Deep Thought

 Food Security in Africa: Is Genetically Modified Technology a Pathway? III By Prof. MK Othman The second part of this article was published on 8th March 2023 and then two key political issues crossed my mind, which made me discontinue this article. My esteemed readers, please, pardon my break and now, I am back to continue on the subject. Recall, the last line of part II of this article ended with two pertinent questions. Can Africa afford GMT? What is the viable strategy for Africa to benefit from cutting–edge technology? On the cost of research and development of the GMT for a particular crop, GMO, average, GMO takes 13 years and $130 million of research and development before coming to market (https://gmoanswers.com/ask/). From another piece of literature, “GMO Answers”, the cost of generating a new genetically modified crop is $136 million with an average of seven years duration. This is why in developed countries; the private sector is the major driving force for research inv...

 Sitting on a Goldmine: Katsina State Gargantuan Agricultural Potential and Matters Arising By Prof. M. K. Othman Katsina State is the home state to two illustrious sons democratically elected presidents, the former President, the late Umaru Musa Yar’adua of blessed memory, and President Muhammadu Buhari whose two  4-year consecutive tenures winds up on May 29th. Katsina state dubbed as the home of hospitality covers a total land area of 23,938 sq. km and is ranked 7th in total land mass and 6th in population size-. Of the total land resource, 1.6 million hectares of land is under intensive cultivation, while the forest reserve is now mostly bandits' den. The famous Rugu forest was the envy of all due to its rich array of fauna and flora now a dread that only men of the underworld occupy from where they unleash their mayhem on the peace-loving, hapless, and agrarian communities. The other forest, kogo in Faskari LGA, which was recently converted into National Park has been a v...

 Re: President-elect, Tinubu: Rerouting Nigeria’s Pathway to Glory By Prof MK Othman The above title is the most topical issue of recent times. Nigeria is at a crossroads and every Nigerian is eager to have our marching towards a glorious future where we shall all be happy and proud to be. Nobody is contesting the desires of Nigerians to have a vibrant nation converting its huge potential resources into tangible assets for the benefit and goodness of Nigerians and other Africans.  The 3-piece article on the President-elect attracted verities of views from my esteemed readers, which are difficult to share. However, it is important to select a few of such views that critiqued my opinion to give the readers a wider view. Today, I am presenting some edited views on this all-important topic. Happy reading. Prof, this is an interesting article on how to revamp education by the incoming President. My question is what can we do to ensure that graduates of our universities are fully ba...

 President-elect, Tinubu: Rerouting Nigeria’s Pathway to Glory III By Prof MK Othman   Agriculture should be the next priority after education for the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) to reroute Nigeria’s pathway to glory. Agriculture can create 100s of millions of jobs, eradicate poverty, reduce social crimes, attain food security, and attract millions of foreign exchange-earning. Developing agriculture in Nigeria today is akin to plucking the low-hanging fruits, which requires simple effort, concerted determination, and focus. This is because Nigeria has unlimited agricultural potential and the capability of feeding the African continent. The development of agriculture depends on four key resources; education/knowledge, human, water, and land resources. Nigeria is stupendously blessed with human, water, and land resources in large quantities. On water resources, Nigeria is divided into seven climate zones, with average annual rainfall from 600 mm in the Sahel savanna...

 President-elect, Tinubu: Rerouting Nigeria’s Pathway to Glory II By Prof MK Othman Miraculously, the election of Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) as the next president was uniquely different from how the past three and current presidents became number one citizens. President Olusegun Obasanjo did not plan or dream of becoming Nigerian president before he was overwhelmed and persuaded to become PDP flag bearer and won the election in 1999. He garnered 18 million votes to beat his close rival, Chief Olu Falae who contested under a joined ticket of AD-APP.  In 2007, Governor Umaru Musa Yar’adua’s dream was to represent the people of the Katsina zone at the Red Chamber as their senator. Against Umaru’s plan, providence crowned him as the veritable successor of President Obasanjo. He moved to Aso Rock, the seat of the presidency with Dr. Goodluck Johnathan as his Vice President. Before then, Dr. Goodluck was the deputy Governor to the Bayelsa state governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha up to 2...

 Food Security in Africa: Is Genetically Modified Technology a Pathway? II By Prof MK Othman This is a corollary to my article of 16th February 2023. The continuation of this article was disrupted by the topical issues of cashless policy implantation and the 2023 presidential election. Now, I am back to the topic. The enormity of food security issues in Africa is a major concern to both people of Africa and the entire world. It is pertinent to bring out major food insecurity indicators that comprehensively measured food security in the world. There are two major indicators “Prevalence of undernourishment (PoU) and Food insecurity experience scale (FIES)” for measuring the “Prevalence of severe food insecurity”. While the average PoU of North America and the European Union from the year 2000 to 2016 was 2.5 percent of their population, Africa recorded 24.3 percent in the year 2000, which reduced to 17.8 percent in 2013 and then increased to 20.1 percent in 2016. As of 2021, the prev...

 Re: Nigeria 2023- Nigerians, Mercilessly Beaten by Cashless Policy By Prof. MK Othman Nigeria is undoubtfully a unique country in all ramifications. Nigerians have unlimited resilience and unshakable survival instincts. In 2017, I was a visiting scholar at an American University and had a fruitful interaction with some American professors and they were attracted to come to Nigeria for a collaborative project. All arrangements were made on the type of project (agriculture and nutrition), how to secure a grant, and the potential number of persons to benefit. At the last minute, their Embassy gave security advice against their visit to Nigeria and particularly the proposed project area. Despite the security report, the team leader was so determined to move ahead with our plan and damn the consequences until his family members were made to prevail over him. He called to apologize and then asked me whether the Nigerian security situation was worse than that of Afghanistan or other war-...