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Friday, December 27, 2024

Eating From Land We Poisoned With Our Blood

WITH over 70 years of farming experi­ence, I have had the privilege of grow­ing most of my own food for decades, relying on the land I have cultivated for so long. Beyond sustaining myself, I have been blessed to share the farm’s bounty with friends, family, less privileged homes, schools, and sometimes the prison. The once-pristine land I have farmed for years has lost its beauty, ravaged by toxic pollutants like human blood, plastic waste, and reckless exploitation by land owners and grab­bers. The land that has given us many benefits such as: Environmental benefits like, oxygen production, water cycle regulation, soil forma­tion and erosion prevention. Food and Nutrient benefits, Social and Economic benefits, Health and Well-being benefits and also the land we go back to when our mortal lives come to a close.

Considering that of all the lands in the universe, the planet earth is the only land with life. What I find most disturbing is the blood of our found­ing fathers spilled upon the land, a haunting reminder of our nation’s complex history, which may be perpetuating our country’s backward­ness and hindering its development. My take on this therefore, is that the land is angry and fight­ing back. It is not good enough to call it climate change without finding ways of giving back to the land a bit of what we have taken over the centuries and keep taking.

The study of ancient civilization demands from us that our interaction with the land must always be guided by a commitment to leaving it in a better state than when we found it. For decades, I have been writing this weekly column, which has been featured in various national, online, and local publications, as well as “The Pointer” published by Delta Publishing Company in my home state, and I have found the readership very befitting and a wonderful platform to share in my thought and to bring home some of the is­sues that have generated a strong conversation at all levels.

Just recently, a contributor and a partner to this column Chinyere U. Ogba, an American-born Nigerian wrote on this topic as follows:-

Nigeria, a land of boundless potential and wealth, finds itself in the throes of disarray. The political, economic, and social state of the nation bears the hallmarks of a failing state- an unset­tling reality that begs the question: how did we arrive here? The answer lies not in the abstract but in the land itself, a land defiled by genera­tions of grievous offenses.

The roots of Nigeria’s current predicament stretch back centuries, to a time when its people made an unholy pact. Driven by the lure of economic and material gain, they be­trayed their own, selling brothers and sisters into a fate that would become chattel slavery in the New World. In the process, the land was stained with the blood of the captured, their cries of anguish echo­ing through time. This original sin marked the land, leaving it in a state of perpetual defilement.

Yet, this is not merely a case of the sins of the fathers being revisited upon the sons. Succes­sive generations have continued to poison the land, compounding its offense with each passing era. The atrocities of the past are mirrored in the present: the blood spilled by bandits on the roads and by leaders in government houses alike keeps the land in a state of grievance. The exploitation of Nigeria’s abundant natural resources has enriched a few while leaving the majority in destitution.

Political corruption, social inequality, and economic stagnation-these are the bitter fruits of a poisoned harvest.

And let us all stand indicted for these of­fenses as it is not enough to point fingers at history or our leaders. We must look inward and accept that none of our hands are without blemish. Every act of dishonesty in our daily lives and every betrayal of our communal val­ues contributes to the cycle of pollution and decay. WE ARE the toxin that is continually injected into the soil.

So, as we continue to eat from the land we have poisoned, we can expect no sustenance, no health, and no vitality. A society built on a foundation of betrayal and perpetuated by bloodshed is bound to remain malnour­ished. The time has come for introspection and atonement. Atonement begins with acknowledgment-recognizing the sins of the past and present. It requires a collective reckoning with the actions that have brought us to this point. Only by addressing the root causes of our disarray can we hope to heal the land and, in turn, ourselves. Until we accept responsibility for what we have done and are doing, we will remain trapped in this cycle of self-destruction.

The question now is: do we have the courage to face our reflection, to make amends, and to chart a new course? Or will we continue to sow seeds of discord and despair, expecting a dif­ferent harvest? The choice, as always, is ours.

In conclusion, the importance of protecting our environment cannot be overstated, just as the questions asked by Chinyere U. Ogba, we owe it to ourselves, future generation, and the land itself to summon the courage to confront the harm inflicted upon the land. It requires acknowledging our past mistakes and mak­ing efforts to restore balance and harmony with the natural world. However, we cannot afford to continue down the path of destruc­tion, sowing seeds of discord and despair. This approach has yielded a harvest of suffering, inequality, and environmental degradation. It is time for a radical shift in our approach, one that prioritizes cooperation, mutual respect, and environmental stewardship.

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