NIGERIA'S AGRIC MINISTER ADDRESSES GMO ISSUES AT LSF CONFERENCE

A GOODWILL MESSAGE BY THE HON. MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT, CHIEF AUDU OGBEH AT THE 2^ND NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH, HOLDING AT THE REDEEMER’S UNIVERSITY, EDE, OSUN STATE SLATED FOR 4^TH – 5^TH APRIL 2017

Protocol!

I want to thank the Organizers of this Conference for giving me the opportunity to deliver this Goodwill message on the theme “Managing the environment to protect our vulnerable populations”

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, protecting the environment is a major political, socio-cultural and economic undertaking that cannot be left to speculations; unhealthy rivalry by various Government Agencies or Ministry and to the unpredictability of the ad hoc.

A quick peep into some existing laws, policies and practices, speaks powerfully to a Nation in search of environmental development and calls for an urgent compass in terms of legislation to drive a more coordinated system in order to protect the health and life of our teeming populace.

In view of the prevailing situation, there is no better time than now to formulate a National Policy on environment and health.  Such a policy should take cognizance of the conspicuous absence of the environment and health on the exclusive and concurrent legislative list on the 1999 Constitution and therefore the need for equitable and judicious allocation of responsibility for environment and health between the Federal and State Governments.

Distinguished Stakeholders, Ladies and Gentlemen! Without the cooperation of us all, we cannot achieve our national goal and aspiration. I therefore call for executive/legislature synergy, Federal/state government synergy and cooperation, and for Public/Private Sector collaboration. The Multinationals, whose activities impact and will continue to impact on our environment should ensure that their code of practice with regard to the environment here in Nigeria is similar to what they have in other parts of the world. I also solicit the attention and support of the various international agencies dealing with environmental issues. I believe that all of us working together, our ultimate goal of enthroning an effective regulatory framework for sustainable healthy environment and pollution free ecosystem in Nigeria is achievable.

From global perspective, the UN member states have even discussed and agreed on what should be the global priorities that need to be met within the next 15 years—2015 to 2030. These priorities are now called the Sustainable Development Goals or The Global Goals. There are 17 Global Goals that cover a number of important issues for the world in which production that will make the planet cleaner and healthier is prioritized and emphasized because frankly, without a planet there’s no life!

It is amazing to note that all of the 17 Goals are directly or indirectly connected to the preservation of the planet.

A Kenyan Proverb instructs us to, ‘Treat the earth well; it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children.”

The Earth is the present home for our children and we must keep it clean and safe. When we fail to clean and maintain our environment, we fall ill. There is an increase in air borne diseases, terminal diseases like cancer—organ failure—etc. A dirty and wasteful society leads to a sick society. We must attach more importance to our surroundings.

World Environmental Day is observed every year on the 5^th of June to raise awareness of the environmental issues and how our actions as human beings are affecting the environment. The day aims to encourage people to protect our planet in little ways.

A Congolese proverb states that one should “Prepare now for the solutions of tomorrow”.

The UN has also called for a worldwide campaign to take strong action to curb illegal trade of wildlife products that are threatening biodiversity—such as poaching, smuggling—illegal trade of wildlife products that are driving various wildlife species to the brink of extinction.

Coming home to Nigeria, what can we do to protect and preserve our environment so that we can live healthy lives and leave our earth better than we met it for our children? Let’s start at our doorstep—we know how much effort is being put in by the Federal Government to make Nigeria a better place for us. We can start by cleaning our gutters and drainages, and sweeping our compounds. Let us decide to make every day an environmental sanitation day for ourselves so as to enhance our healthy living.

Lest I forget, one of the key issues to be addressed according to the organizers of this conference is the place of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) in Agriculture in the Nigerian setting.

GMO is a product of such relationships between biology and technology. GMO is used to generate genetically modified plants which in turn are used to produce food crops. The result of this is that GMO is used to generate food crops that are finally processed for consumption for the end user which is the consumer of such product.

Basically, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), GMO is a genetically (DNA) altered organism which has moved from its natural state to more synthetic and artificial state. The process is referred to as “genetic engineering.” This is done in order to be able to adapt such organisms to cope with a more pressing demand of consumption from various areas in which GMO is always utilized

In Nigeria, the BioSafety Bill is being engineered to ensure that GMO is allowed in Nigeria. Notwithstanding the benefits of GMO in a country like Nigeria and at a time when Agriculture is being touted to take over Oil and Gas as the main source of generating income in the country, the rush to accommodate GMO must be treated with utmost caution.

