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NIGERIA as an independent country from British colonialism since 1960 turns 50 today on October 1, 2010. To mark the golden jubilee, the federal and state governments have mounted an elaborate programme of festive celebrations. Our Query: Are We There Yet...? The Nigerian Guardian (www.ngrguardiannews.com) in its editorial on October 1, 2010, mirrors our thoughts about Nigeria in its adulthood at 50 years. According to the Guardian, for a country that has endured 29 years of military rule, survived a fratricidal civil war, and practised an uninterrupted democracy since 1999, there is indeed a need to celebrate... However, if anyone looks at Nigeria’s performance since 1960, no one can say that it has been an unqualified success. The high promise held out for Nigeria at independence has not been realised. Countries like Malaysia, India, Brazil, and even Ghana (we add Singapore here) with whom we were in the struggle for economic emancipation have all overtaken us. Today our leader...

We are proposing a ten (10) day agricultural trip to Israel for Nigerian government officials and private sector agricultural operatives. The objective of the tour is to stimulate the interest of the participants to agriculture through lectures, interaction with experts and visits to locations of interest in Israel. The study tour scheduled to hold 2-11 November, 2010 is predicated on Government’s efforts at ensuring food security for the people of Nigeria while in the same token diversifying the revenue base of the country away from oil. Moreover, we are of the opinion that a trip of this nature would have direct and positive impact on the citizenry. Israel has been chosen for the tour on the strength of its innovative agricultural practices that have earned the country a pride of place in the comity of nations, agriculturally speaking. Agriculture in Israel is the success story of a long, hard struggle against adverse conditions and of making maximum use of arable land and scarce wat...