NO TO DENMARK "RANSIN" FOR OYO STATE. Written by Kehinde Ayoola

Governor Abiola Ajimobi is in Denmark to study the ranching method of beef and dairy cattle production.
According to his gleeful Facebook post, he is in Denmark to evaluate the ranching system as a panacea to Fulani/Herdsmen clashes in Oyo State.
He disclosed that his administration would bring Danish farmers to Oyo State.
I make bold to say that this latest jamboree by Gov Ajimobi is a waste of time, prodigal waste of resources, unnecessary grandstanding, odious play to the gallery and a gratuitous insult upon the intelligence of the people of Oyo State.
Denmark, with her temperate climate, is not the ideal model for sustainable cattle production in a tropical environment like Nigeria.
And like his barren visit to Northern Ireland about two years ago to bring Irish farmers (sounds familiar?), this trip to Denmark shall yield no results.
Even if the Danes come in next week, their cattle shall not start to produce until well into the tenure of Gov Oluseyi Makinde , the guy that will take over from him from May , 2019.

Gestation period in cattle is 283 days average or 9 months and 13 days. That means the first calving cannot be seen until late November - 6 months to his exit from office.
Bulls do not reach sexual maturity until about a year while cows take between 9 and 22 months to do same.
How then will these animals start production in his tenure?

Like I said the breeds of cattle raised in Denmark cannot survive the harsh weather here.
That's why Nigerians researchers have developed hardy or resistant breeds.
Let him go to Shika in Zaria where a full-fledged animal research institute or the University of Ibadan, or the Institute of Agric Research and Training, IARnT.
They have done a lot of work in this regard.

In 2012, my organisation, the Oyo Global Forum OGF, gave him a paper on this issue while at Oxford, UK.

Anyway, it could be that the governor merely went on a fact-finding tour for his farm to where he would retire after office!
And if this is the case, we hope public fund was not spent on this trip.

We don't need any Denmark ransin - sorry ranching here.

Omi Tuntun Igba Otun!