Christmas: Rice fever grips Nigerians

IT is about 11 days to Christmas celebration, a period of merriment, of laughter, music and caroling, lighting, gift sharing, heightened economic activities and importantly, a time to feast on special meals.

For many Christians, Christmas is mainly celebrated with the adornment of beautiful attires and kingly treats. But for Mrs Adenike, the period is more than just feasting.

For her, Christmas is a time to reflect on how to improve on her poor economic status and reorder her priorities for the New Year. A dressmaker on the mainland of Lagos State, Adenike, in spite of her little means and persistent rise in prices of goods and commodities, made an effort to put smiles on the faces of her children in the spirit of the season of the commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ. She left her trade for the Oyingbo ultramodern market to buy some groceries, fabrics and other items for her family in preparation for the festival of feast.

But after hours of walking back and forth the ancient market, she resorted to feeding her eyes on different wares that were displayed by traders. She was worried about hike in the prices of food items and poultry products which she couldn’t afford, a situation which got her more disturbed about how her family would cope with the Christmas celebration. The mother of the house was also alarmed by the price of a bag of rice which before the border closure was sold for N14,000 but now sells for N28,000 and a 10 kilogram of poultry previously at N7500 now N14,000. With dismay, she exclaimed, “when will the government reopen the borders to allow for importation of foreign rice and poultry products for the celebration of Christmas?!”

Like Adenike, one of the economic realities that confront many Lagos residents at a time like this is the possibility of celebrating Christmas without their staple, rice, turkey, chicken and vegetable oil which are now beyond the reach of countless Nigerians.

Adenike simply concluded to settle for the affordable, not necessarily the desirable. The high price tags that traders placed on goods and commodities at the Oyingbo market simply stopped her from shopping for her children for the Yuletide. “I have been walking up and down the market but the prices of goods are beyond what I can afford. It is shocking to see that prices have gone up even beyond what an average family like mine could cope with. At the market, I was surprised to find that foreign rice now sells for N28,000, while local rice, which is stony and dirty, isn’t cheap as well. In fact, it does not come cheap, too. With this high price tag and scarcity, I don’t know how my family will celebrate Christmas.

“The economy is really biting hard. As a dressmaker, this is our season but customers are not forthcoming except for a few old customers. My income has gone down drastically while expenses are increasing. I am in a dilemma. The little money I realised cannot buy me the needed items. I cannot afford to buy clothes for my children not to talk of rice and poultry products that are beyond the reach of the poor. When I am ending the year in paucity, I better reorder my priorities for the New Year. It is obvious that we will cross over into the New Year with hardship and poverty should the land border closure remain,” she said.

 

I earn N22,000, can’t finish it on Christmas rice –Security guard

John Edafe is wearing a similar tight and painful shoe like Mrs Adenike. A security guard on Lagos Island, he said celebrating the season with so much, because of the high prices of rice and accompanying edible, is tantamount to one day of enjoyment and suffering for the rest of the month.

Why this mindset? He explained: “I am a security guard. My salary is N22,000, how will I feed for the coming month if I spent my salary on Christmas? With my present situation, I have no reason to celebrate Christmas.”

He added, “For me, eating special meals like rice and turkey on my account during Christmas amounts to suffering for a whole month. Considering how expensive things are, what can I get with my salary? And since I know I cannot afford to treat myself specially and the fact that I will be on duty on that day, why should I bother about Christmas celebration? It is like every other day except if I have an opportunity of freebies.”

 

Measuring the impacts of the ban imposed on the importation of foreign rice and poultry products by the Federal Government, the chairman of Oyingbo Market Traders Association, Victor Chukwuogo, said the ban had not only worsened the condition of many Nigerians, but also crippled farm produce export business.

Chukwuogo, in a chat with Saturday Tribune, revealed that in the history of food pricing, this was the first time Nigerians were buying rice at a very ridiculous price and this, he said, would make Christmas celebration a boring moment.

Expressing his fears over what he described as an unwelcoming price increase, he said: “Many Nigerians are hungry, getting poorer and unable to feed themselves. This suggests a gloomy Christmas period for many Nigerians. These inadequacies prompted by the land border closure have affected the quality of lives of the citizenry, especially in terms of what they eat. Rice is a staple but sadly, it is going out of the reach of the average Nigerian. For the first time in the history of food pricing in the country, foreign rice is being sold for N28,000 as against N14,500 it was sold before the ban. The same goes for other commodities like poultry products, tomatoes, pepper and other ingredients.

