The Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) is being forced to take on responsibilities far beyond its scientific mandate because governments have failed to provide basic infrastructure for communities surrounding the institute, legal practitioner and broadcaster Asiwaju Kunle Kalejaye, SAN, has said.
Kalejaye, of Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, made the assertion while highlighting the challenges confronting Nigeria’s agricultural research sector and the country’s declining position in global cocoa production.
According to him, CRIN, established in 1964 to deploy scientific research toward improving cocoa production and strengthening the economy, has increasingly been compelled to provide roads, town halls, streetlights and boreholes for neighbouring communities.
He described the development as evidence of a deeper governance crisis, arguing that a specialised scientific institution should not be forced to function as an extension of federal, state and local governments.
Kalejaye recalled the crisis that rocked CRIN’s headquarters in Idi Ayunre, Ibadan, between 2013 and 2016, when community leaders, youths and some former members of staff reportedly shut down the institute over grievances including mass sackings and alleged neglect of surrounding communities.
He said the disruption forced the institute’s management to invest in community infrastructure as part of efforts to maintain peace, resources that should ordinarily have been deployed to scientific research.
“The real tragedy is that this peace comes at a massive financial cost to our agricultural future,” Kalejaye said.
He further alleged that budgetary allocations intended for CRIN’s research activities had been diverted to constituency projects, including streetlights, town halls, food distribution and other empowerment initiatives across different parts of the country.
Kalejaye argued that such interventions leave scientists spending valuable time supervising construction projects and distributing palliatives and motorcycles instead of conducting research into crop diseases, biotechnology and climate-resilient agriculture.
He warned that the situation was particularly dangerous amid growing climate challenges confronting cocoa production in the South-West, especially in Ondo, Osun and Oyo states.
According to him, rising temperatures, irregular rainfall and other extreme weather conditions are placing cocoa production under increasing pressure, while diseases such as Black Pod are threatening farmers and young cocoa seedlings.
He said Nigeria risks falling further behind countries investing heavily in agricultural science and climate-resilient crops if research institutions continue to be saddled with responsibilities meant for government agencies.
Kalejaye also lamented Nigeria’s declining position in global cocoa production, saying the country had fallen to the fourth-largest producer after previously occupying a stronger position in the international market.
He linked the decline to years of inadequate investment in agricultural research and productivity.
He cited Cocoa House in Ibadan as a reminder of the economic strength Nigeria once derived from agriculture. The 26-storey landmark, opened in 1965, was funded from cocoa proceeds generated in the then Western Region.
Kalejaye maintained that the decline of the cocoa sector contrasted sharply with the era when agricultural productivity generated enough wealth to finance major infrastructure.
He therefore called on the Federal Government to separate research funding from community development, insisting that roads, water supply and other basic infrastructure should be provided by the appropriate tiers of government.
He also urged lawmakers to stop inserting unrelated constituency projects into the budgets of specialised research institutions.
“A research institute simply cannot function as an alternative government,” he said, stressing that Nigerian scientists must be allowed to return their full attention to laboratories and agricultural innovation if the country hopes to reclaim its position in global cocoa production.
