Author: Adamu Tilde

I would preface this article with two contrasting stories. First story: In 1979, the Plateau state government, in a joint venture with a foreign company, established a BARC (Brewery Agro Research Company) farm — an integrated farm that engaged in almost every aspect of agricultural value chain; production, processing, value addition and packaging. Then, the BARC farm engaged in piggery, poultry production, dairying, beef production and meat processing. The BARC farm was also producing crops like rice, maize, sorghum, wheat, soybean, cassava. In addition, they were also brewing, processing maize and wheat into semovita and garin tuwo, and producing…

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For a while now, Nigeria has been witnessing exponential growth in the rise of certificate-awarding institutions and massive production of holders of certificates of all kinds: diplomas, NCEs, degrees, masters, PGDs, etc. Ordinarily, this should be a welcome development. But, unfortunately, this phenomenon comes at the expense of acquiring quality skills, thus resulting in the production of certificate holders with no skills at all or with some skills that are not in demand and/or have no economic value whatsoever. One comes to realise the effects of this phenomenon when one does a simple close-proximity analysis—for example, over sixty registered and…

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An advocacy-based group in Kano invited me to present a lecture with the above title to a group of graduating students mostly from Northern Nigeria. Below is my random thought about the topic. I do not know what exactly greatness means in this context. However, I suspect it means conventional success i.e. studying in the university, getting a well-paying job, and marryinghappily ever after. If that is what the convener of this lecture has in mind, then I am afraid: I have no formula for such a thing. Nonetheless, I will proceed to discuss some observations I made which I…

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Time and tide are two phenomena that can neither be wished away nor dismissed with a wave of a hand. A tide would sweep you away while time won’t wait for you to be ready. It’s on these premises I will proceed to discuss the five phenomena that, for quite a while, I strongly believe, have been strangulating the economic development of the Nigeria’s Muslim North; invariably, until a deliberate, soul-searching, controlled and honest conversation on these phenomena is being organized and debated, the region will continue to lead in posting poor human development indices. Population Explosion and Birth Control…

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[Caveat: This is an unpopular opinion. If you really don’t want your cherished truths interrogated and questioned, please go no further. Thank you.] The euphoria that diffuses after the unceremonious dethronement of the emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sunusi II, and the expected disappointments and celebrations (as the case may be) it has generated couldn’t have allowed for a sober reflection and meticulous interrogation of his short reign. The escalation and devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic that immediately followed make the task even worse. May we witness the speedy end of this pandemic. There are two considerations to be borne…

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