How Prof. Mohammed Kuta Yahaya raised voice for the less privileged

For the umpteenth time, the plight of the suffering Nigerian masses, especially, those living in the rural areas have been brought to the fore. It is no more news that considerable percentages of Nigerians who do not have voice to speak and be heard are suffering in different parts of the country.

This category of people, who are predominantly farmers living in the rural areas are in majority in the country.

Based on their situation, this class of people, because they lack basic necessities of life and are hungry, has become disenchanted, hence, angry at the system.

Their attempts or efforts to find expression by all means have resulted in the high level of restlessness in different parts of the country.

Mohammed Kuta Yahaya, Professor of Agricultural Extension and Development Communication, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ibadan, raised these issues during an inaugural lecture he delivered at the University of Ibadan, recently. The inaugural lecture was titled: Voice for the voiceless hungered and angered.

Prof. Kuta argued that poverty is, no doubt, a rural phenomenon in which leaders across board and in all parts of the country, need to urgently check through the needed policies that will lift them from poverty to prosperity.

According to him: “If it is given as a fact that most people in rural areas are farmers, it can be deduced that those living under the poverty line in the rural areas are subsistent farmers who are responsible for the bulk of food produced in Nigeria.

He posited that “a closer look at the ugly situation, revealed chilling the statistics negatively inclined to one section of the country with all indices revealing more poverty, hunger, destitution and ravaging anger expressed in all sorts of conflicts ranging from insurgency, communal clashes and banditry to kidnapping”.

He further lamented that “We are all witnesses to the ugly trend in the avoidable conflict situation across ethnic, religious and social spheres, we wonder why brothers will take up arms against one another or even collude with outsiders to perpetrate crime against one another”.

He challenged all caring citizens to come together and bring this carnage to an end. “This a clarion call to all, that we bring to a stop this chaos brought about by poor educational system and poverty lopsidedness before it spread across the land. “

While explaining the rationale for the choice of the theme for the inaugural lecture, Prof. Kuta said: “In this situation, it is clear that the ‘voice for the voiceless’ is phrase denoting interventions, speaking out and bringing to the fore the plights of the deprived, oppressed, poor, hopeless, hungry and angry people whose voices have been obliterated on account of their degenerating conditions and with absolute lack of justice or rights to defend themselves.

“Conceptually, being voiceless is a worse condition of humanity. There are huge numbers of people in developing countries, specifically in Nigeria, who are suffering various forms of unfavourable living challenges, which has forced them to be directly or indirectly marginalized such that their agitations are less heard, ignored or not heard at all.

“Frustration and hopelessness have soared to an unprecedented height. “The Nigerian farmer belongs to this class of people until recently when serious policy initiatives are directly targeted at their emancipation.”

He insisted that bad leadership; poor governance and greed displayed by leaders across all levels of governance are the causes of pain, anger and frustration being faced by majority of people globally.

Prof. Kuta disclosed that, “in some climes, people are subjected to untold hardships that can only be imagined than experienced. Some people live like slaves without any opportunity to improve their living conditions.

The scourge of poverty, feeling of hopelessness and deprivation, unwarranted oppression and undue exploitation, adversely affects a lot of farmers and farming communities.

He opined that “… farmers and farming communities have become hungry and angry with a compelling need or desire for not only food but information, knowledge, better life and conditions of living characterised by the demand to meet the need for food and to pay attention to physiological and psychological requirements.

“The inability to meet these needs will make the farmers and farming communities to be exponentially angered, climaxing in an unfortunate situation where their bottled-up feeling of displeasure and belligerence is aroused, leaving them vulnerable to volatile behaviours.”

He reiterated that in order to liberate the farming communities from extreme poverty and deprivation, the agricultural sector must be given deliberate consideration.

“Therefore, to use this sector to address the escalating problems of the deprived, the infirm and the voiceless in the continent, the agriculture sector must have its own ‘marshal plan’ to build the economy.

He insisted that if we must get it right, “Our lands must be translated into abundant mass of several possibilities for food, both for local consumption and export with new extension delivery system for the promotion

and adoption of results of several improved research findings wasting away in the shelves of our universities and research institutes and numerous best practices in the advanced societies begging for credible voices to translate all to fecund of hope and reality.”