The debate over GMO are too overwhelming which currently ranges from Intellectual Property rights and rights of farmers to plant whatever they chose to and also their rights to truthful information about GMO for the Nigerian Government to dive headfirst into the GMO program. Taking into account of its health implications and the resultant effects of GMO in Nigeria, proper sensitization should and must be generated by stakeholders in order to reach a more objective view on GMO.

On a final note, it is my humble prayer that the proceedings of this conference open new vistas of solutions to our national environmental and environmental right problems as well as contribute to our health and economic development.

Once more, I wish you fruitful deliberations.

Thank you and God bless.

Chief Audu Ogbeh
 Hon. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Onoghen installed as CJN, Magu in limbo

In an obvious major setback for the Sharia agenda in Nigeria, a non-Moslem has been appointed as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). This landmark event occurred per force, during the prolonged absence of President Mohammadu Buhari from the country, away on medical vacation in London. As we pointed out in the last edition, the last time a non-Moslem occupied the office of CJN was in 1985, during the tenure of Justice Ayo Irikefe. This development thus again confirms that it is the LORD’s counsel that comes to pass irrespective of the scheming and raging of men.

Ironically, the Federal government has not been able to push through the confirmation of her obviously beloved candidate for the chairmanship of government’s most visible anti-corruption agency, the EFCC. After the previous rejection of the nomination of Ibrahim Magu by the Senate, the Presidency insisted there are no better candidates available for the position than Magu, so his name was re-submitted.  In a striking show of solidarity and unusual courage, the Senate insisted that Mr Magu was simply not fit for the office.  The Senate’s position was anchored primarily on a report by another arm of the same government, the Department of State Security; which brings up the question of who exactly was trying to force Magu on the nation, and to what purpose.  Was government not aware of the security report by her own Agency set up to conduct the all-too-crucial background security checks on candidates for public office?

The last has not been heard on this matter though, apparently.  At the present time, Mr Magu continues to hold sway as the acting Czar at the EFCC, as the President has refused to remove him or nominate someone else to the Senate.  And if there ever were a case of a bull in the china shop, it is an injured Ibrahim Magu on the driver’s seat at the EFCC. It is left to speculation if a Magu confirmed as the substantive chief of the EFCC might not have heeded the reported hour-long appeal by the chief of the Nigerian Intelligence Agency not to take public action on the N13 billion cash saga currently making the headlines in the country!  In all these, Nigerians are the winners as divine counsel prevails over the machinations of men.

Fulani Herdsmen on rampage yet again at Benue. Ortom finally orders them out!

World Watch Monitor on March 22 reported the continued attack “with impunity” by Fulani herdsmen on unprotected Christian communities in Benue State. According to an eye-witness account, the latest round of attacks started “when the herdsmen forcefully entered our village to graze on farmland, but were resisted by our youths. They left – only to mobilise and storm our village in their numbers, shooting sporadically and chasing everyone from their houses.”

That was on Friday 10^th March at Mkgovur village.  Two days later, the herdsmen shifted to the village of Tombo-Mbalagh killing at least 8 people.  Yet two days after, in the early hours of Tuesday, 14^th March, the herdsmen were again at Wanune, headquarters of Tarka LGA.   The Inspector General of Police was quoted as confirming that as at 20^th March, the death toll from this new wave of attacks stood at 60.

Frustrated at government’s apparent helplessness to intervene, Christians at Wanune used the corpses of their kiths and kins killed in the attack to block the highway to the state capital. Unable to bear the spectre any longer, the state governor, Dr Samuel Ortom, averred that “there is limit to which he can ask the people of the state to be patient.” He thereafter back-pedalled from his unpopular efforts to persuade the locals to carve grazing land for the herdsmen, and rather ordered the herdsmen to leave town.

It is however not clear how long this will last, or where exactly the “expelled” herdsmen relocated to.  But the observation that they were accompanied out of the affected areas by security forces, and the deafening silence about the crimes committed, don’t leave much to be cheerful about.  Besides, recent reports (9^th April) from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development confirm that plans are already at advanced stages to demarcate cattle routes across the entire country to facilitate easy movement of cattle.  According to Alhaji Mahmud Bello, National Coordinator, Grazing Stock Routes,  "We are going to provide 6,000 kilometers of cattle routes across the country; we are going to open the primary routes first, while the state and local governments are expected to launch the secondary routes.”

