It was a bright Wednesday when the students of Kolmol Metropolitan College Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo State had an excursion to Enpost Farm, Odo ' Ijesha in Ilesa, Osun State. The students led by two of their teachers, Mr. Abegunde and Mr. Adejumobi, were all excited to travel the 60 kilometers from Ibadan to Ilesa to see first hand the farm their proprietress read about in the Tribune Tourism Magazine some months ago.Professor Olu Odeyemi, owner of Enpost Farm welcomed the students warmly and encouraged them to introduce themselves. He lived up to the reputation of an educationist by correcting their diction and teaching them how to relate well with people. He considered the students as privileged, as they were the first set of secondary school students to visit the farm to be exposed to nature at such a tender age, Typical of the professor, he quizzed the students on the reason for going to school to study. Some answered: 'To acquire knowledge, to be exposed, to learn moral lessons, to achieve success in life,' while Professor Odeyemi explained thus: 'To know yourself, to know your environment because it is the perception of the environment that helps one go through life well, and to be a better person, as each of us is on earth to solve a problem. It is my own knowledge of Nigeria that informed the establishment of the farm.' Professor Odeyemi enjoined them to ask their parents the meaning of their names and the reason for bearing such. He stated further that the farm was established for the world. He enjoined the students to learn how to create jobs by forming ideas because wisdom is the application of knowledge; that they should not wait for the government to provide employment, as there are up to 40 million jobless people in Nigeria. Water treatment plantThe green'white-green color of Professor Odeyemi's compound aptly depicts that he is a lover of nature and a good ambassador of his fatherland. The first port of call was the water treatment plant located on the left side of the farm. He said its technology could solve the water scarcity problem in the world. The water treatment plant has three tanks called airation tank, which removes, the chemical the water contains from the soil; Sedimentation tank, which sediments the dirts with either alum or Moringa oliefera and the filtration tank, which filters the water for safe drinking. Odeyemi, a consultant on water resources and control of river blindness said that the process of 'backwashing,' the mode by which dirts come out of the sedimentation tank, occurs twice a year.An inquisitive student asked whether water got from the rock and boiled was safe, but another answered that only the germs would have died, but the chemical would still remain. This got the Professor impressed. He said they should give the boy a round of applause. Professor Odeyemi enlightened the students on the danger of the belief that 'egbin omi kii payan,' that is 'impure water does not kill.' He said nothing kills faster than untreated water. He went down memory lane that the 'abiku'(ogbanje, stillbirth) beliefs could have been prevented if the water had been treated in the olden days.Biogas plant: Waste to wealthOn entrance into the main farm, the professor stopped by a well and the students clustered around him, but after a few seconds, they drew back and covered their noses to avoid inhaling the foul odour emanating from the covered pit. The lecturer in him informed them that 'anything that causes odour is not harmful.'' He mentioned the five things that cause odour as: 1.Amonia 2. Amimes 3.Organic acid 4.Marcaptaus 5. Skatle. He gave excreta as an example that if it could kill, it should have eradicated the human race since it stayed in the intestine before passing out of the body system. Biogas is methane gas formed from organic wastes by bacteria under anaerobic conditions which can be used for cooking, heating, lighting, electricity generation and crop processing to reduce post harvest times. The residue can also be used as insecticides to kill mosquitoes and spray trees against diseases. Odeyemi, a staunch advocate of chemical-free foods, utilizes organics from poultry to feed the fishes in the the pond. To him, nothing is a waste. The invention dated back to 1982, and has a lifespan of 70 years. He has constructed it for many households, and organisations. The post- digestion sludge from the biogas can also be used for mushroom cultivation and as liquid organic fertilizer because the adverse effect of the NPK fertilizer is to harden the soil in the long run- a fact which some farmers have now discovered and have decided never to touch the NPK fertilizer even if it is an inch away.In the forestThe elated students were amazed on learning that the farm spans three kilometres, which means an eco ' tourism treat from their host. The trees were also named and numbered. The tour-guide emphasised the importance of trees as a means of stemming the tide of climate change in the world, as they could be used for sequestering carbon as a carbon sink. Trees can also be used for global trading in carbon credits. 'I assure you that every tree planted is an income-yielding venture, just like the way Bill Gate became rich through computer invention.' He said the extract from the trees were now being used in his farm to treat antibiotic resistant bacteria.He explained, at the puzzled look on the faces of the tourists, that bacteria become resistant to antibiotics because of drug abuse and ability of the bacteria to adapt to and ultimately feed on the drug.Moringa Oliefera (Ewe Igbale)'Is a money spinner. Its seed could be planted or its stalk. It matures within 3 years. It is a multi- usage tree. It can be cooked as vegetable to boost the immune system in AIDS patients, it can be taken as tea, its oil extract can be used for cleaning. It also purifies water better than alum. It cannot deplete as alum does because anything that is being mined does deplete. Another advantage the African continent has over the temperate region is that it only grows in the tropics ' hence a tropical plant. As the saying goes, wisdom is the application of knowledge. Africa can generate employment through massive afforestation and usage of moringa oliefera.' It is worthy of note to know that Odeyemi invented the technology of using Moringa Oliefera to purify water.Pterocarpus (Osun Pupa, Craib, Blood Wood)This tree that has red sap can be used for wine, blood tonic, food colourant, flavour, lipstick and other life saving purposes.Rauvolfia Vomitoria (Swizzle Stick)Is used to cure the mentally retarded' the root extract is what sedates.Odeyemi also took them round the fish ponds to see the fingerlings, the juveniles and others ' an amazing fact about this is that the fishes were being fed with organic manure. Reflecting on her experience at the farm, Helen Olanrewaju, a SSS2 student, said the tour was an eye'opener has she had never been to a place like this before in her life. She expressed her delight in learning how to treat water, saw different trees and knew about their usage. She also said she appreciated God's diverse creation better.Bobga Benga JSS3: related his experience as a lecture as he learnt about forestry and its usage, how to decipher between the original products and the chemically processed products. He said the adventure piqued his interest in Science so that his generation could benefit from it. He hailed Odeyemi who laid the foundation for his generation to build on.'Wonderful experience' was how Ogunlakin Tofunmi, an SSS1 student, simply described it. She learnt about the usefulness of trees and how agriculture is of paramount benefit to Nigerians and the whole world. It has changed her perception on what career to choose , as she will now study to become a scientist.The teachers said the excursion came about as a result of the school proprietress's interest in Enpost Farm when she read an interesting piece on it in the Nigerian Tribune Tourism magazine some months ago. Impressed especially with the Biogas technology, the teachers, Mr Abegunde and Mr Adejumobi, both expressed their satisfaction on how the farm was well managed and implored other secondary schools to send their students to Enpost Farm for knowledge acquisition as well as re-orientation about sciences. Capping it all, Odeyemi enjoined the nation to feed the youth, as they in turn would develop the country, otherwise, they would commit different social vices which would relegate the country. He gave the statistics that Nigeria spends N630 billion on food importation per annum, which is not supposed to be so if the government had utilised the available resources for food production, the outcome of which would have generated employment. He also decried the use of NPK fertilizer as it hardens the soil, saying an healthy alternative is the application of organic fertilizer which will resuscitate the soil. EncouragementA peculiar sentence with the scientist was 'necessity is the mother of invention.'' He said those who needed the services the farm rendered such as students, researchers and tourists were sources of encouragement to him.ChallengesProfessor Odeyemi stated that adequate funding, coupled with finding trustworthy employees, is an uphill task.
Click here to read full news..