“Christmas is around the corner, and families would want to give a special treat to their children and loved ones. But with the current situation of things, will this be possible? Take a look at the prices of poultry products, turkey, for instance is sold for N14, 000 per 10 kilogram while a kilogram is N1800. Local rice which ought to be an alternative to foreign rice is also too expensive. It is far beyond the reach of the poor. Apart from its discoloured and stony nature, its market price is too high. When foreign rice was N14,000, a bag of local rice was N22,000. And now that foreign is N28,000, how much do you think it will be sold? This suggests that there is not enough local rice in circulation.

“Rice is a preferred meal and it has no rival. It has no substitute either. It is a choice meal for many families during Christmas but unfortunately, it is not affordable anymore all in the name of protecting local farmers. I am appealing to the Federal Government to find a solution to the scarcity so that Nigerians will not die of hunger. It is also very important for the government to open the borders for Nigerians to have a superb Christmas celebration.

“The continued closure means we are in for a hard time during Christmas period. Although our local rice farmers are trying their best but this is not enough to attend to the needs of the populace. The Federal Government should come up with measures to cushion the effect of the restriction on the masses, especially during this festive period. They should come up with policies that will check illegal smuggling and not to further impoverish people and cripple business activities. There are countries that don’t grow rice but have it in abundance. Britain doesn’t grow rice but they have it all year round. Banning a particular product without an alternative doesn’t make any sense. It will only subject Nigerians to more hardship. The government should enter into an agreement with the affected countries to fashion ways to check smuggling.

“As an exporter, I am feeling the heat, too. It is a very big issue, especially for those of us that are into export business. We are really feeling the heat because for us to export our local produce to other countries is now a challenge. They tell us that since they are not accepted in Nigeria, they are not accepting our products, too. They wage war against us and create blockades for our products to get to them. Rather than create economic enmity between neighbouring countries, the Federal Government should introduce a palliative to stem the harsh effects of the restriction for it to be a thing of the past.”

 

No cause for alarm –Chairman, Mile 12 International Market

Considering the size and volume of transactions at Mile 12 International Market daily, the market attracts different strata of people – buyers and sellers – from far and near. Located in Ketu, Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos State, traders at Mile 12 market, adjudged as one of the busiest markets in the South West, deals in food items such as fruits, tomatoes, peppers, onions, yam flour, vegetable oil, palm oil, beans and rice, which, according to chairman of the market, are locally produced and supplied to the market.

Reacting to the high price tag on local rice and the effect of the Federal Government’s ban of foreign products on Christmas celebration, the chairman of the market, Alhaji Shehu Usman, allayed the fears of Lagos residents, saying that there would be enough supply of local rice at an affordable price during the festive period. According to him, the thought of the ban creating shortage in rice supply during the Yuletide should not arise as traders in Mile 12 market sell only local rice.

“We don’t sell foreign rice at Mile 12 International Market. Being an international market, traders from Cotonou, the Republic of Benin, come to the market with their tomatoes to sell and in turn buy from us. But since the ban, they have stopped buying our tomatoes and peppers. We have been appealing to the government, particularly the Federal Government, to lift the ban and allow traders from our neighbouring countries to come to the market to buy these perishable goods from us to avoid post-harvest loss. All these commodities are in large quantities. You can’t imagine the loss traders would incur if the restriction continues. The implication is that many of the commodities will decay. As for supply of foreign rice to the market, we don’t sell foreign rice. For a very long time, we don’t have any issue with rice supply to the market. Traders selling grains in Mile 12 are not dealing in foreign rice. They sell local rice which is supplied from Ebonyi, Kebbi and other states. And this they brought to the market in large quantities. Therefore, the fear of rice not being available for the Yuletide does not arise. Our farmers are striving to bridge the gap between demand and supply,” Alhaji Usman said.

 

‘Local rice is N12,000 here’

Speaking on the hike in price of local rice during the Christmas season, Alhaji Usman said: “Local rice is available. We have loads of it at Mile 12 market. And it sells for between N11,500 and N12,000, contrary to speculation of the pocket-tearing price it goes for. Our local rice is cheaper than the foreign rice. The price will even go down when Christmas sales begin. As I speak with you, farmers are unloading a truck of bags of rice to wholesalers at the market. So, as far as Christmas celebration is concerned, there is no cause for alarm. Local rice, tomatoes, peppers and other ingredients will be in excess supply for the Christmas celebration and at affordable prices.”

