the possibility of developing some tourism sites within the state, like the Oranmiyan Groove.

“Please corporate bodies, stop giving us monetary and material gifts, come and develop the Oranmiyan site as a tourist site. Government will not be able to do it all,” he said.

The Olojo Festival Chief Consultant, Ayo Olumoko, urged Nigerians and international tourists to grace the festival.

NAN reports that the Grand Finale for the 2024 edition of the annual Olojo Festival in Ile-Ife, will be held between September 26 and September 30.

On September 26, there will be Ayo Olopon Traditional Game, Festival Cultural Talent Hunt (Audition) and Olojo Festival Colloquium.

On September 27, there will be Ojo Ilagun, Iwode Ile-Ife (Community cleansing) and Oonirisa’s terrestrial message to the world.

September 28 is the festival’s grand finale official ceremony, Ojo Okemogun, and the Aare cultural procession.

September 29 is Ojo Ajoyo (Asekagba), Grand Royal Reception – Invitational, Adire Oodua Cultural Exchange Exhibition and Oonirisa’s Ife Award for Community Service, 2024.

September 30 would be for the Ojo Ibile (Oonirisa’s ancestral traditional propitiation) and cultural talents hunt.

News

Trump Says Israel Will Go Extinct Within Two Years If He Loses US Election

Published

1 hour ago

September 20, 2024

Naijablitznews

By Mario Deepromoter

Trump expressed concern about his polling numbers among Jewish voters, lamenting his current standing compared to Harris, the Democratic candidate.

President Donald Trump suggested that Jewish-American voters could bear some responsibility if he loses the upcoming presidential election to Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump expressed concern about his polling numbers among Jewish voters, lamenting his current standing compared to Harris, the Democratic candidate.

Reuters reports that Trump claimed that Israel could face extinction within two years if Kamala Harris wins the election, suggesting that Jewish voters who support Democrats would share some responsibility for that outcome.

Speaking to a crowd, Trump stated, “If I don’t win this election, the Jewish community will play a significant role in that. If 40% or even 60% of people are voting for the enemy, Israel, in my opinion, will cease to exist within two years.”

He referenced a poll indicating that Harris had 60% support among American Jews.

Although he didn’t specify which poll he was citing, a recent Pew Research survey showed American Jews favouring Harris over Trump by 65% to 34%.

Trump also expressed disappointment over winning less than 30% of the Jewish vote in both the 2016 and 2020 elections.

Trump reiterated similar sentiments earlier at a summit in Washington aimed at combating antisemitism in the U.S.

The Trump campaign has prioritised appealing to Jewish voters in critical battleground states, where even a small shift in support could influence the election outcome.

In Pennsylvania, for instance, there are over 400,000 Jewish residents, and Biden won the state by just 81,000 votes in 2020.

In response to Trump’s comments, Morgan Finkelstein, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign, criticised him for his past associations with individuals accused of antisemitism.

Trump has consistently denied allegations of antisemitism, noting his Jewish son-in-law during his speeches on Thursday.