Would you not just love it if the Christian Association of Nigeria leaders used the ocassion of Easter to visit President Tinubu and present him with a cattle development plan

Ayo Akinfe

[1] So Lent is over and tomorrow, Nigerian Christians will join their colleagues all over the world to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. I think the Christian Association of Nigeria should be looking to use the opportunity to address some of the issues afflicting its members

[2] There are about 20m head of cattle in Nigeria, compared with 305m in India, 232m in Brazil, 97m in China, 95m in the US, 54m in Argentina and 26m in Australia. Yet, Nigerian Christians have suffered more from the hands of herdsmen than their colleagues in any of these other countries

[3] Our annual beef production is just about 400,000 tonnes, compared with 12m in the US, 10m tonnes ion Brazil, 7m tonnes in China, 4.5m tonnes in India, 3m tonnes in Argentina, 2m tonnes in Australia and 900,000 tonnes in South Africa. We consume everything we produce, exporting nothing. I see no reason why the Christian Association of Nigeria cannot be the main catalyst for change

[4] Across Europe, churches have been at the heart of their economic development, with the Catholic Church in particular being a major player over the centuries. Historically, the Catholic Church owned ships, was a major participant in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, owned plantations in the Americas and during the Industrial Revolution, owned factories, employing millions of people

[5] Also, companies founded by the Quaker religious order that went on to become major multinationals include Cadburys, Barclays Bank, Clarks Shoes, Friends Provident, Rowntree, Llyods Bank and Nike. Quaker companies had a philosophy similar to that which guides Islamic finance, whereby you use capitalism to better humanity and not to enrich yourself personally. Today, that spirit has largely been lost in Europe but nothing stops our own Christian Association of Nigeria from taking over the baton and running with it

[6] I have long argued that Nigeria's wealthy pentecostal and evangelical pastorprueners need to merge their financial operations into one giant conglomerate called Man of God Plc. It should be a multinational floated on the Lagos, London and New York stock exchanges and be a major operator in sectors vital to the Nigerian economy like oil & gas, construction, manufacturing, automobile assembly, steel production, food processing, agriculture, power generation, aquaculture and animal husbandry

[7] Nigeria's Man of God Plc should be the bellweather of our economy, kind of like Tata Industries in India, Phillips in Holland, General Motors in the US and San Miguel in The Philippines. It should seek to employ at least 10m people nationwide and with regards to animal husbandry, this giant called Man of God Plc, should come up with an economic blueprint to resolve the Fulani herdsmen saga once and for all

[8] Nothing stops Man of God Plc from owning 20 massive ranches across Nigeria with each being home to about 10m cattle. It should also have feed compounding plants on site, as well as meat processing factories and provide an array of ancillary services such as veterinary healthcare, packaging, adult education, primary healthcare and retailing

[9] Given that Christian Association of Nigeria members have borne the brunt of herdsmen attacks, I think they have an obligation to come up with a solution. There is no law in Nigeria that says to be involved in cattle production or beef output, you must be a Fulani Muslim and there is nothing preventing Christian associations from investing in livestock production

[10] Going forward as a people, we need to find a way to come with economic solutions to our problems because the reality of our situation is that it is poverty that creates most of them. It is a lack of hope and opportunity that fuels religious and ethnic divisions and clashes and the antidote is to provide people with employment, hope and decent living standards. I charge the Christian Association of Nigeria with the task of changing the narrative by setting a precedent this Easter