HYPERINFLATION has hit the prices of food items and household products across Nigeria, countrywide findings by Nigerian Tribune have shown.
Densely-populated states like Lagos, Kano, Oyo, Kaduna, Rivers, Katsina, Bauchi, Anambra, Jigawa and Benue, with a combined projected population of 121 million residents, are being daily pressured by the soaring prices of staple food items and household commodities.
Major cities like the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with millions of inhabitants are also grappling with the soaring prices, with Nigerians grumbling aloud.
Federal and state authorities are, however, assuring that all will be well soon. In Lagos, findings at the popular Mile 12 international food market showed that a paint plastic measure of three classes of beans, known as oloyin, olootu and flat white, has seen a hike of at least N400, with oloyin, the top of the range, now selling for N2,600, from the former N2,200.
A big bottle of groundnut oil has increased from N1,200 to N1,400 while a paint plastic measure of rice jumped from N1,900 to N2,200.
A measure of pepper that sold for N1,000 about three weeks back now sells for N3,000. A big tuber of yam which sold for N1,200 weeks back now sells for N2,500, an increase of over 100 per cent.
The story remains the same at markets on Lagos Island, like Idumota, Balogun, among others. A mobile canteen operator, Mrs Motun Makinde-Ola, told Nigerian Tribune she noticed food items’ prices skyrocketing in the last three weeks, adding that sellers complained that tension in certain parts of the country was responsible for the spike in price.
She noted that practically all food items are affected by the crisis alluded to by the sellers. Widespread insecurity in northern and eastern Nigeria has compelled major suppliers of food items to the southern part of the country, particularly the south-western axis, to suspend supplies.
According to her, since she could not increase the cost of what she delivers to her customers, she was compelled to reduce the portions being served them, prompting grumbling from many of them.
The state government has, however, assured that the dark days will soon be over. Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, told Nigerian Tribune that a five-year plan to boost the food industry is already being worked out.
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He said, “Lagos State government is not taking it lightly. The question of food security is a key aspect of our THEME Agenda. It is about security and good governance. A few weeks ago, we launched a five-year agricultural plan and the aim is about self-sufficiency in food production. We are at about 18 percent now. Over the next five years, the plan is to take it to 40 percent.
“In fact, we are trying to do so many things in the agricultural field because we realised that Lagos State consumes well over 50 percent of all agricultural produce in Nigeria because of our population. So, we are trying to do many things at various levels of supply chain.
“In terms of beef, we are trying to consider not bringing in cattle from anywhere but having our own ranches, places where we can rear our own cattle and places where we can slaughter them in very neat environment.
“We are also trying to have land to cultivate vegetables and others. Apart from that, we are encouraging people to set up farms, and we are giving them loans to allow them to do that. Apart from that, the Imota Rice Mill is to come up before the end of this year. It is going to be producing 32 metric tonnes of rice per day and employ hundreds of people.
“So, if the food prices are high now, they cannot continue for long, because we have plans to ensure we attain food sufficiency in the state so that prices of foodstuffs can come down.”
Same tales across the South-West: Ogun
In Ogun State, prices of food items are on the high side.
At Kuto market in Abeokuta, a measure of rice which used to sell for N650 now sells between N700 and N750.
A big tuber of yam moved from N2,000 to N3,000. At Sabo market in Sagamu, frozen Titus fish per unit increased from N450 to N900.
At Ogere pepper market, a basket of tomatoes which used to sell for N18,000 now goes for N23,000 while chilli pepper (ata rodo) increased from N16,000 to N28,000 (flower) and N25,000 to N37,000 (Pako).
A basket of onions also increased from N18,000 to N25,000.
Speaking with Nigerian Tribune, Pastor Taiwo Bankole urged the government to encourage youths to engage in farming, especially mechanised farming, to boost food sufficiency.
Also, Mrs Anike Oridota, a foodstuff trader at Kuto market, explained that the cost of food items had been affecting businesses.
Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Adeola Odedina, said the state government would not relent in its support for farmers, noting that food prices, most of the time, are based on cost of farmers’ production.
Ekiti
In Ekiti State, a check on prices of food items revealed increases, virtually on a weekly basis. The price of a mudu of red beans (oloyin) increased from N900 to N1200 within the last two weeks, while same measure of garri rose from N400 to N700. One meausre of cassava flour has increased from N1,200 to N1,400 within one week and residents are lamenting the increase and appealing to government.
A trader at the central market (Oja Oba) in Ado-Ekiti, Joke Akintunde, said the cost of transporting some of the food items to the state is one of the reasons for the hike in price.
“We got them (food items) from other states, especially from the North and insecurity across the country is contributing to the situation. Many farmers can no longer go to the farms and the few items we have are costly, hence the high price of the food items here,” she said.
Osun
Residents of Osun State are grumbling aloud as a measure of beans which sold for N450 in the last few weeks now costs N1,100; garri, from N300 to N500, while a bowl of tomatoes sold for N1,000 before now costs N3,000 and a measure of rice sold for N600 weeks back is now N1,200.
Also, a measure of dry pepper sold for N250 now costs N500, among other soaring prices of food items.
