In Europe, for instance in Germany, flowers are use for various activities or occassion, it is more or less like a tradition for the Germans; just like same way people all over the world use flowers for communicating; the German people enjoy exchanging flowers at any occasion. According to Mr Karlheinz Starck, owner of flower-house STARCK (Blumenhaus STARCK) in Grünstadt-Germany: he explained what flowers are used for in Germany or Europe. He says, flowers are use as gifts on special occassion such as; wedding, birthday, mother's day, and as burial rites. When the German people visits their dead relation they bring flower to the graveyard of their departed soul. He also went further to explained, how countries like; Isreal, Uganda, South Africa, Kenya, and even our neighbor Cameroun are doing well from exporting flowers. I was overwhelmed with curiosity? I was surprised, because in Nigeria, the floriculture or horticulture is not well developed.
Why is Nigeria not doing well in flouristculture or horticulture? The answer to this question is far-fetched, firstly Nigerians do not know about the usefulness of flowers, and they do not appreciate flowers, unlike here in Germany that people use flowers as gift, if you give a Nigerian flowers as a gift he/she might not really appreciate it, because flowers is not part of Nigerian culture. Of course, Nigerians use artificial flowers for decoration, as wedding bouquet, and on valentine's day some lovers also exchange artificial rose-flowers. "Personally, I never saw a real rose flowers in my country (Nigeria-Africa). I was surprised or amazed to know that Africa (Kenya) is the largest production of rose flowers. They grow buttonhole carnations and red roses for the lovers of rose flowers in Europe, but they themselves could not enjoy the beauty and fregrance of the flowers due to the poverty level in Africa. The poverty level in Kenya made a lot of their farmers to work so hard, to harvest more flowers for the European labour market, because they live in adject poverty they do not know about the beauty of flowers, nor do they understand the language of flowers but only seeing the flouristculture in Kenya doing well, will soon open eyes of other Afrcican countries in horticulture, especially Nigeria who depend only on crude oil as the only source of income, since the oil sector provides for 95% of Nigeria's foreign exchange earning, and has failed to develop it Agriculture or Horticulture sector, and other sectocs of economic growth of the nation.
Nigerian will be surprised to know that Kenya flouristculture ranks as one of the economy's fastest growing source from the highest industries, the second largest foreign exchange earner, $250million per annum. It sound cool right? But one can not overemphasised the usefulness or significance in European culture. I'm glad in a country that understand and communicate with flowers or nature. For example, the German or European's culture has made me to know that, the rose flower speaks life for their sharp thorns signify that life is beautiful, but also hard. In Germany or in some other part of the world, people give the sick bunches of flowers to wish them a new life of health, and also bring bunches of flowers to their dead relation to show them contiunity of love and a new hope in paradise. Flowers make the world beautiful. The world is made beautiful by wonderful creatures, things that exist in it, including plants and animals. Even God the Creator of the Universal, when He created man, he placed man in beautiful garden "The Garden of Eden" (Gensis 2:8-14). That tells us that God is interested in flouristculture.
But sadly enough, most of the African countries are not communicating with flowers. When you visit the cemetery or memorial Park one will not find a single flowers there. And yet Africa (Kenya) is leading in flouristculture. Even the Lake Naivasha that used to be a beautiful place in Kenya in nomore beautiful like it used to be known in the past. Not only that The cemetery look abandoned, the parks too are nothing to write home about. The one thing that bothered me about 'flouristculture ' in Africa is that the gardeners of those flowers that are been imported to Europe remains in poverty, while their governance are the one enjoying the benefits. This is another story of the African Child! It is a disease called corruption.
Queendaline Schneider.
7 comments:
There is still so much that need to be shield on ignorance in Africa. Mrs queendalyn, this is a nice one. God blessed
Thank you very much. I really appreciate your comment. Yes you are right sir.
You are so right. Just come to a look at the Institute of horticulture, NIHORT Ibadan, over run by weeds. And millions of naira ought to be generated from there!
Yes I agree with you, Nigerian have little or no knowledge because of the fact that few Nigerian has the understanding of what the usefulness of flowers could symbolized and implied, but I believe if there is a means by which residential buildings must be constructed and planted with different flowers and trees, and since residential buildings are the basic home shelter for every human, it would improve the understanding and the usefulness of flowers and thereby change the orientation of Nigerian about flowers and horticulture, Femi Oyeleye
flowers connect nature and beauty later trigger it into man through pleasant scent. so flowers actually reflect LOVE
Ignorance is one of d major prb in Nigeria,sometin as to be done to promote every aspect dat need change
Odeyemi Sodiq, you are absolutely right. Thanks everyone for your comments.
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