Brazilian Consulate, Ekiti Government, AFRIFF Showcase Nigeria-Brazil Cultural Ties At ‘A Land Apart’ VIP Screening

Koku urges Nigerian government to harness agricultural, human and entrepreneurial resources for sustainable prosperity

By SALMAH ADETONA ADEFAKA, Lagos

The screening of A Land Apart, therefore, provided a platform for more than cinematic engagement, bringing together cultural diplomacy and conversations on agriculture, economic development, entrepreneurship and the possibilities of stronger Nigeria-Brazil cooperation.

The Consulate General of Brazil in Lagos, in partnership with the Ekiti State Government and the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), has hosted a VIP screening of A Land Apart, a new movie produced by Bem Pever, in a move aimed at strengthening cultural and economic relations between Nigeria and Brazil.

The screening, held on Thursday, November 5, 2026, at the Auditorium of the Brazilian Consulate in Lagos, was part of the Consul General, His Excellency Ronaldo Vieira’s, initiatives to deepen bilateral engagement through cultural exchange, creative industries and economic cooperation.

The event brought together personalities from the diplomatic, traditional, business and cultural sectors, including the Sarkin Fulani of Lagos and Chairman, Council of Fulani Chiefs, South-West Nigeria, His Royal Highness Alhaji Dr Mohammed Abubakar Bambado II, who was represented.

Also present was the guest speaker, Barrister Efunronke Koku, alongside representatives of the Ekiti State Government and AFRIFF, both partners in the screening initiative.

A major highlight of the gathering was Koku’s presentation, titled “Reflections on Agricultural Abundance and Prosperity,” in which she challenged the Nigerian government to move beyond the celebration of the country’s enormous natural and human resources and establish the structures required to convert them into sustainable economic prosperity.

Speaking during her goodwill address, she identified human, natural and entrepreneurial abundance as three critical resources Nigeria must strategically harness to achieve meaningful development.

She observed that despite possessing these enormous advantages, the country continued to struggle with translating its potential into tangible economic benefits for its citizens.

According to her, Nigeria’s challenge is not necessarily the absence of resources but the inability to organise, process and utilise them effectively.

On human abundance, Koku described Nigeria’s youthful population as a major national asset, pointing out that the country has an enormous pool of energetic, talented and innovative people capable of driving economic transformation.

She, however, expressed concern over the increasing migration of skilled Nigerians, particularly professionals in the medical and scientific fields, to other countries in search of better opportunities.

She cited the departure of Nigerian professionals working in hospitals and laboratories abroad as evidence of the country’s difficulty in retaining and maximising its human capital.

For her, the problem is not a shortage of talent but the absence of sufficient opportunities, institutional structures and an enabling environment to engage and retain the country’s best hands.

Reflecting on Nigeria’s agricultural and economic history, Koku recalled how agricultural commodities contributed significantly to national development in the 1950s.

She particularly referenced the economic contributions of cocoa production in the former Western Region, which supported major development projects, including the establishment of the first television station in Ibadan and the construction of Cocoa House.

She also recalled the importance of groundnut and cotton production in Northern Nigeria and palm oil in the Eastern Region, noting that agriculture once served as a formidable foundation of the country’s economy.

She consequently questioned whether successive governments had invested adequately in the younger generation to enable them to contribute productively to national development rather than seek opportunities abroad.

Turning to natural abundance, the guest speaker highlighted Nigeria’s vast deposits of solid minerals, including gold, lithium, iron ore and bitumen, as well as its extensive agricultural land, freshwater resources and favourable climatic conditions.

She lamented that despite these advantages, Nigeria continued to export raw materials while importing finished products, thereby exporting employment opportunities and importing poverty.

Using cocoa as an illustration, she explained that selling cocoa beans at relatively low prices while importing processed chocolate at significantly higher costs denied the country the employment, industrial growth and revenue that local processing could generate.

She also cited Malaysia’s palm oil industry as an example of how a country could transform an agricultural resource into a major economic enterprise.

According to her, Malaysia obtained oil palm seeds from Nigeria in 1961 but subsequently developed a thriving palm oil industry, demonstrating the possibilities of sustained investment, technology and value addition.

