By Niniola Adeoti
Two days ago, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq was on a working visit to Abuja. He visited President Muhammadu Buhari to brief him on how a state under his federal might is faring. What his administration is trying to achieve so far, and what they have achieved. It was a nice outing for the Governor of Kwara State. A true Democrat. A Governor with the interest of his people at heart.
Just like an adage that "one good turn deserves another", Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq opened the floor by thanking Mr President for his swift actions and efforts in mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 and how his government is reviving the economic downturn in the country by approving Economic Sustainability Plan.
He talked about MSMEs that would support road construction and rehabilitation in the state. Land development for agricultural purposes. Mass house and rural electrification among others. Without much ado, Kwarans should be convinced that here is a governor who knows everything happening in his state. Taking steps towards giving the masses what they deserve without waiting for any leader from above to approve his actions.
Governor AbdulRahman briefed President Muhammadu Buhari on Kwara Social Investment Programme (KWASSIP). In Kwara, 21,623 petty traders and 15,000 transport workers have had access to "owo isowo" to boost their businesses. Under KWASSIP, 3,100 Kwara youths acquired digital skills while other 10,000 youths are ready to start the second phase of the training. This shows governor AbdulRahman's awareness that the world is going digital and Kwara must not be left behind.
He talked about open defection and its effects on Kwarans. He told Mr President how Kwara has not accessed UBEC grant since 2013 owing to the corrupt and lackadaisical attitude of the past administration that earned the state a blacklist. He sought help from the federal government over the recent rainstorm that destroyed houses and properties worth of millions in the state. He talked about Bacita Sugar Company. He talked about many good things that would move the state forward with President Muhammadu Buhari.
But what interested a renowned mischief-maker – is article 8 of the governor's summary of his meeting with President Buhari just to pull a slant that will pit the people against the government.
Before explaining further, it's worth to place on record that they have never apologized for misleading hundreds of thousands on many occasions. And the latest of the series of falsehood was on Chief of Staff appointment. That's their way. He may not have a rethink soonest. I just hope that he knows that in his fruitless effort to paint the government black, he's burning and destroying his image and brand.
The clarification: Article 8 stated that "Kwara State is interested in participating in the implementation of the pilot phase of the NLTP. So far, 200,000 ha of grazing reserves have been allocated to the programme, counterpart funding has been set aside in our 2020 budget, sensitization of communities, farmers and pastoralists has been undertaken and data collection and needs assessment were concluded. We solicit for His Excellency’s intervention for a prompt FEC approval and for the inclusion of Kwara State in the pilot phase."
You can read the article 8 again. Slowly and silently to get the message correctly. While NLTP means National Livestock Transformation Plan and RUGA means Rural Grazing Area Plan, some Kwara's authoritative journalist had reported that "The Kwara State government has set aside 200,000 hectares of land for the National livestock 'transportation' (he later changed it to transformation after being schooled properly, recklessness?) plan otherwise known as RUGA." Misrepresenting! RUGA kill dem dia!
One can get the true picture of the medium. One set against the state government. An instrument of misinformation. They are always all out in misinforming the populace and standing the masses against the government. They can never see anything good happening in the state. Always blind to good things.
So, we are not bothered, but we must continue to set the record straight. There is one Dr AbdulKareem Lawal, Principal Consultant at Itad, he worked with the Office of the Vice President (OVP) to develop a strategy document for the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) a 2019 -2028 initiative.
According to a blog post published by Itad on 16 September 2019, it explained that NLTP provides a framework and strategic direction to transform the Nigerian Livestock Sector and eliminate farmer-herder conflict. NLTP prioritise key areas of intervention into a comprehensive framework to modernise and transform the livestock sector into an important instrument for rapid economic growth and diversification in Nigeria.
Various elements of the NLTP are arranged around five pillars and they are: addressing conflicts, improving access to justice and peace, addressing the needs of affected populations, human capital development, as well as cross-cutting issues of gender, youth, research and information and strategic communication.
The ranching option proposed in the NLTP is a change from culturally-based cattle rearing life into business-oriented agricultural production.
It is as well estimated that by the end of the third year of NLTP implementation, more than a third of a million jobs would have been created, with over 500 pastoralists linked to market-led value chains. It is expected by the end of the plan in 2028, job growth will rise to more than two million.
These are points in Itad publication of 16 September 2019 which the company Principal Consultant titled "My takeaways from working on the Nigeria National Livestock Transformation Plan and Implementation Framework." You can read on your own. Here is the link: https://www.itad.com/article/my-takeaways-from-working-on-the-nigeria-national-livestock-transformation-plan-and-implementation-framework/
To discredit Kwara league of authoritative journalists and Radio Comrades alike, the words of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in Adamawa during the commissioning of NLTP should be enough for them. Osinbajo said, "Basically, each state decides on what works for their state. There is no land grab but a win-win system where both farmers and herders benefit economically and the age-long and tension stop."
Unlike how they want us to believe that there would be land grab through the unbalanced report, the vice president has earlier stated that there is no land grab but a win-win system.
We won't ask this medium the concluding part or season of his tractorisaton scam today, or his misinformation on COVID-19 so far or how he authoritatively appointed Mahee as the Chief of Staff and told him to be serving from home. But we should ask him how the National Livestock Transformation Plan translates to RUGA. Surely, Akogun is a yellow-journalist, trained but refused to stick to training. Akogba!
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