By Enyeribe Ejiogu
The decision of the First Lady to initiate the Every Home a Garden competition, which saw a winner emerge recently from Borno State to claim the first prize of N25 million, has fired up other women and numerous agropreneurs to launch plans for commercial cultivation of vegetables and food crops.
Educational institutions like Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti; Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State and Landmark University in Kwara State, among others, which for long have incentivized their students to run mini-scale commercial agriculture enterprises while studying for their degrees are ratcheting up their operations in the wake of the First Lady’s Renewed Hope Initiative, which sponsored the competition.
Borrowing a leaf from the best practices established by the other notable private universities, the proposed Southern Atlantic University, Uyo, Akwa Ibom, which is awaiting its licence from the National Universities Commission, has been fine-tuning the strategies that will enable it generate income from commercial ventures to fund its academic activities.
In this interview, Founder of the proposed Southern Atlantic University, Uyo, Pastor Bassey James, talks about the plans being implemented to ensure the financial liquidity and success of the proposed tertiary institution when it takes off.
Do you think that Akwa Ibom State should go into commercial cultivation of Afang for local consumption and export to Nigerians in the Diaspora?
First, I want to thank our dear First Lady for the job well done. I want to congratulate her for the initiative. I think this is the first of its kind. The initiative is highly commendable, and it has the capacity to become a revolution in cultivation of vegetables in commercial quantities. And to become a major successful outcome of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s agricultural development programme.
I can also assure you that my state governor, Governor Umo Bassey Eno, is already doing similar things in agriculture. Agricultural development projects are ongoing in almost all the local governments in the state. Our governor came in from the business world, so he is adding a lot of value in multiple areas in agriculture. About 90 per cent of Afang consumed in Nigeria comes from Akwa Ibom and Cross River states. God gave Akwa Ibom fertile land.
On our part, as an upcoming educational institution, we have acquired massive land to grow Afang, other vegetables, plantain as well as other food crops. The benefits cannot be over-emphasized because if you grow a vegetable, it takes three to four months to mature, and you can start harvesting it for sale. Vegetables are so important in the life of every human being, as the nutrients contribute to the body-building mechanism, to improve human health. I say kudos to President Tinubu and the First Lady and all the state governors that have encouraged massive agricultural cultivation, to sustain the nation’s food security.
Is the proposed Southern Atlantic University likely to invest in commercial agriculture as an alternative source of income, beyond tuition fees?
Outside our major campus, we have farmlands across the state. For instance, in my local government, Mkpat Enin LGA, Akwa Ibom State, we have acquired land over the years and we are going into massive cultivation of various food and commercial crops. We are just waiting for the licence from the National Universities Commission. And I can tell you that our farm project will be one of the best because we have massive land in Mkpat Enin and other local governments. I commend universities that are investing in agriculture. It will help the students and the local communities. Already, we have machines for cassava production and processing. Our palm plantation is developing quite well too.
Beyond commercial farming, what other strategies will the proposed university adopt to generate income to sustain its operations?
We intend to engage in various Town & Gown initiatives whereby we will collaborate with the business community to do several things. Our enterprise development programmes will be very practical and allow our students to get hands-on experience from managing commercial enterprises. We have bought machines for making shoes. We have a model, based on our experience. We will have a robust furniture-making operation that will produce all the furniture required by the proposed university and also produce for third parties on contractual basis. We are training our furniture makers by sending them out to learn the global best practices in making furniture. We are going into table-water production. We are also working with small groups of people in the area of fish production. We have a strong interest in aquaculture and that is why we acquired a standard boat with powerful outboard engines for harvesting crayfish in Oron, which we will process and sell.
We will also be strong in the production and blending of paints for commercial sales. All the furniture and paints we used to paint the buildings of the proposed university were produced in-house.
In summary, we will be very intentional in generating extra income, to support the proposed university. We want our students to receive education that will enable them graduate as entrepreneurs and job creators. Everything that somebody can do with the hands, skill and talent, we will teach our students. They will practicalise and commercialise their ventures while still studying to earn their degrees. We are ready to offer the world a lot of what our students will produce.
You became known for organising socio-political and economic conferences. Why did you stop holding them?
Well, you know, I created the ideology called Akpabiosm. It was the talk of the town in Nigeria. We went around the country and had followers across the world. Akpabiosm was one of the biggest initiatives by a non-governmental organisation. We are re-strategizing to re-launch the concept and create new ideas for our people. Akpabiosm is an ideology that cannot die, as the man around whom we built the concept of leadership is growing in leaps and bounds on the national political scene.
We are also planning a national youth conference that will be sponsored by the Akpabiosm Centre because our ambassadors are everywhere in Nigeria and beyond. We are also re-launching the magazine on Akpabiosm. Citizens should partner with the government to develop the nation.
In what way can Governor Umo Bassey Eno encourage Akwa Ibom indigenes to invest more, to grow the state’s economy?
The governor is doing so much in terms of human capital development. He is restructuring the entire system, building capacity in almost all the local governments. Go to any local government you will see his footprint. Akwa Ibom is one of the biggest brands we have today, not just in Nigeria, but in West Africa. The governor used to run private sector enterprises before he was elected.
He knows Akwa Ibom, in and out. And he is my in-law from Mkpat Enin LGA. So he knows what he is doing and we can only say kudos to him. And as an indigene, I can only continue to pray for him and to encourage him to do more. He has been very prudent in the management of our resources, and deploying funds to connect the local governments to each other through a network of roads. I am thankful that my company is also one of those working with the police and security agents on issues of communication and security equipment.
We donated a police station and equipment to the state Police Command. Akwa Ibom is becoming a centre of attraction because the state is secured. People are relocating to the state from other places, to set up business. And we are praying for the arrival of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which the President Bola Tinubu administration is constructing. So we will continue to love and appreciate him. The foundation for economic growth has already been established for years. All the past governors of Akwa Ibom have consistently built on the good works, projects and programmes of their predecessors. We are so happy that God has given us governors, who have been a blessing to our state.