First
of its kind in Africa and perhaps, the world, zobofest held a gathering of
stakeholders for two days to beam a spotlight on the opportunities that lie in
the hibiscus value chain.
With
the recent pandemic and the hard-hitting effects on global economies, Nigeria
has had to rework its national budget as her major source of national income-
crude oil has seen an unprecedented nose dive.
A
lot of businesses have shutdown, some have downsized while others are barely
struggling to stay afloat. The government in its bid to keep the economy going
has released a few economic palliatives albeit fraught with operational
inadequacies.
Motivated
by the need to steer a path towards economic diversification and reduce
unemployment, the convener phranklin Alli, put together a first of its kind
zobofest. #zobofest was entirely a digital-driven event. It held over two days
(Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10, June 2020) on Instagram live.
With
over 25 zobopreneurs from across Nigeria, London, USA and Canada, the speakers
included the President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry- Toki
Mabogunje, The Executive Director of FATE Foundation- Adenike Adeyemi, The
National Publicity Secretary of the National Hibiscus Farmers, Processors, Marketers
& Exporters Association- Ishaq Mallam Yahaya amongst other notable
speakers.
Speaker
after speaker, the need to diversify the nation’s economy was sufficiently
emphasized. The opportunities in the hibiscus value chain were brought to bear
and both Adenike Adeyemi of FATE Foundation and Toki Mabogunje of the Lagos
Chamber of Commerce & Industry espoused the need for investment in research
and value chain development of hibiscus.
Dr
George Uchendu, popularly called the #TheTalkDoctor helped to shed light on the
health benefits of hibiscus and why it must be incorporated in our daily diet.
He supported the claim that indeed regular consumption of hibiscus tea may help
in the management of high blood pressure.
He
noted that with the increasing incidence of high blood pressure, consumption of
hibiscus tea must be promoted and embraced by Nigerians especially as hibiscus
is grown in abundance in Nigeria and quite affordable too.
Reknowned
fitness expert and founder of Nigeria’s first weight loss reality tv show TheFastest
Shedder- Oluseyi Olusore shared experience from the highly successful
3rd edition of the show. He affirmed that regular consumption of hibiscus tea improves
the blood pressures of some of the contestants who hitherto had high blood
pressure.
Popular
alternative medicine practitioner and advocate of food as medicine- Opeyeoluwa
Olufeko also emphasized the health benefits of hibiscus as a rich medicinal
herb. She pointed out that hibiscus could also be used as a treatment for hair
loss.
On
his part, the National Publicity Secretary of the National Hibiscus Farmers, Processors,
Marketers & Exporters Association- Ishaq Mallam Yahaya highlighted the
association’s work towards the development of the product value chain. He also
said that the association has been deeply involved in advocating good
agricultural practices amongst farmers to improve our yield quality and global
acceptability in the light of the ban on Nigeria’s hibiscus from Mexico.
Following
the successful premiere edition of zobofest, The Executive Director of Fate
Foundation, as well as the President of Lagos Chamber of Commerce &
Industry, offered to support phranklin Alli in any effort towards expanding the
conversation and bridging the knowledge in the hibiscus value chain. The
convener indicates plans are underway for a bigger, better and more impactful
follow-up edition of the zobofest.
