By Azuka Onwuka
The best thing that happened to the Nnewi people of Anambra State was that they were blessed with an infertile land. Yes, that was not a typographic error. For Nnewi people to produce big crops and animals in large quantities before the advent of fertilisers and improved species, they had to work extra hard unlike their counterparts in some parts of Igboland or Nigeria. They had to clear the shrubs on fallow lands left for about seven years. Then they would work all-day long, tilling the ground and making large mounds and ridges. They would plant their yam, cocoyam, cassava and other crops. They would weed them intermittently, using stakes for the yam because of its tendril. Sometimes, if they felt that any portion of land was not as fertile as they wished, they would dig long ditches like gutters all over the land during the dry season. Then they would pour leaves and other types of manure in the ditches. During the planting season, they would form ridges or mounds over these ditches.
Despite all this hard labour, during the time of harvest they reaped sparingly. Their harvest was never commensurate with the amount of labour invested. But they had no option than to continue with the only thing they knew. Furthermore, it was the era when hard work was synonymous with manliness and respect.
However, immediately the British colonialists opened up towns and villages, the Nnewi people went into trade, skill acquisition and education. There is a common saying among the people that suffering is not something to boast about. Palm oil and palm kernel were in high demand. Those with little education were employed as teachers, interpreters, clerks, etc. Though Nnewi land did not produce much palm oil and perm kernel, the indigenes went to other parts of Igboland to buy these from the producers. The irony was that they made more money as middle men than those who did the real farming and production of those produce. They went into other kinds of businesses, entrepreneurship and white-collar jobs.
When motorcycles and cars became popular, Nnewi people saw the prospects in them and went into the sale of their parts. They established the Nkwo Nnewi market, known primarily for the sale of motor and motorcycle parts. People visited the town from across the country and from other African countries for purchases. With huge funds at their disposal, the Nnewi traders became importers of these products. As importers, they decided the profit margin. They brought in vehicle parts from Europe and Japan. And for those who wanted cheaper vehicle parts, they brought in parts made in Taiwan. They also had second-hand parts as alternatives. Later when China became a force to reckon with in the manufacture of vehicle parts, they began to bring in vehicle parts from China. By the 1980s when the campaign for local production gained currency, they established manufacturing plants in Nnewi for the production of different products.
While they were selling the parts of automobiles, some went into inter-state transportation. But rather than join all other vehicles in the general parks where the bus fares were the same, they created their individual bus terminuses and branded their own buses. They charged higher than the unbranded buses, but provided more comfort and security. That is branding.
Though Nnewi people love business and entrepreneurship, they avoid businesses where there is much work and low margin of profit, except when done on a large scale. Therefore, they choose business areas where they can determine the prices of the goods they sell, rather than being at the mercy of some big companies.
This brings us back to what we started with: working so hard in subsistence farming and making so little money. Subsistence farming is a merchant of poverty. Check out all communities where people live on the proceeds of planting crops or trees, rearing animals or fishing. They are usually very poor, while those who trade in the goods they produce are richer and live a better life. Communities which produce cocoa wallow in poverty while those who produce chocolate swim in wealth. Communities which produce rubber wallow in poverty while those who produce vehicle tyres swim in wealth. Communities which rear cattle, goats and sheep wallow in poverty, while those who produce corned beef, frozen meat, milk and leatherwear swim in wealth.
When countries want to pull their citizens out of poverty, the first thing they do is to pull as many of them as possible out of subsistence farming. Farming is only lucrative when done on a mechanised, large scale. That is why whenever you hear any Nigerian president or state governor tell you to go back to agriculture (subsistence farming) as a way to wealth, tell them: “I reject it!” The United States of America and the Netherlands are the top exporters of food in the world but very few of their citizens (mainly big organisations) are engaged in agriculture. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 2020, 19.7 million full- and part-time jobs were related to the agricultural and food sectors. In summary, agriculture and its related industries provided 10.3 percent of U.S. employment in 2020. In 2020 there were slightly over two million farms in the U.S. yet agriculture contributed $1.109 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product in 2019, which amounted to 5.2 percent.
The reason subsistence farming promotes poverty is that it is not creative and adds little or no value to the product. You plant a grain of maize and reap one or two cobs of maize after some months. You keep a bull and cow for some years and they produce a calf. You have not created anything new. Nature has just done its work. Even without your intervention, the result would still have occurred. However, when you turn the maize into branded cornflakes or branded corn flour, or you turn the milk from the cow into branded milk or yoghurt, or you turn the hides into branded shoes, bags or belts, you have added value and creativity. You can then charge a premium for that. Conversely, the subsistence farmer sells a common product, which can be obtained from anywhere, and therefore priced cheaply.
It is the same scenario that has made Nigeria poor. Its soil produces crude oil, not because of anything special done by Nigeria, but through luck. Crude oil is unbranded and sold at a determined price in the global market. But countries which refine it sell the petroleum products at high prices. Similarly, countries which have good weather all-year round are usually laid-back on issues of industrialisation. Most African countries fall into this category. But countries which experience hot weather, cold weather, and harsh natural environments usually invest massively in industrialisation and technology to help them overcome the disadvantages nature has given them. By doing so, they become rich and influential.
Nigeria should not boast about its fertile land or calm weather or natural resources or absence of natural disasters. The backwardness of Nigeria and most African countries is because they are not challenged by nature. The saying that necessity is the mother of invention remains true.
• Onwuka is a newspaper columnist and author.