A Cow Conundrum

While Muslim Fulani herdsmen are busy killing innocent folks in Nigeria, in retaliation (according to Governor  El Rufai), for their beloved cows previously killed by aggrieved farmers whose farms the cattle had mauled; elsewhere in India, Muslims are being mauled by Hindu extremists for their herding cows for table! In that country, hundreds of vigilantes have taken it upon themselves to accost livestock trucks on the highways in search of cows suspected of being taken out for slaughter.  In the last 2 years, at least 10 Muslims have been killed while several others were seriously wounded in this manner.  In the Hindi belief, the cow is a sacred animal to be simply reverenced and worshipped.  Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi (like his counterparts in Nigeria) periodically issues statements condemning the attacks, it is widely believed that the extremists are emboldened and inspired by his own far-rights Hindu proclivities.  For instance, his recent appointment of a die-hard Hindu priest to be in charge of the state with the largest meat industry is akin to having an El Rufai supervise religious activities in Kaduna. (see https://www.yahoo.com/news/muslim-man-dies-attack-cow-vigilantes-india-064223541.html)

Yet for all their dread of eating cow-meat, Hindus actually believe they are permitted to eat every other thing under the sun. In a recent report, CNN correspondent Reza Aslan, as part of the CNN series “Believers,” featured a Hindu priest from the Aghori sect who defecated right on camera and proceeded to eat it, affirming his faith in the cleanness of all things for food.  Aslan also joined the priest in eating a piece of human brain and drinking from a human skull that had been scavenged from the city dumps. (http://rollingout.com/2017/03/06/outrage-as-cnn-host-eats-human-flesh-for-special-on-hinduism/)

Islamic Bombs, Sundry Assaults for Christians at Easter

As Satan perceives time running out on him with the impending arrival of the Lord Jesus Christ (Rev 12:12), being reminded of his irreversible momentous loss that began at the first Easter has, not unexpectedly, gotten him really agitated and desperate.

His fierce but toothless goons were all over the place trying to wreak maximum havoc over the Easter period.  In the cities of Tanta and Alexandria in Egypt, Islamists attacked two Coptic churches with bombs on Palm Sunday (April 9), killing at least FORTY NINE people and wounding another 100.  In mourning the dead, the Coptics in Egypt decided to curtail “festive manifestations” during the Easter prayer services.

It wasn’t only Christians who were killed in the two Palm Sunday attacks. Three officers stationed at the site of one of the attacks were Muslim. The Egyptian government was fully sympathetic and has declared a 3-month emergency rule in the country to enable it squarely address the security threats to Christians.  It also has promised to help rebuild the Churches involved – of course lives lost are irreplaceable!

There were pockets of incidences in several other parts of the world, including assaults in public transport systems.  For instance 20 year old Hanah Bladon, an exchange student from Birmingham studying Hebrew and the Bible in Jerusalem, was stabbed to death in the Light Rail near Jaffa Gate on Good Friday (April 14).  On the other side of the globe in Australia,  Mike, also traveling by train from Campsie to Bankstown in southwestern Sydney, was accosted and thoroughly ruffled up in broad day light by “four young men of Middle Eastern appearance”. Cursing the name of the Lord Jesus and eulogizing Allah, the men violently ripped Mike’s dangling Greek Orthodox cross off his neck and stomped on it. https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/04/australia-muslims-assault-orthodox-christian-while-screaming-f-jesus

Unfortunately, Nigeria still continues to feature in these tragic religious persecution stories.  After a few weeks of respite since the widely denounced Christmas killings, islamist cattle herdsmen came a-visiting again to Southern Kaduna, leaving the corpses of least one dozen local people behind. The attack occurred at the Asso Community in Jemaa local government area on Saturday, April 15, shortly after a “peace and reconciliation” meeting between the natives and the Fulani herdsmen.  As usual, Governor Nasir El-Rufai promptly expressed heartfelt condolences to the victims and assured that “security operations are being ramped to rid the forest areas of the bandits”. The operation by the herdsmen lasted for about 30 minutes without any help from the security agencies deployed to the area. For details, see https://www.naij.com/1099825-12-killed-fresh-southern-kaduna-attack.html   

Thank God, the Church of God is however not deterred by all these rampages of the devil. A video  posted on Facebook following the bombings at the Coptic churches in Egypt shows hundreds of Coptic Christians outside of a church enthusiastically chanting the Nicene Creed in Arabic. A widow of one the slain Christians in Egypt, speaking on behalf of the families of the martyred saints, said she has already forgiven the murderers.  The Rev. Markos Ayoub of the Coptic Orthodox Church of St. Mark in New Jersey summarised the general attitude of Copts to the terrorism: “We do not accept injustice. In the same breath, we have no animosity towards anybody,” he said. “This is our faith. To love our enemies. No vengefulness. We love everybody, including even the terrorists.”  Possibly nothing can be more frustrating to the devil than this. No looking back, Church! The King is at the door!