Sesame seed provides an insight into everything that is wrong with Nigeria

By Ayo Akinfe

(1) Over the last 24 hours, our newly sworn-in governors have been inundated with phone calls, text messages, visits and emails by all and sundry. Almost everyone is looking for contracts, appointments and influence of some sort. They basically want their share of what is now known as the national cake

(2)Very few of these members of the elite are going to meet these new governors with positive ideas and proposals about how to develop their states. Governance is considered an entrepreneurial activity in Nigeria, with these new governors considered chief executives who dole out favours to who they want to

(3) Most of these businessmen and women trooping to state houses up and down the country should be putting their energy, time, effort and capital into productive commercial ventures but alas, they have the mindset that governance is the quickest way to get rich

(4) Do you know for instance that Nigeria is the world’s sixth largest producer of sesame seeds, with an annual output of 461,000 tonnes?

(5) However, we are number 35 when it comes to the production of sesame seed oil, with a meagre output of 2,400 tonnes. Basically, we as a people, we are not interested in investing in crushing plants or production facilities

(6) What happens in Nigeria is we export our sesame seed to countries like India, China and Myanmar and then our so-called businessmen rush to state house to get government orders to supply sesame seed oil from these same countries who have processed our seeds

(7) Sesame seed sells for about $1,000 a tonne but the processed oil probably sells for about 10 times that amount on the international market. Japanese oilseed companies source 64% of their sesame seed from Africa, crush it into oil and make millions selling it on the global market

(8) Sesame seed oil solvents are widely used in injected drugs and intravenous drip solutions and were Nigeria a serious nation, we would have cornered a niche in this market. If we expand production, who is to say we cannot generate up to $10bn annually from sesame seed oil alone?

(9) All those big men going to see governors in their suits, kaftans, agbadas, isiagus, fedoras, etc, should be looking to open sesame seed crushing plants to employ those Almajiris and make use of what is a great opening. Instead, they would rather ask for crude oil handouts from governors

(10) When Obafemi Awolowo was the premier of the Old Western Region, he used to tell his commissioners not to come to him without having thoughts about how to address the problem in their ministries. I look forward to one of our new governors banning all courtesy visits and restricting access to people who visit with ideas