 

Local rice will be plenty at Xmas –AFAN president

In May 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari announced the ban on the use of foreign exchange to import foreign items, including rice into the country. Fast forward to August 2019, Buhari’s administration closed Nigeria’s land borders and restricted importation of foreign rice and other items from neighbouring countries into the country. Although the restriction has created a huge scarcity of rice and poultry products, it has boosted local rice production but not to the capacity required to address the daily need of over 200 million Nigerians. Some Nigerians, especially local farmers, have described the ban as a step in the right direction, while others argued that the restriction would be more meaningful if it was gradually done. According to the latter set of people, before imposing the restriction, the government should have considered the implication of such policy on the masses.

On the efforts of farmers to ensure adequate supply of local rice and poultry products during the Yuletide, the president of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Alhaji Kabiru Ibrahim, said the body was exploring the opportunities presented by the land border closure to increase food production in the country.  Responding to a message sent him by Saturday Tribune, Alhaji Ibrahim disclosed that the farmers’ body was striving to increase the volume of farm produce, especially rice production which, without doubt, would be in high demand during the Yuletide.

He said, “AFAN is using the opportunity of the border closure or the apparent scarcity to produce more. The Yuletide, as always, comes with its attendant high demand of poultry, especially turkey, and other products but our farmers are always on the ground to meet this demand. If Nigerians adhere to the advice of ‘eating what we grow and growing what we eat’, this seeming scarcity will be addressed. As time goes on, this gulf will be closed and everyone in Nigeria will be the better for it but before the land borders are reopened, we must be patient. Farmers are happier as our produce is in high demand. It, therefore, amazes me when people say that the country is experiencing food insecurity. Talk of food production, we are self-sufficient. Gone are the days when we ate rice only during festive periods. There are many alternatives to rice. We need to start patronising our locally grown food.”

 

‘We’ll eat amala if rice is not available’

With the probable scarcity and projected hike in the prices of foreign and local rice and poultry products for the Yuletide, a cross section of children from across Lagos State opened up on their choice of meal for Christmas, even in the face of likely absence of rice in many homes.

Completely attached to its sumptuous taste and varieties, many of the children that spoke to Saturday Tribune said they could not trade rice and chicken for anything at Christmas. For others, however, going traditional would not be a bad idea, especially if provided with appetizing amala or iyan and efo riro with meat.

 

‘I trust my mummy to prepare rice for us at Christmas’

FOURTEEN-year-old Joel Popoola is a diehard fan of rice as Christmas meal as he said considering a substitute for it was unimaginable. According to Joel, a Senior Secondary 2 student, be it local or foreign, it is either rice or nothing.

“I never get tired of eating rice and noodles even outside of festive seasons. My parents can attest to this. My preferred meal is fried rice, followed by coconut rice and jollof rice with plantain and chicken. No matter the level of scarcity, I trust my mummy to make it available for us this season. Therefore, for me and my siblings, there is no alternative to rice,” Joel said.

 

‘I prefer yam and beans for Christmas’

Unlike Joel, 8-year-old Inumidun Olatayo, yam and beans at Christmas in the absence of rice, is her best choice.

Isn’t this odd on a Christmas day? “It’s not, it’s my best meal anyday, anytime” she snapped.

“This is not about eating yam and beans on a special day as Christmas. It has to do with the food I love most. I love yam and beans because my mummy said beans will make me grow taller. This Christmas, if my mummy can’t afford rice and turkey, I will prefer yam and beans with fish stew as substitute for rice.”

 

‘I choose amala over rice at Christmas’

A 10-year-old foodie, Olawale Sunday, neither wants rice nor yam and beans. He wants something more filling, dignifying and delectable for Christmas. Like his chubby size, he prefers feasting on heavy and special meal like iyan, amala with efo riro and meat. After all, a special occasion, he said, calls for a special treat. “Christmas is not like every other day. It is special. Therefore, it calls for a unique delicacy. I have eaten too much of rice since the beginning of the year, so why should I eat it at Christmas? I want something heavy and sumptuous. For the festival, I would prefer amala or iyan with meat. Ordinarily, we hardly eat such meal at home, so, it won’t be a bad idea eating it at Christmas. I prefer a morsel of amala to a spoonful of rice,” he said with a flourish.

 

Expect LAKE Rice next week –Govt

Meanwhile, as anxiety mounts among residents over the rice crisis, the Lagos State government has expressed its intention to crash the price of its brand, Lake Rice for residents in the state to buy at an affordable price during the Yuletide.

Speaking to Saturday Tribune on the availability of LAKE rice during the special season, spokesperson for Ministry of Agriculture, Jide Lawal, said LAKE rice would be available in sufficient supply for Christmas celebration. But when asked if it would come at a much-reduced price as anticipated, he said, “Don’t preempt the price. All I know is that it will be available in sufficient supply next week. So, let’s wait till then.”