A trader, who identified herself as Iya Korede, said, “At times, we will be in the market without patronage because of scarcity of fund from the consumers. The economy of the country is battered and shattered and it will be appreciated if the situation could be attended to.”
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ismail Omipidan, said government had held series of meetings with the market women, farmers and other stakeholders in the state to make the economy more virile.
Oyo
Nigerian Tribune’s findings indicated that prices of food items, such as rice, beans, yam and garri, have skyrocketed in the past few months, making it unaffordable for many.
A measure of rice hitherto sold for N600 or N700 now goes for N900.
The same goes for a measure of beans, sold for N800, and currently selling for N1,200.
Similarly, a measure (kongo) of garri which before now sold for N600 now attracts N800 or N900, while three tubers of yam formerly sold at the rate of N1,200 now sell for N2,000.
Some of the buyers and sellers who spoke with Nigerian Tribune at Eleyele and Sango markets in Ibadan lamented the exorbitant prices of food commodities, urging the government to address the situation.
Mrs Fasilat Adeosun, who sells rice, beans and garri said, “the prices are too high and this is negatively affecting our business in terms of dwindling patronage. Now, we spend more than before when we travel to purchase these foodstuffs from major markets outside Ibadan.”
A housewife, Madam Beatrice Makanjuola, told the Nigerian Tribune that “the increase in the prices of food commodities has affected the family budget. We now spend more than our projection monthly on the purchase of foodstuffs.”
Efforts to get the reaction of the Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Jacob Ojemuyiwa, were unsuccessful as calls put through to his phone rang out and he did not reply the text message sent him.
In Ondo, it’s hardship never seen in 25 years
A survey showed about 35 per cent increase in the prices of foodstuffs in many markets and many of the foodstuff sellers attributed this to transportation and insecurity in the country.
At the Akure Central Market, Oja Oba, a trader simply called Madam Folake said the price of palm oil and vegetable oil had increased.
She said, “We used to buy 30 litres of palm oil at N10,000 but we now buy at N18,000, so we sell a keg of five litres at N2,700 as against N1,900.
“A keg of 30 litres of vegetable oil is now N25,000 against N18,000 and we sell for N800 instead of the previous price of N600.”
Also, Mrs Florence Adaku said the price of a bag of imported rice had gone up to between N24,000 and N29,000 as against the former price of between N16,000 and N18,000 before Ramadan.
She, however, said white beans is the hot cake in the market now, saying, “Most people prefer to buy the white beans now, and its price has moved from N450 to N700. I have been in this business for over 25 years, I have never experienced this type of hardship. All we do is to leave home and feed our children and family. There is no gain again; we eat up all the gains.”
Alhaja Ayobami Motunrayo said the prices of onion, tomato and pepper also spiked, saying “people no longer buy from us and the products which are perishable are getting spoilt and we cannot afford not to sell them.
Abuja traders blame hike on insecurity, ban on rice importation While residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, are lamenting the high cost of food items, sellers are blaming insecurity and the ban placed on importation of rice. In markets surveyed, the price of a bag of Nigerian rice oscillates between N22,000 and N25,000, while imported rice is between N29,000 and N30,000.
As of Friday, a 50kg Big Bull (Nigerian rice) was sold for N24,000 against the previous N22,000. Mafa rice went for N23,000 against its previous N22,000 price tag.
A bag of brown beans, previously sold for N50,000, is now N60,000, while a bag of white beans now sells for N50,000 as against the previous price of between N30,000 and N35,000.
A crate of eggs is now N1,600 as against the previous cost of N1,200, while a bag of white garri, it was gathered, is being sold between N25,000 and N27,000, depending on the quality, with yellow garri being sold for between N27,000 and N30,000.
White garri was said to be N17,000 before now and yellow garri sold for N20,000. A foodstuff seller, Mallam Saliu Sanusi, attributed the high cost of foodstuffs to insecurity, saying that the fear of bandits and kidnappers is preventing farmers from assessing their farms to either till the ground or harvest their crops.
Views from the North
In Bauchi, a bag of foreign rice is now between N30,000 and N32,000. Checks at major markets in the metropolis, Wunti, Central and Muda Lawal, revealed that even prices of perishable items like tomatoes, pepper, onions and others have skyrocketed to the level that people now avoid some of the items and seek alternatives.
Inusa Aliyu who sells rice, oil and other raw foodstuffs at the Wunti market said the activities of government through its agencies, particularly the Customs, are the main cause of the problem. He said for now, the price of beans has gone out of reach, with a measure now selling for N400, a development that forced them to stop selling it.
Musa Mai Tomatir, at the Muda Lawal perishable items market, said because the wet season had set in, it had become difficult to get the items as easily as before. At Birnin-Kebbi Central market in Kebbi State, a mudu (measure) of beans is sold for N1,000 as against last week’s price of N850; rice, sold for N1,200 as against N1,000 in the previous week. Garri is sold for N600 as against N400 in the previous week.
Alhaji Isa Abdullahi, chairman of foodstuff dealers, said the menace of bandits in Katsina, Zamfara and Sokoto states in recent times made it difficult for farmers to farm. No government official was willing to comment on the national food crisis.
