Òkèògùn that belongs to the Northern region of Oyo State has 10 Local Governments. This region is an homogenous region with a lot of things that bind the people together prominent among which are language, dialect, culture, custom, ethics, values, belief-system, philosophy, fashion, food, attitude, outlook, climate, vegetation, flora, fauna, etc.
In addition, we share the same problems too. Poverty, lack, want, oppression and marginalisation are some of the problems that bind the people of Òkèògùn region together. All towns in Òkèògùn are faced with the same lack of socio-political and economic development. ‘Àrùn tí ñ s’ogójì ní ñ s’òódúnrún, oun tó s’Abóyadé gbogbo olóya ní ñ se’ is a Yoruba proverb that comes to mind in an attempt to explain the common experience of poverty in the entire Òkèògùn region.
Now, if we want development, the first thing we should consider is how to tap into the resources God has given unto us as people. Òkèògùn is blessed with vast, rich, fertile and landspace that can be deployed into farming.
Yes, farming has been the business of our people to the extent that our region was labelled as the food basket of many states like Oyo, Lagos, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara, etc. Whether that label still holds now is debatable because farming activities have reduced drastically in the area compared with what used to be.
In the last, farmers used to plant different types of yam, cassava and beans species that are no more today. We used to hear names like ‘lásìnrín’ ‘aápe’, alombo, èsúrú, ànàmá, sólójò, sònmònò, gbágbàgungi, òtílí, sàñgidi, kennewe, etc. Today, all these species of different types of crops have gone into extinction.
We grew up to know pepper, tomato and vegetable farmers. Today, we wait gor the North to bring most of these things which is why things are getting difficult for us in Southwest.
In the past, cash crops like shea-butter and locust-bean trees used to boost the economy of our people, particularly the women who use to produce ‘òrí’ (shea-butter cream) and ‘irú’ (locust-bean sauce) from them.
A while ago, someone opined that Òkèògùn is the highest producer of shea-butter in the world. My question was, how is Òkèògùn the highest producer of shea-butter in the world? I added that the author’s claim must have emanated from a past statistics because nearly all the shea-butter trees in Òkèògùn region had been cut down to make charcoal (èédú). And, this has done a serious economic damage on the economy of our region.
Apart from the destruction done on the economic trees that make us not to have as much shea-butter (òrí) and locust bean sauce (irú) production again, the cutting of the trees has introduced deforestation into our area which is why the pattern of our rainfall has changed in the area. Yearly, farmers have started to experience biting crunches of drought. Last year’s own was a very terrible one.
It is good to know that, anyone who grew up in Òkèògùn in the 60s, 70s, 80s and even 90s will know that the new pattern of rain has exposed our region to climate change whose devasting effects are becoming unbearable for our people. As we can all see, there is a drastic drop in food production from our region as a result of change in rain pattern apart from all other factors like migration of farmers from their farms, insecurity, unaffordable high cost of production, lack of preservation, etc that can be adduced to the reason why there is drop in food production in the region.
As hinted earlier, unlike before, Òkèògùn can no longer conveniently claim that it is the food basket of Oyo State. Either through export or local production, more of our foodstuffs are coming from Kwara and other States now than Oyo State. Again, Yam, elubo, soya beans, pepper, tomato, palm oil, etc are coming from outside Oyo State.
Going back to discussion on shea-butter, apart from shea-butter and locust-bean trees that have been cut down, you can’t see big trees in Òkèògùn again and no one is replanting them. Little wonder farmers are always lamenting for rain when it was time for rain in our region because there is a scientific connection between the trees and the rain. Scientists among us will explain the connection for us.
When I mentioned tree felling as one of the reasons behind climate and a sharp drop in the volume of rainfall, a farmer added a funny mystical picture as the reason why there is drop in rainfall. He said that there is no rain because all the fish in Òfìkì river who used to lift up their voices to God to send rain had been killed. The position maintained by this farmer may be funny, but he was speaking sense that something had gone wrong with the way we are doing doings compared with the way people of old were doing their own. Today, there is environmental pollution, in the past the atmosphere was clean.
Furthermore, being a Savannah region, Òkèògùn has less trees, but more shrubs and grasses compared to forest regions like Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, etc with thick forests. Now that we have cut all the few trees, we have started to experience desertification or desert encroachment in our area and, it is unfortunate that no one, people or government, is doing anything about it.
As I consider the effects of all these on us as a people, the first possible solution I like to proffer is that many of us should start to invest in dry season irrigation farming. We can sink boreholes to do pepper, tomato and vegetable farming during dry season. We can do water-melon, cucumber and the likes. These are all profitable ventures that individuals and groups can go into to keep our youths away out of employment market thereby creating regional wealth through agrarian farming.
The second solution that comes to my mind is to mobilise ourselves into livestock farming. Groups and individuals can go into ranching with our vast land. We can sink boreholes to provide stable sources of water provision to take care our animals.
I don’t think cattle rearing should be the exclusive business of the Fúlànís alone. We can do better livestock farming than them. We even understood that ranching began from Southwest. That’s what Fásolá farm settlement and many other settlements in the Southwest were known for in the past. Those days we used to hear ‘Fásolá Aládìe, Fásolá Onímàálù’. Many of us must still remember these phrases.
Livestock is a profitable business venture that can mop-up many young people off the streets where they are looking for jobs that are not there.
The third solution I like to suggest is that we should discourage tree felling and encourage tree planting. That’s what they do in many advanced countries. Our people should be encouraged to go into planting of economic trees so as to bring back our green vegetation with rich flora and fauna that our region was known for.
Finally, I like to state that Òkèògùn used to be a region known for shea-butter in the past, but not now. Niger State, particularly Bida has more shea-butter trees than Òkèògùn as of now because, when we were busy cutting down our trees to make charcoal, the Kubelaji people preserved their own.
Go to Bida today and you will see big shea-butter factories there. Today, Many of Bida people are into shea-butter making export business.
My final word is, I believe all I have said here might be useful for businessminded individuals or government. Time has come we moved back to the farm to bridge the generational gap in Agribusiness that began in the 70s or 80s when King Sunny Ade same a prophetic song that he titled: ‘kò s’ágbè mó l’óko, kò s’ágbè mó l’óko, ará okó ti d’arí wá’lé. Omo bàbá àgbà ‘jósí, ó ti mú bàbá à wá lé o jàre. Gbogbo wa la fé de táì, kò s’ágbè mó l’óko, kò s’ágbè mó l’óko, ará okó ti d’arí wá’lé.
Thank you.