Emphasising the importance of local processing, Koku declared: “Prosperity never comes from what you bring out of the ground. It comes with what you do with what you bring out of the ground.”

She explained that harvesting cocoa beans or Ofada rice was only the beginning of the agricultural value chain, stressing that processing, packaging, marketing and converting raw produce into finished products were the activities that generated greater economic value.

To demonstrate how the absence of appropriate structures could undermine agricultural potential, she shared the experience of her late mother’s farm, which she described as a practical illustration of Nigeria’s wider agricultural challenges.

According to her, the farm operated a large poultry, a piggery and several hectares of maize and indigenous Ofada rice, with her mother personally managing the different agricultural ventures through years of commitment, hard work and sacrifice.

Beyond cultivation and livestock production, her mother also processed maize into animal feed to reduce operational costs while overseeing the production and sale of eggs and Ofada rice.

However, the enterprise eventually declined due to increasing feed costs, inadequate storage facilities, competition from cheaper imported rice, the absence of cold-chain infrastructure and limited access to affordable financing.

She also identified the lack of adequate processing equipment, particularly milling machines, as a major obstacle to the commercial production and marketing of indigenous rice varieties.

Koku maintained that the farm did not decline because it lacked agricultural resources or entrepreneurial commitment but because the necessary support structures for converting its abundance into a sustainable business were unavailable.

She argued that with appropriate government intervention, including storage facilities, processing equipment, reliable electricity and affordable credit, women farmers could establish viable agricultural enterprises capable of contributing significantly to national food security.

She further proposed that supporting 10,000 women farmers with the necessary infrastructure, equipment and financing could substantially strengthen local food production and reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported food.

Reflecting on her late mother’s experience, she said it had taught her an important economic lesson: abundance alone does not translate into prosperity unless resources are properly organised, supported and converted into sustainable economic value.

Koku subsequently identified entrepreneurial abundance as the third critical resource, describing Nigerians as naturally resilient, resourceful and innovative people who consistently devise ways of creating livelihoods despite challenging economic and infrastructural conditions.

She observed that across the country, many Nigerians establish small businesses and create employment opportunities even without reliable electricity, adequate infrastructure, formal employment opportunities and other essential support systems.

To explain the relationship between the three resources and the other elements required for national development, she employed an analogy in which entrepreneurial abundance represented the driver, human resources the engine, natural resources the fuel, technology the road, governance the traffic officer and society the soil in which development grows.

She explained that none of these elements could independently deliver prosperity, stressing that sustainable development would only become possible when they functioned together.

According to her, fuel without an engine and a driver would remain unused, while a driver without a road would be unable to move. Similarly, seeds could not thrive without fertile soil.

She therefore called for purposeful governance, consistent economic policies, investment in research, improved agricultural storage systems and the establishment of local processing industries to strengthen the country’s productive capacity.

Drawing further lessons from Brazil’s agricultural transformation, particularly its development of the soya industry, Koku expressed confidence that Nigeria could achieve comparable success with its indigenous agricultural products.

She identified Ofada rice, cocoa, groundnut and palm oil as commodities with enormous potential to support industrial development, create employment and improve the country’s economic fortunes if properly harnessed.

She stressed that Nigeria must move away from an economy that depends largely on exporting raw materials and importing finished goods towards one that prioritises domestic processing, manufacturing and value addition.

The guest speaker concluded that national prosperity should not be left to chance but deliberately pursued through sound policies, effective institutions and the strategic organisation of the country’s human, natural and entrepreneurial resources.

“The choice is organised abundance,” she declared.

The screening of A Land Apart, therefore, provided a platform for more than cinematic engagement, bringing together cultural diplomacy and conversations on agriculture, economic development, entrepreneurship and the possibilities of stronger Nigeria-Brazil cooperation.

Through the partnership involving the Brazilian Consulate, Ekiti State Government and AFRIFF, the initiative also underscored the importance of the creative industry as a vehicle for fostering international understanding, showcasing shared experiences and opening new avenues for cultural and economic collaboration between both countries.