SONG
E ni ko sise
(whoever does not work)
A ma jale
(will likely steal)
Iwe kiko, laisi oko ati ada
(Book education without hoe and cutlass i.e.agriculture)
Ko i pe o
(is not complete)
Ko i pe o
(is not complete)
Ise agbe ni ise ile wa
(Farming is the main work of our land - country)
E ni ko sise
(whoever does not work)
A ma jale
(will likely steal)
Ise agbe ni ise ile wa
(Farming is the main work of our land - country)
Before anyone comes for my head with the above statement in capital and the song, let me explain o.
In the early days of my primary schooling, that is about 40 years ago, this song was commonly sung in schools in the Southwest. I believe other regions had equivalent of the song or phrases - encouraging youngsters to learn to work hard with their hands while acquiring the formal western education.
But about two or three decades ago I think, schools started doing away with such songs and the main focus and even total focus was put on book education. Our good values as a country and in various societies started being eroded gradually.
Book education i.e western education VERY SUPERB.
It is useful, in fact, highly beneficial. As Africans though, let me say Nigerians specifically, book education is not complete without underlining handywork (ise owo in Yoruba) of which Farming is the lead.
One thing learning and practising handywork skills especially farming along with book education can do is make individuals grounded in good values. Though it takes the fear of God for people to desire to and endeavour to live by good values, have you ever wondered reason(s) indiscipline, immorality is becoming rampant among faith-based people?
A major reason is that when the culture of hard work in the basics of life is not entrenched along with spiritual activities like prayer and study of God's word, people will attempt to escape process.
Hence, you will find believers who are believing God to bless them with huge money or resources without being ready to patiently work hard.
They may then start cutting corners, doing away with the good values of their faith to get the luxuries or soft life they want.
This is similar to what has happened in the secular. In the generations of our parents or grandparents and great grandparents some of them grew up farning alongside book education.
After acquiring formal education, they got jobs enabling them to work in offices, usually with luxurious furnishing and airconditiomers. They were also able to earn very much higher incomes than their counterparts who had little or no book education.
The educated ones mostly had cars, lived in nicer houses and had fringe benefits like all-expense paid trips and courses within and outside the country. They didn't have to lift their fingers to do any work, they just needed to read while other people serve them.
So even without actually discouraging their growing children from farming, the children themselves detested the idea of farming and most other handywork.
But in subsequent years, the acquisition of book education without being trained alongside to become skilful in handy work began to create problems - there were very many more people with formal education than the office or book jobs available.
When people don't have government or company or any other organisational employment, they are often at a loss on what to do to get by in life pending the time a better option comes.
Apart from highly-skilled professionals who are able to earn so much and very successful businesspeople, let's not mention politicians and government officials embezzling money, most people in this country are under-employed - not earning enough for basic necessities.
Even those who have some financial or material support from others soon discover that with rising costs they cannot meet all essential needs.
But farming is work that is always available, at least to reduce desperation. Perhaps due to the fact that farming over the years has been associated with poverty or poor people or it's high demand of physical energy in the outdoors, many people don't want to engage in it.
I have written severally that beyond food, farming provides lots of other benefits such as healthwise and so much cost-cutting in different areas- I will be more specific in some future writeups.
So, those youths complaining of hunger but still doing 'shakara' (exhibiting pride or is it laziness) that they cannot engage in farming, they need to be asked some questions. If they have the opportunity to do urban farming because they are afraid of going to forests to farm, would they?
Some of these youths have parents with space in their compounds or nearby that can be used for farming, would they engage in it? Can't they direct the energy they spend constituting menace in society to farm?
Engaging in farming does not mean you are poor, it means you are responsible. These days even if you are earning or getting so very much money, farming can help you cut down on a whole lot of costs and free money that can be used to start a small business, make some more investments or do some self-development training.
This can enable you earn better in future or live a better quality of life doing some things by yourself.
As a society we cannot continue having people misbehave claiming it's because they are hungry, do or attempt to do harmful things even to fellow citizens when there is option of some hard work they can do - remember farming is not for the poor, it is part and parcel of who we are as a people.
Even countries like USA emerged as super-power nations not because of their scientific and technological wizardry but because agriculture was used in laying the foundation of national greatness
#farming
#pureagriculture
#agricutureversusgoodhealth
#minigardenresearch
#growingcornindryseason
#growingcornallyearround
#throughbredseeds
#purebredseeds
#agriculturalmedicine
#gardeningindryseason
#growingcropsindryseason
#growingcropsinsacks
#growingmaizeinsacks
#spaceconstrainedgarden
#gardeningincementedpremises
#gardeninginsacks
#growingplantsinsacks
#minigarden #urbangarden #urbangardening
#minigardening #integratedgardening #gardening #gardeninginsmallspaces #integratedgardeninginsmallspaces #spaceconstrainedurbangardening
No comments:
Post a Comment