Deep Thought

 Readers’ Comments on Dangote’s Refinery and Food Security By Prof M.K. Othman A weekly article has always been a tasking assignment in the face of several contending issues demanding time and attention. Academic activities- teaching, research and knowledge dissemination, community services – consultancy, mentorship, etc- are time-consuming and attention-seeking events. So, the best way to sustain weekly articles is to allow the views of my readers to be published from time to time. This week, I am publishing views on two critical issues – Dangote’s refinery and food security. The articles on these issues were published some weeks ago.     Dangote Refinery: Pride to the Nation and Beacon of Hope Many odd things are happening in our oil industry in quick sessions and getting out of control. The sector has been tirelessly working to produce overnight multi-billionaires while milking the nation and impoverishing the citizens. First, the International Oil Companies work upstr...

 Re: Hardship Protest - Let's Avoid Doom's Day By Prof. M.K. Othman   The period from 1st to 10th August was the most challenging time for our nascent democracy and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his cabinet members. It was when Nigerians vented their anger, frustration, and dismay to political officeholders with grave consequences. Some people lost their lives, and some lost their personal belongings in addition to the devastating hunger with ravaging alacrity that swept many communities. Many of us had premonitions of the likely unpleasant outcomes of the protest. We prayed for a swift government intervention to ease the hardship and end the agitation for the demonstrations. Some optimists or mischief makers went beyond the limit. They fabricated the supposed speech of President Tinubu, assuaging the protestants with measures to address the causes of the protests, which the presidency promptly denied. Later, the President addressed Nigerians when the protests were flaring u...

 Dangote Refinery: Pride to the Nation and Beacon of Hope By Prof M.K. Othman A business mogul the size of Aliko Dangote is assumed to say less outside his business engagements. Yet, as a guest speaker at the 38th ABU convocation lecture on Friday, January 29, 2016, he held an unusual audience: the elites, industrialists, technocrats, academia, and teeming youths, spellbound to breath-taking silence, listening to his soft-spoken golden voice deliver his lecture. Perhaps the silence was not unconnected to the audience's desire to learn how Aliko Dangote built his empire from the horse's mouth, hoping to replicate the "how" for other Dangotes.  The lecture titled "The Role Entrepreneurship in National Development: The Story of Dangote Group." The message was educative, thought-provoking, inspiring, and a beacon of hope for the teeming unemployed youth, instilling a sense of optimism and encouragement.  It was a fleeting moment with a profound sense of pride an...

 Hardship Protest: Let's Avoid Doom's Day By Prof. M.K. Othman Pressure is mounting, the time is ticking, and the atmosphere is pregnant with flammable air waiting for a minute spark to explode, marking the arrival of Doom's Day. The inferno of Doom's Day may consume all of us and our belongings. In the inferno, there would be no king or enslaved people, as all would have one status: fire victims. We must do everything to avoid the arrival of Doom's Day by relieving the pressure causing the atmospheric pregnancy, which has disastrous potential. The last four days in Nigeria have witnessed exponential pressure increases, resulting in turmoil due to the nationwide protests under the banner #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria. This is akin to inches toward Doom’s Day. When the idea of nationwide protests surfaced, we all hoped for a swift resolution to ease the hardship and bring an end to the protests. However, as the protests began, it became clear that our prayers for immedi...

 Re: Ahmad Babba Kaita- Former Senator with a Difference By Prof M.K. Othman   My article on the above subject attracted many reactions, most notably the commendations of former Senator Ahmad Babba Kaita. Very few of the readers’ comments accused me of playing partisan politics and promoting the Senator above other politicians in Katsina state. The accusers failed to realize that commending well-deserved personalities, irrespective of who they are, has been part of my writing ethics. For example, I wrote on Engr David Umahi, Hajia Dr. Salamatu Garba, Professor Zulum, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, and several others for their excellent performances in touching and positively changing the lives of millions of people. Senator Babba Kaita is in the category of these personalities, who, after his controversial defeat in the 2023 election, continued with his philanthropic and economic empowerment of people beyond his constituency. The purpose of extolling the virtues of such personalities i...

 GMO in Nigeria: How Safe is TELA Maize? By Prof MK Othman Genetically Modified Organism is a byproduct of biotechnology. In medicine, biotechnology existed many centuries ago as an innovation. Hitherto, biotechnology was a non-issue or, like any other technological breakthrough, until it widened its scope to include the latest globally controversial product: a genetically modified organism, GMO, or transgenic organism. This recent status brought biotechnology to its contemporary limelight with attendant hype and sensationalism and shot it to the global footing of a multilateral agenda. The first stage of biotechnology is breeding crops or animals. Traditionally, breeding plants and animals aim to tailor the plant or animal for a particular character or trait improvement. For example, a new crop variety might be bred for drought tolerance or disease resistance. Traditional breeding involves using germplasm from the pool of ancestors with desirable traits of interest and crossing th...

 Banditry and Prof Saidu’s Dastardly Assassination: One Death, too Many By Prof. MK Othman Unknowingly and knowingly, I was in a callous bandits’ den last September 2023. I was on a team inspecting a ten-hectare maize-cowpea farm in the Yakawada-Sabuwa axis, notorious for bandit dastardly activities. Hitherto, I would not have allowed my worst enemy to do so if I had known I would visit the location. As we approached the area, it downed on me how dangerous our mission was, but we went ahead without ado. I was surprised to find the area calm and peaceful, with several people busy on their farms, and I went ahead and did what brought us. On our return trip, my journalistic instinct forced me to find out if the area was as dangerous as we believed. It was hazardous enough, but the farmers negotiated to cultivate their farms. I was so ashamed and sad not to let myself know the details of such a negotiation. How many places are under siege and can only be utilized with monetary bargaini...