South-South/South-East
In Akwa Ibom State, Governor Udom Emmanuel has ordered direct intervention as prices of food items soar.
Checks by Nigerian Tribune across some major markets in Uyo, the state capital, including the Etuk Street market, Akpan Andem market Itam market and Ikot Mbang market, on the outskirts, revealed astronomical rise in prices of most staple items. For instance, a measure of four tomatoes at the Akpan Andem market goes for N100 as against eight before.
Rice, depending on brands and quality, hovers between N110, N150 and N180 per cup, while beans go for between N100 and N120, depending on quality.
But the most excruciating, according to Mrs Enobong Aniekan, “is the high cost of garri which is the major staple in most homes. We now buy three cups of garri for N200 and for a family of six, excluding me and my husband, it is a very big burden on the shoulder.”
It was gathered that most food items, including garri, yam, rice and others are brought into the state from northern Cross River, but the deplorable state of the Calabar-Itu road imposed a lull on the business.
Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Gloria Edet, reportedly ensured direct sales of garri for three cups for N1,000 at Idongesit Nkanga Secretariat field, Uyo. However, to avoid stampede, Effiong Bassey, a parent, who said he came all the way from Ukanafun Local Government Area to buy garri, appealed for the decentralisation of the sales across the 31 local government areas.
In Edo, a basket of tomatoes which before now sold for N15,000 at the popular Oba Market in Benin currently goes for N45,000, while a bowl of white beans which sold for as low as N700 at the beginning of the year now sells for N1,400. Mallam Shaibu, a suya barbecue seller along Mission Road by Ugbague junction, confessed that instead of increasing the price of a stick of the popular delicacy, all he merely did was to reduce the quantity while the price remained the same.
In Rivers State, a retailer, popularly called Aunty Nwanneukwu, lamented the spiraling inflation especially of the prices of food items, saying it has negatively affected her business in terms of both turnover and profitability.
“Imagine a whole big bag of garri, now, you sell it with only N1,000 profit margin unlike before when make up to between N2,000 and N3,000 from a bag. “A basket of onions, they call it sugar bag, which we used to buy for between N4,000 and N5,000, now sells for N11,000,” she said.
Ebonyi markets arsonists rock the boat
In Ebonyi, some of the markets had been burnt by arsonists, a reason for hike in food prices. “For more than three months now, there has not been any trading there [at the market], so this has made the price of garri to increase. The garri we used to buy for N25,000, we are now buying at N38,000, N39,000 and N40,000,” one of the traders told Nigerian Tribune. At Relief Market in Owerri, Imo State, last week, a 50kg bag of onions which used to be N20,000, is now N35,000, while the medium-size bag of onions which was sold before for N14,000, now sells for N20,000.
Chairman of Onions Dealers Association, Alhaji Sulaiman Ibrahim, said a paint container of onions now sells for N4,000 as against N2,000 before now. He complained that traders spent almost N100,000 to transport their goods to Owerri, while for each big and small bag of onions, the drivers now charge between N2,000 and N1,700.
A yam dealer said that tubers of yam in the market had also increased in price as, according to him, a big tuber of yam which used to be N900 is now N1,300.
In Warri, Delta State, residents lamented the high cost of living, especially foodstuffs and soup ingredients.
Anambra State government, in its reaction through the Commissioner for Information and Public Entertainment, Mr C. Don Adinuba, promised that government would provide financial assistance to those affected.
‘It’s back to land’
A consumer, Mr Johnson Abiola, said it was high time residents returned to the farms, to grow what they eat in view of the increase in prices of food items.
In Ekiti State, according to the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Olabode Adetoyi, over 20,000 hectares of land had been set aside for cultivation of rice, cassava, maize, ginger and other crops through the public private partnership arrangement.
He said the government is also inviting private investors under PPP arrangements to do commercial farming in Oye and Ikole local government areas. “All our farm settlements are active now and we are allocating to farmers. We will support them with seeds and stipends and we are now encouraging more of them to plant tomatoes, pepper and others,” he said.
High cost of production, insecurity responsible for hike —Ogunnaike
A major stakeholder in the agriculture sector and chairman, Fol Hope Nigeria Ltd, Chief Emmanuel Folorusho Ogunnaike, while speaking with Nigerian Tribune on Tuesday, said “as far as I am concerned, high cost of production is one of the leading factors leading to high food prices.
Also, the inability of farmers to have access to their farms metamorphose to scarcity of food.”
He said farmers should be able to produce if they are well protected, adding that if the problem of insecurity is not solved, Nigerians should forget about food sufficiency.
FG speaks
Executive Secretary of Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), Professor Garba Sharubutu, said the council had embarked on introduction of early maturity seeds.
“Because of the nature of crops that we have and in order to ensure food security, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Sabo Nanono, is now diverting his attention to quick and early maturing crops which include rice, cowpea, maize, sorghum millet. This is what he is really trying to encourage.
“So, as a research institute, he is saying we must stock some of these elite seeds; which means high-quality seeds, because if there is any input farming depends on, it is quality seeds
and then