He, therefore, challenged those who have the responsibility of speaking for the voiceless, less privilege and the deprived, to rise to the occasion and do the needful in order to salvage the situation.

Prof. Kuta advocated for the adoption of his Integrated Multimedia Development Communication model as an alternative voce for the voiceless majority.

This, concept, he said, has also been recommended and adopted by development actors across diverse fields of human endeavours. He further called for more efforts in research and policy formulations in some vital areas in order to give voice to the voiceless in the country.

He also recommended the integration of new media in the development agenda of Nigeria, insisting that information dissemination should be done dynamically and in tune with latest development in the world of Information and Communication Technology.

This is premised on his outstanding contributions to Agricultural Extension  and Development Communication scholarship with extensive research with focus on  Source – Message- Channel- Receiver otherwise known as of Berlo model of communication.

“The need to make use of the new media is not just because it is the latest channel of communication that has been developed, rather it is due to its numerous benefits that are embedded in its usage though some shortcomings are inevitable at this early stages” he said.

For instance the use of mobile phones, according to him, can also be deployed in giving voice to the voiceless beyond mere talk shop.

He explained that in mobile phones lies a portent voice that can be used to solve myriads of challenges as fast as possible and with no constraints to location, distance or geopolitical barriers.

“It is a medium or tool which circumvents the barrier of illiteracy, so that it makes communication possible irrespective of literacy status and location,” he reiterated.

Another avenue that can be used to give voice to the voiceless, he said, included ‘robust agenda for efficient agricultural value chain development.

“There is need for new direction to examine and bring to the fore through research efforts on access to production resources, particularly, land, capital and mechanized technologies along the entire value chain to create modern, competitive and environmentally sustainable agricultural sector that ensures food security,” he explained.

He further recommended the ‘maximising the potentials of women and youth in agriculture’ as one of the ways to give voice to the voiceless.

While concluding his lecture, Prof. Kuta said: “From potent, empirically and experimentally validated evidences of common good, I stand to be counted for bringing to the fore what lies ahead if we can situate extension and communication experts in key areas of development to put an end to the bleeding and carnage in our land in every sphere of social and economic life.

He was emphatic that “Extension professionals are well equipped to bring to an end farmers-herders conflict if properly situated in the policy initiatives targeted at addressing the issues at conception, design  and implementation levels”

“We have better opportunities in various outlets to engender peace in our land. We must go back to the basic and address the fundamental and root causes of poverty, destitution, criminality and monumental social and economic inadequacies in our land to bring an end to the calamitous wanton destruction of lives and property of citizens.

“It is time to bridge the gap between rural and urban infrastructural opportunities, tame unabated rural-urban migration and strengthen people-centred development governance in line with the constitution, rule of law and respect for citizens.”

The inaugural lecture was well attended by heavy weights in the country including the former Head of State,  Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar and  his wife,  former Chief Judge of Niger state, Justice Fati Lami Abubakar,  President Muhammadu Buhari  represented by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture,

Dr M.B. Umar, former Secretary to the Government of The Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, Registrar, JAMB, Prof I’shaq  Oloyode and Former Chief Judge of Federal High Court of Nigeria, Justice (rtd) Abdullahi Mustapha.

Also in attendance were, Niger state Deputy Governor, Ahmed Mohammed Ketso, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb Zubairu Dada, the Chairman of Urban Shelter Limited, Mallam Ibrahim Aliyu, former Kano State Governor, Senator Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau’

and a powerful delegation of the chairman Northern Governors forum, Governors Simon Bako Lalong of Plateau state and Sir Ahmadu Bello Foundation and representatives of  Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River state, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Amb. Babagana Kingibe.

Others are ,  Etsu Nupe and Chairman, Niger state Council of Traditional Rulers,  Alhaji Dr Yahaya Abubakar, CFR, (Chancellor, OAU Ile- Ife), the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akambi, Makama Nupe, Alhaji Dalhatu Makama, Danmagayaki Nupe,  Maj Gen Mohammed Ibrahim-Gana,  Speaker,  Niger state House of Assembly,  Bar Bawa Wuse and former Speaker,  Bar Adamu Usman among