Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim
Praise be to Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of all creatures in gender of male and female. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon the soul of the noble Messenger Muhammad (SAW), the household, Companions and all righteous followers of his path till the Day of judgement. The survival of the creatures, humanity included, depends largely on connectivity and supportive roles played by individuals and generality. This informs the concept of food web in the terminal nature of creature at the instance of others. The herbivous naturally falls as food for omnivorous, the lives of both give succor to carnivorous while all eventually serve food purpose for 'Dudeorous' i.e what can be termed as 'Termitorous' as the ultimate end of all.
Presupposition wise, Allah inherits everything. 'It is We Who will inherit the earth, and all beings thereon: to Us will they all be returned (Qur'an 19:40)'. In the meantime, Allah (SWT) paints the picture of survival through abundant production of food as tips for productivity and sustenance. Unless man is incongruent with the nature out of indolence and corruption, there is hardly any avenue for him to live on the verge of hunger. This informs the idea behind the statement of the former President Muhammad Buhari: 'Nigerian youths are lazy' for which he was criticized in some quarters. This is the central theme of most of the rhetorical questions in respect of possible human ungratefulness and non-chalance towards the Creator.
In the Glorious Qur'an 36:32-36, Allah concerns human intellect that on the abundance of provision directed towards his survival. "And a sign for them is the earth that is dead: We do give it life, and produce grain therefrom, of which you do eat. And We produce therein orchards with date-palms and vines, and We cause springs to gush forth therein. That they may enjoy the fruits of this (artistry): it was not their hands that made this: will they not give thanks." The type of rhetorical questions is evident here for human telepathy.
In the same vein, the above Qur'an portion is customarily given clearer premise in Qur'an 56: 63-67. It offers: " See you the seed that you sow in the ground? Is it you thay cause it to grow, or are We the Cause? Were it Our Will, We could make it broken orts. And you would be left in wonderment, (Saying), 'We are indeed left with debts (for nothing): Indeed we are deprived.' As clear and vivid this Qur'an provision appears, the Nigeria situation runs contrary to situation of counting losses as situated in the Ayat.
Before long, the questions begging for answers include 'the lots of Federal Government Allocation on Agriculture over decades, what had become of it at the instance of 'Food insecurity' in the country? Particularly the South-western part that hitherto played the role of food basket to the nation, is its utterly becoming sole dependent on food production from the North not alarming? For those who share thoughts in some quarters, the continual 'religionization' of economy in the region appears not supportive to food security. Hectares of land that housed farm settlements where 'Dairy products' were obtained are mostly ghost of the former status. Another instance is the corruption in the Government Agricultural sector.
This implants more on the outlook of the economy. The olden days poem: 'Ise Agbe nise ilee wa; Eni ko sise, a maa jale. Iwe kiko, laisi oko, ati ada; ko ipe o x2ce' meaning: 'Proudly we chose farming as local skills; He who is idle is prune to theft. For, education laden not with agriculture; is moribund and leading to defectiveness.' The above lines of poem symbolizes the cultural heritage of Yoruba ethnicity in particular and it must be added that it worked perfectly when the ovation was focussed on Agriculture primarily and every other things secondary.
Where exactly do we go from here? For the South-west to depend on food supply from another geographical region would be an aberration blamed on laziness and other structural lapses that need being addressed at this moment. Agriculture appears most blessed endeavour after which is teaching due to survival nature. It is to thus end that Arabic parlance suffices i.e غرسوا فاكلنا، ونحن نغرس فهم ياكلون meaning: 'Others planted what we consume; we shall have to plant for others to feed on.'
Shying away from Agriculture of varied degrees is falling short of more rewardable venture. In the exact premise, growing trees and crops in agriculture benefits all and sundry. This is for the Hadith reported from Anas bn Malik (RA) that the Messenger Muhammad (SAW) was reported as saying: "For a Muslim to plant a tree or grow a crop from which a bird, human being or animal feeds of, except there accrue to him a reward.' In another context, another Hadith recorded that: 'There is hardly any Muslim who plants crops from which others feed, stolen or beast feed of it, or whatever shortage therefrom except that charity is recorded for him.'
From this Hadith provision, it is evident that farmers stand at advantage for supporting more creatures in the horizon. A clarion call is made to prioritize Agriculture at individual, corporate and Government levels. A good instance is instrumenting Correctional Centers a due diligence for Agriculture and sustenance of food in circulation. Changing the nomenclature to truly 'Correctional' than 'criminal incubator' and 'hardened robbers den' is moving in line with global practice. For Correctional Center in Atlanta (Georgia in America) to give soft loan to American Government to the tune of Seventy Million Dollars goes a long way to being model on one hand, and making the service worthwhile to partnership on the other.
The implications from this narrative is to gear up to being responsive in Agriculture in all ramifications. Curbing corruption and stemming tides around Agriculture funds disbursement and nepotism among other hydra-headed monsters waiting to devour the polity should be watchword. It appears in the right direction bringing back the glory of Agriculture which culminated in Cocoa, Rubber, Palm oil/kernel and lots more in the South-west and Groundnut pyramid of Arewa North. No nation can be self-sustained except it can successfully feed its citizens. With this and other variables well-taken care of, the economy would move beyond its monolithic petro-driven to multi-faceted among Committee of nations.
Till we meet again during the next edition, you are appreciated for being there always.
Dr. Razaq Bolawaye Uthman, Imam Ansar-Ud-Deen Society Ipaja Branch Lagos State.
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