OGUN STATE CATTLE RANCH IS NOT RUGA
When the Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun said sometimes ago that the state was planning to have a world class cattle ranch and an abattoir, what erupted from the good gesture was the noise of “RUGA,” to my disbelief. The issue of the state having a world class cattle ranch came up when the governor played host to a team from the Irish Dairy Milk Company, looking at setting up shop in the state and exporting their produce to China and other parts of the world. Isn’t that a good thing? If milk is produced in the state, it will avail the state an opportunity to have an increase in its internally generated revenue and jobs will be created for our youths too. Prince Dapo Abiodun was able to impress it on the doubting Thomases that the proposed cattle ranch was not a form of Ruga. The dairy company when it is fully operational would need a ranch to get milk for production. What other way to make more money for the state if not through the process of having a world class ranch that would produce meat for consumption and also produce a large percentage of milk that would be needed by the company?
After the initial response from the people, the governor had a parley with correspondents of national dailies, bloggers and other publishers, where he said categorically that the issues that had surrounded herding and ranching in the country were worrisome, but that his administration was glad that an international dairy company was on the verge of setting up shop in the state, an investment that would require the setting up of proper ranches in
the state.
At the meeting, he said he had to clarify on the issue and put the mind of the people at rest, as his administration would never give room to any form of ‘RUGA’ as that was the position of all the South Western state governors at a security meeting held recently in Ibadan and Ondo States respectively.
It is important to also note that the cattle ranch would be done through a Public-Private Partnership; it would have a world class abattoir. The ranch will make it possible for milk, beef and ram to be made available; the IGR of the state would be improved on. If these are done, it will be to the betterment of all.
Agriculture is one of the pillars of the Prince Abiodun administration. It will avail unemployed youths job opportunities. Thus the gesture, I believe was noble, at least coming from a man who appreciates better what the private sector brings to the table. In the country today, all what we see are cattle being moved around by herders and cattle being killed in the market. The world is moving fast, Nigeria shouldn’t be lagging behind, and the country can only get there through the help of states like Ogun that already have a cattle market in Kara that feeds a larger percentage of Lagos State and its other neighbours.
An adage said that “Eni ti Sango Ba ti oju E wo ile, ko ni ba won bu Oba Koso” meaning: anyone that witnessed the time that Sango entered the ground, such person will not curse the revered god.” Obasan Oluwafunso, Ogun State Ministry of Information and Strategy