By: Frank Omonzokpia
ONCE, Nigeria was considered the anchor and bellwether of huge African continent blessed with clever and energetic people, favoured with ample oil resources and as Africa’s most populous country but despite the size and wealth of Nigeria, she lingers in economic doldrums, bedeviled by alarming rate of unemployment among the teaming youths and attendant insecurity. While the rest of humanity has made rapid advancement, Nigeria is still fighting for survival. The situation is not auspicious enough for a better tomorrow, but might degenerate further if Nigeria does not take decisive bold steps to face the daunting challenge. As the world is rapidly changing, Nigeria will have to re-evaluate and re-examine the way it has been running itself in order to respond fully to the global challenges. It is very unfortunate that Nigeria continues to be a nation run and ruined by spongers and buccaneers who are chasing after power while betraying the imperative of national service and visionary leadership. Nigeria is a country that has been betrayed by succession of past and present rapacious leaders. Yes, a country that is potentially great with immense natural and human endowments, but has been relegated to Third World rating and beached like a stranded Whale of a sandy shore at low tide. This is saddening indeed!
What has principally provoked this my tactless article is the caviled fallacy and needless prograganda in what has been gormlessly said in a local media house recently with the primary purpose of doing damage to the impeccable and good image of peace-loving and unbelligerent Sumal Foods industry in Ibadan metropolis.The whole ideas purveyed in the propaganda which is seriously arguable was actually meant to do a hatchet job on Sumal Foods Limited which has remained unruffled despite the incessant malignity and vilification against it in town and in the media almost on continuous basis b some clueless enemies of peace and progress which Sumal Foods industry epitomized. However, the right-thinking and good people of Oyo State and Nigeria in general will certainly not find it difficult to vindicate Sumal Foods industry that has consistently been playing an indispensable pivotal role in providing unquantifiable employment to a great segment of Nigerian population in Oyo State and from all over Nigeria for many decades, thus has taken many of our youths out of the street, which consequently has in no small measure reduced the crime rate and insecurity in the state especially among the virile youths who have the proclivity to take to crime and drug abuse.
Propaganda means to propagate forcefully or tactfully canvas some particular idea or view with intentions. The principal desire is to convert or influence a targeted people for the purpose of winning their support for the sentiment expressed in the propaganda. But in most cases, propaganda is without truth behind it. Nearly all organized efforts have a system of propaganda to convert people to their principles and get them to support them even though such views or principles may entirely lack merit. As a sentiment being, I wish to audaciously state that what have been said in some local media in Ibadan recently about Sumal Foods industry is purely a negative propaganda meant to do hatchet job on the flourishing and non-pugnacious company. In the whole of Oyo State this unique food industry is the most outstanding and strongly formidable in providing employment opportunity to the inestimable of our youths who should have inevitably posed a great security threat to lives and property if they were not engaged by Sumal Foods company.
In the whole of Oyo state this unique food industry is the most outstanding and strongly formidable in providing employment opportunity to the inestimable number of our youths who should have inevitably posed a great security threat to lives and property if they were not engaged by Sumal Foods company which is being ferociously vilified with undeserved malignancy by some unscrupulous elements and egomaniac in our society for a very wrong reason in purpose and intent. For the right-thinking and good people of Oyo state with the balanced and rational analytical reasoning, Sumal Foods industry truly deserve all our collective accolades and support for the purpose it stands for in Oyo State and in Nigeria in general in generating employment for our people, thereby contributing immensely to the socia-economic peace, progress and stability in Oyo State.
In its cardinal principles and objectives of developing the Nigerian youths and giving back to the host community, the Food industry has magnanimously contributed to the development of sport, especially football among its young employees and also, in a show of rare benevolence and interventionist approach, has been solely and continuously involved in the palliative repairs of the roads in Oluyole Industrial Estate zone year by year on a very regular basis without any fatigue. It’s equally very interesting to know that Sumal Foods industry is proudly associated with the beautification of Ibadan metropolis with the construction of convenient bus-stops for the good people of Ibadan community. This is not just to editorialize about the seemingly an externally engineered protest by some of its employees that happened recently in the reputable foods industry, but obviously to state the truism with empirical and verifiable facts. Apart from these social responsibilities and employment generation, evidently Sumal Foods industry is practically formidable in the overall general drive of Federal government to attain economic self-reliance particularly in the area of converting our local raw materials into semi-finished and finished products for both local consumption and export, rather than exporting them raw and crude with colossal loss and waste, as its various products with high local raw material contents ranging from biscuits to other confectionaries are widely consumed throughout the length and breadth of Nigeria and possibly in the neighboring countries.
Let’s imagine… instead of exporting raw cocoa beans, Nigeria is exporting soluble beverages, chocolate bars and concentrates. Instead of exporting semi-processed wet blue leather, Nigeria is exporting high flashing leather goods. Instead of exporting valuable tropical timbers, Nigeria is exporting ready-to-assemble knock down furniture. Instead of exporting valuable palm oil and kernels, Nigeria is exporting vegetable oil, margarine and other derivatives of palm produce fractionation. Instead of exporting crude petroleum product, Nigeria is exporting refined petroleum and petro-chemical products and instead of exporting fine grade cotton and animal wool, Nigeria is exporting African uniquely beautiful embroideries and textiles. Hmm… wonderful imagination, isn’t it? If only Nigeria could achieve all thee, it could mean that Nigeria can multiply its foreign exchange earnings many times over. When we put all these imaginations into accurate thinking and appreciation, then Sumal Foods industry {for what it stands for} truly deserves our collective accolades, support and prayers.
- Omonzokpia lives in Ibadan.
Read Also: ‘LG autonomy will expose govs’ incompetence, unproductiveness’
