Matters arising from Ambode’s LAKE rice

While the euphoria that greeted the sales and distribution of the Lagos/Kebbi rice begins to abate, one will not forget in a hurry, the news of the Memorandum of Understanding which was recently signed between the two states on the production and marketing of Nigeria’s most staple food.

Not much was done to bring things to the public knowledge until a few days before  the Christmas and New Year when the true picture began to emerge.

At the end of the day, a decision was taken by the state government to distribute the commodity across designated centres, mainly at local government level.  There is no doubt that the delay might have been occasioned by certain logistics such as adoption of appropriate name for the product, channel of distribution and pricing, among others.  Before the final decision, people had brandished different names, such as Ambode Rice, Laskeb Rice, etc, ostensibly to reflect the nomenclature and mutual interest of the states involved in the collaboration, until the name ‘Lake Rice’ eventually emerged.

In the mouths of Lagosians, let there be rice!  Whatever name it is called does not matter; we need enough of the commodity to go round to the citizens.

It is important to equally note that at the unveiling ceremony, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode further pruned down the price from the speculated N13,000 to N12,000.  Kudos to the people’s governor.  It is our earnest prayer that God continues to enrich him with greater wisdom, innovation, creativity and, above all, grant him good health.

Those within Lagos State may not appreciate what it took an average Nigerian outside the state to procure a bag of rice during the last festive period, in terms of psychological stress and price.  It is also necessary to appeal to the government at the centre to take a leaf from the Lagos example, in order to ameliorate the excruciating pains and hunger ravaging the land.  In short, with the position of the state as a mini Nigeria, the Federal Government owes a lot of gratitude to Lagos for making the Yuletide period a happy one for some of its inhabitants, notwithstanding that I have neither seen a grain of the said Lake Rice specie (except in the press) nor encountered anyone who attested to its quality.

It is unwise for residents of major rural communities to go in search of the rice beyond their  catchment areas.  For instance, any prospective buyer coming from the adjoining towns of Ijagemo, in the Iba LCDA to and from Ijegun – Ikotun axis would have spent not less than N6,000 to convey the rice from the closest selling point in any of the urban areas.

It, therefore, made no sense to go and queue for it. However, since whatever that is worth doing is worth doing well, my advice is for the state government to take the following necessary steps to improve on the novelty: liberalise the sale and distribution channels by penetrating various localities; remove the stringent conditions associated with the sale such as LASRRA card, etc; maintain the one man one bag policy; sustain the current price, where reduction is not practicable; and, above all, make the sale of the rice an all-season affair.

Tony Anaele,

Lagos