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I Ran Into Trouble After Quitting Mortuary Job In The US – Oyekoya by Joshuamassodi(m): 10:37am On Feb 04, 2018 |
Struggle
In the United States, I did all kinds of odd
jobs to sustain myself. I worked in some
restaurants. I also worked as security
guard and mortuary attendant. While
working, I was also studying at the
University of Alabama. After finishing at
the University of Alabama, I moved to New
York with my family. In New York, I
secured a job as a social worker. But I did
not find fulfilment in being an employee. I
quit. I then worked in the agricultural
sector of the cooperative society in New
York City.
I did a research on community farming
and found out that communities could
feed themselves without necessarily going
to the market. From community farming, I
narrowed it to family farming which is an
avenue for families to feed themselves so
as to reduce the pressure of buying food.
Once the nuclear family is fed, there will be
excess in the store to sell to other people
in the community. The only way
agriculture can move forward is through
family farming. When I came back to
Nigeria in 2004, I felt the need to replicate
what I was doing in New York City in
Nigeria so as to alleviate the problem of
feeding. I joined the Nigerian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry and I was
appointed as the Chairman of Agriculture.
Today, young people are not ready to
struggle but want to live extravagantly.
They do not believe that hard-work pays.
Tell us how the journey has been since
you came to Nigeria…
In the beginning, I was into oil and gas.
There were times I slept on the road for
three days in the course of doing the job.
It was strenuous but I was determined.
Eventually I quit the business and went
into Real Estate. Yet, I was not satisfied. I
wanted to impact on the people directly.
Then the thought of being a farmer
became a burden on my mind. The
journey into farming started in Epe. The
then Speaker of Lagos State House of
Assembly was to hold his 100 days in
office with a retreat in Epe, so I followed
some friends to the event. I saw the
atmospheric condition of Epe land and I
was attracted by it. Then I gave it a
thought to start farming in that area. I
started with about 100 acres of land. I
was leasing part of the land to other
farmers. From leasing, I moved to outright
sale of the land to other farmers and we
formed a farmers’ cooperative society.
People, including retired colonels, medical
doctors, retired generals, lawyers, showed
interest and we formed what we called
“Corporate Farmers Forum”.
Anyone who came in as a member of the
association was mandated to have
nothing less than five acres of land
because the forum was not for just any
farmer. I started with fisheries and, later, I
constructed earth pond’ fisheries which is
the natural habitat for fish. Surprisingly,
lots of people developed interest in
farming business. I later progressed to
poultry, piggery and then crop farming. I
was determined to make it an integrated
farming. This was what I learnt from
Alabama. It was on this premise that
people started visiting the farm and it
became an interesting site for students.
People wondered how it was possible for
me to come from the United States and
become a farmer in Nigeria. When I
approached the Lagos government on my
plans during Mr.
Babatunde Fashola’s regime, I was told
that the project was too much to handle
and so I realized I was on my own. When
my efforts were fruitless with the federal
and state governments, I approached a
bank and I was given a loan of
N100million. I was leasing land for N100,
000 and when the bank valued the
farmland, the worth and its produce was
N850million. Although, I requested for
250million loan, I was given N100million
with the hope that once it developed, they
would release the remaining N150million
to me. Nigeria’s government is killing
farming business. Government is not
ready to help farmers to survive. How
many farmers have N350 million assets on
their farms? And it will shock you to know
that the Lagos government threatened me
to leave my farmland because it saw the
prospects. That is another problem that
farmers face. Today, it is herdsmen;
tomorrow it is government’s policy that is
not favourable.
What happened when you were asked to
quit your farmland?
I was idle for two years fighting the state
government and you know it was not easy
to fight government. But the media came
to my rescue. It was a terrible experience
but thank God compensation came and
money was released. But I was short-
changed and I wrote a petition to
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode who said
he will look into it. My point is that before
agriculture could be really successful in
this country, government needs to be
serious. I have a story to tell because the
money I got as compensation was what I
invested in my real estate business.
So, you don’t have a farm anymore?
It is in process. We were assured by Lagos
State Commissioner for Agriculture and his
Permanent Secretary that a letter of
allocation will be given to us. Instead of
being idle, I ventured into consultancy
and, today, I have farmers who have
benefited.
What was your total start-up value?
I started with N100, 000. I employed the
services of people who helped me to dig
five ponds. I brought fingerlings and also
was training farmers on fisheries as well
as leasing land to farmers. Lots of
professionals came on board. In the long
run, the business was successful. Some
friends gave me contracts to buy land for
them and I invested the commission on
my farmland.
Was there a time you regretted any of
your actions?
To be very honest with you, I was
determined to subdue all the challenges.
As a winner, I was trained not to lose a
battle. There was a time I lost 3,000
chickens to stampeding. At that time, a
chicken was sold for N600 which means I
lost N1.8m. The challenge of fund was
evidently unaffordable. No commercial
bank was willing to give loan and that is
why I say, Nigerian banks are among
those who parade themselves as enemies
of the Nigerian economy.
Another challenge is infrastructure.
Nigeria roads are bad. There is no light, no
storage facilities. This explains why
farmers’ produce perish. We have come to
the level where farmers now plant what
they can easily sell without going through
stress immediately they are harvested.
Tell us your experience as mortuary
attendant?
I enjoyed being a mortuary attendant. I
was using the salary to pay my house rent,
tuition fees among other bills. America is
not like Nigeria where you meet people
for help. Mortuary is an interesting place
because it is abode of the dead. It is
peaceful. You do not need to talk with
them to the extent of being provoked. All I
had to do was to watch over them. At
some point, I thought of building a
befitting cemetery where people can keep
their dead. I did my job with passion and
seriousness because I knew someone was
waiting for the job if I was serious with it.
You do not joke with your job and time
over there and that is one thing that has
help reshaped myself. There were times I
was doing three jobs in a day just to meet
up with demands. It was a nice
experience that built me up to whom I am
today. There is no job I cannot do except
stealing. I faced tough times being a
mortuary attendant. I was shot at on
seven different occasions, so I believe it is
a life time experience. It is really an
interesting job that really met all my needs.
What is family farming all about?
Family farming is a United Nations
initiative. It is practised all over the world
except Nigeria where it is not appreciated.
And that is why I am doing my best to
bring it to limelight. Lots of people have
keyed into the initiative. Family farming
should be embraced. Back in the United
Kingdom, there was a place called “Flea
Market”. It is type of bazaar that rents or
provides space to people who want to sell
or barter merchandise. Used goods, cheap
items, collectibles, and antiques are
commonly sold. Many markets offer fresh
produce or baked goods, plants from local
farms and vintage clothes. I believe food
should not be our problem in Nigeria 1 Share
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