Rev. Fr. Macarius Kolawole Olatunji is the priest in charge of OFFERCentre, one of the laudable initiatives of the Emeritus Archbishop of Ibadan, Rev. Dr. Felix Alaba Job. In this interview with Stephanie Egoamaka, he sheds more light on OFFERCentre and other pertinent issues. Enjoy…
Tell us about yourself.
I am a Catholic priest incardinated into the Catholic Archdiocese of Ibadan, Southwest Nigeria. I have been working as a priest for seventeen years in different capacities. Presently, I am the Director of Oluponna Fish Farming Resource Foundation (OFFAR Foundation) which has a subsidiary in OFFERCentre Institute of Agriculture, a certificate and diploma awarding institution in agriculture and catering as well as other vocational programmes.
This comes handy due to my background as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, a profession I practised before I received my call into the Catholic priesthood. For me, therefore, it is a thing of joy that I can practice my profession within my vocation.
What is OFFERCentre Institute of Agriculture and why is it different from other agricultural based NGOs?
The law of nature demands that seeds grow into huge trees or magnificent animals. Same law applies to institutions and OFFERCentre cannot be different.
The vision to have a great institution where youths shall be trained and empowered in agriculture and agric related enterprises was deposited as a seed in the mind of the emeritus archbishop of Ibadan, Most Rev Dr Felix Alaba Job. In 1984, he bought an 18-acre piece of land to actualise this vision at Oluponna, a border town with Iwo, Osun State. However, the seed experienced a slow growth due to some challenges.
With my priestly ordination in the year 2000, I was posted to Iwo parish in February 2001 with the mandate to actualise this dying dream. That was an herculean task owing to the socio-political and economic situation that was unfolding in the country at that time. With the help of God and with diligence, I got to work and developed partnerships and linkages over time that have put the institute on a solid footing today.
The first partners that came on board were the DCC (Delegation of Catholic Cooperation). We got volunteers from them to help actualise the vision. Four have come over the years and each contributed their quota to the growth of the centre. With them followed the Embassy of France in Nigeria that provided the Social Development Fund for some capital projects and for training of indigent youths. Afterwards came ESSO in production sharing contract with NNPC. They also supported with more infrastructure and good number of trainings. With ESSO came the consolidation we needed that has attracted others like Chevron, Total Upstream Nig. Ltd. and so on. We hope to begin a long term training and empowerment scheme with Michigan State University and MasterCard Foundation.
While these collaborations have built our capacity, we have not relented in developing our technical ability and capability. This also has grown with the symbiotic relationship we have developed over the years with local and international institutions. Our local partners are OSSADEP, OREAP, IITA, JDPC, NIAS, BOA, CAFAN, OLFA, Bowen University and the University of Ibadan. Others include Proparco, Air France, Servair, Acuiel, Arik Air and the Irish Embassy. We are fostering a good relationship with technical schools in Holland, Helicon MBO, both of Helmond and Boxtel, Baraka College of Agriculture and Kamuthanga Farms, both in Kenya. Certainly, we have grown in leaps and bounds, but need to remain steady and steadfast to keep the momentum on.
Coming to the question of what makes OFFERCentre Institute of Agriculture different from others, it is this: That we are out to build an institution that will impact technically on our students and beneficiaries. Skills or technical abilities are the banes of our society and this we want to turn around. Besides, we don’t want to be an institution just to add to the number, but to make a difference in the quality of our pedagogy and the proficiency of our beneficiaries. Even though we offer certificates and diploma in sustainable agriculture and rural development recognised by the National Board for Technical Education, our interest is more on the proficiency of those who pass through this institution and get them focused on details. This has been our goal, and we are doing well in this regard. That makes us different and unique.
What were the challenges you faced during the embankment of OFFERCentre Institute of Agriculture?
Like every tree struggling to survive and mature despite the changes in climate over the years, so too it has been with OFFERCentre. The initial challenges were numerous and multi-faceted.
- Oluponna being a rural community, the facilities to support and sustain such a project was not available.
- There was paucity of funds to drive the vision.
- Government policies were not helpful
- The difficulty in most cases to convince donors, corporate organisations and international partners of our sincerity of purpose.
- Difficulty in finding the right quality of personnel to drive the vision.
These were factors that were hinderances to growth at the beginning. Sad enough, they are very much factors we still contend with ten years afterwards. The only grace we have now as an organisation is that we know how to navigate across this sea of challenges which has even become hydra-headed because of the downturn in the economy of our nation and the cloudiness of the national and international political climate.
The Centre celebrated ten years last year. Tell us what plans and dreams you have for it in the next five to ten years.
One beautiful thing that has been our strength is the clear vision of what we wanted to achieve. Good enough, this concept has been caught by some long-standing young and energetic staff of the institute. This is fundamental for growth and development because it is the human beings that make things work. The ten years of our existence has been therefore more for developing the roots or tap root of this institution.
With that has come the time for rapid growth and development. There is so much pudding in the oven that is exciting for the centre and the society. The Board of Governors, which comprises of erudite personalities passionate about the growth of the centre, has agreed to meet in December this year to hatch the five-year development plan for the institution.
Our eyes are set on infrastructural development, and a lot of underground work is going on, on that. We shall be consolidating the technical ability of the departments that make up the institute as well as continue to improve the capabilities of the personnel. This will rub off on our students and trainees whom we want to be agents of change in the society. There is the concern of sustainability and making the Centre effectively proffer solutions to societal challenges, especially those of her immediate environment.
We remind ourselves that most of this kind of facility that was started by the government have gone moribund. While we keep a close look at factors that could bring us to our knees in a challenging business climate as we operate, we don’t want to suffer the fate of some of these failed public institutions. Hence, we keep an eye for details, we match our growth carefully and not bite more than we can chew, avoid leakages and hopefully we shall gladly assist to develop sister organisations like ours in other dioceses and local areas. The network that will be established with these sister institutions will become a source of strength with time.
You have been the pilot navigating the organisation in Iwo. Tell us how other entities can help achieve the dreams and goals OFFERCentre.
I will answer your question in two ways.
First, as I mentioned earlier, OFFERCentre is ready and willing to share ideas and expertise with other people, be it in church, private entrepreneurs or progressive state and local governments’ heads who are eager to build this kind of facility. And I must add that it won’t be out of place if we can have such a centre in all the dioceses and local government areas in our states. We are willing and ready to partner with and assist in the establishment of such projects so that resources are not wasted nor time lost in building this kind of facility anywhere that I have mentioned.
On the other hand, OFFERCentre must continue to grow in strength and capacity, not just to continue to impact on the society, but to have a healthy shoulder for sister organisations like her to lean on. That is why it is paramount and of necessity for corporate bodies and international agencies to partner with the centre to build it up into an enviable institution of learning and empowerment. The strength she has as a serious organisation with a reputable brand cannot be over emphasised.