Following the mysterious death of cows at a ‘sacred land’ called
Oke Owa in Ijare, Ifedore Local Government Area of Ondo State, the
community was preparing to perform some traditional rites on the
land and the dead cows.
No fewer than 36 cows, belonging to some Fulani herdsmen, were
struck dead by thunder on Saturday on a land considered to be
‘sacred’ for anyone to enter or farm in the community.
It was gathered that the Fulani herdsmen had earlier been warned
not to graze their cattle on the ‘sacred land’ because the land was
meant for past and present kings in the community but the herdsmen
allegedly ignored the warning.
Speaking with our correspondent on the development, in a
telephone interview chat on Monday, the second in command to the
Ijare monarch, High Chief Wemimo Olaniran, said the community was
preparing to perform some rituals on the land, following the
development.
According to him, the incident of thunder striking to kill was
spiritual and it had to be addressed spiritually by the
community.
He said, “The community will do the traditional ritual on the
matter after which we have the arrangement to bury the dead cows.
Maybe the government would do something about the cows later.
“This is necessary because anything killed by the thunder, you
can not do anything about it until certain traditional rituals are
performed. So that is what the community is trying to do now.”
The traditional chief and legal practitioner also allayed the
fears that the Fulani herdsmen would cause a crisis as a result of
the incident, saying the lightning was not caused by anybody but
those who entered into the ‘sacred land’.
“The problem was not caused by anybody. When their leaders
(Miyatti Allah) came here they too admitted that it was an act of
God, so nobody should be blamed for it,” Olaniran posited.
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Farmers to Benefit from FG’s Fertilizer
Initiative, Says Gov Badaru
ThGov Badarue Executive Governor of Jigawa State and
also Chairman, Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI), Alhaji
Mohammed Badaru Abubakar has stated that the Initiative
would be beneficial to the farmers and also grow the economy
through the production of NPK 20-20 Fertilizers using locally
sourced materials.
Mohammed Abubakar disclosed this in
Abuja during an interview session at the end of the Presidential
Fertilizer Initiative’s meeting with the Hon. Minister of
Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji
Mohammed Sabo Nanono in his office. He said through
the production of fertilizers locally, the moribund fertilizer
plants will be revived and it will in turn create employment for
Nigerians.
The Governor said that his visit to the Minister was
to brief him on the “preparation and planning for the
production of fertilizers for the 2020 wet season”
Alhaji Abubakar further said that
‘’in order to improve on the production and ensure its availability
and affordability to the Nigerian farmers, production will be
increased and will be sold at a subsidized rate to the farmers,
especially the NPK 20-20 , which is the most sort after by
the farmers.
The governor also stated that the committee is
considering the possibility of the exportation of the NPK 20-20
fertilizer, adding, “if it succeeds in getting phosphate
in Sokoto and potash around Yobe, then there will be possibility of
enriching its blend for export”.
The Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI) was
flagged-off in December 2016 by President Muhammed Buhari and it is
aimed at supporting the domestic blending of NPK fertilizer towards
reducing the challenges of the Nigerian farmers. The Nigeria
fertilizer Industry possesses a blending capacity of 4 million tons
of NPK annually and 2 million tons of production for Urea, with the
capacity to employ over 250,000 people both direct and indirect
jobs across the country.
Samuel O. Uzoegbu
For: Director Information FMARD