The Tinubu government has finally shown itself responsive to the travails of the people, and come up with a food plan to ameliorate rampant food inflation.
In its first move that gives me the hint that it is not impervious to the needs of the people, the government came up with a comprehensive food plan that aims both at lowering food prices as well as ensuring the economic security of farmers.
In a rare show of a thinking head, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, announced that government was opening a 150-day window for duty-free importation of strategic grains including maize, rice, wheat and cowpeas through both land and sea borders over the period.
He said the Federal Government, by itself would directly import some 250,000 metric tons of both wheat and maize to help drive down the prices.
These moves, Kyari said, were in the implementation of the Presidential Accelerated and Stabilization Advancement Plan, the committee for which was set up in September 2023.
The food to be imported, Kyari said, would be in semi-processed form. This makes room for small scale Nigerian processors to be engaged in the final production before the food gets to the table.
And to ensure that the food gets to the ordinary Nigerian at intended prices, the government plans some form of price control to manage exploitation from the supply chain.
Besides moving to drive food prices down, Kyari, in a show of responsibility, announced plans to protect farmers from the effects of the anticipated food price crash. The government would play the key role of buffer stock manager. It will, in conjunction with other stakeholders, agree on Guaranteed Minimum Price for commodities, and mop up supplies from farmers into the National Strategic Food Reserve.
The government also plans to ramp up production. The plan includes working with the military and stirring up the extant Defense Farms Scheme; mobilizing women and youth for greenhouse horticulture; identification of irrigable land for expansion of land under cultivation, and aggressive mechanisation of farming.
This food plan, for once, gives me something to commend the Tinubu government on. Failing to plan is said to be planning to fail. But planning, even this comprehensive one, does not automatically translate to success. Plans have to be implemented in a timely manner for success to be achieved.
If the committee that hatched this plan was set up in September 2023, why did it take a whole 10 months to come out and give the people reasonable hope while they wait for the food? Was it the planning process, the approval process or the implementation process that is responsible for the delay? Or was it the entire chain that was unaware that the nation was on a food emergency? It is said that the government and the governed live in different time zones, with the government coming far behind. But this plan gives me the sense that the Nigerian government and the governed live in the same universe, at least. And the inclusion of beans in the critical food list shows me that somebody is sensitive there in government. Beef and fish, critical protein, are out of the reach of most Nigerians now. Plant protein which beans represents mainly shot into the skies too. I had raised the cry for children that are the usual victims. I’m glad to know that somebody heard, or that someone in government equally cares.
The success or failure of this food intervention programme will, however, depend on how the implementation goes. Those old enough will recall that besides the civil war, this is the second time we have witnessed this food emergency. We saw it in the Second Republic, under Shehu Shagari’s presidency. Shagari responded by instituting the Presidential Taskforce on Rice, headed by Umaru Dikko.
Shagari’s programmme was a grand failure. It was turned into a party affair, with the supply chain peopled by party members. Recipients of the commodity at the recommended price were almost exclusively members of the ruling National Party of Nigeria. If Tinubu makes the implementation of this project a party affair, the outcome will be like that of Shagari.
Lest I forget, the government should delete that joke about the Defence Farms Scheme as part of the food supply chain. How would a military that has been unable to defend the nation from Boko Haram and common bandits be entrusted with other duties?
DIASPORA CHRONICLES
How about earning N2.47m monthly?
What would you say to an opportunity to earn some N2.47 million per month? It’s not in the dreamland where you are suddenly made the managing director of the NNPC (without any engineering training). Many would sell their mothers to access such opportunities.
Even more appealing is the fact that the offer is for a first job in a foreign land, safe from armed robbers and kidnappers – twin evils that every Nigerian, especially the rich dread. The offer was in the United Kingdom (UK), and it wasn’t the proverbial washing of dead bodies as Nigerians of an era when our country was rich derisively spoke about foreign jobs. It wasn’t even in the healthcare sector in which there are allegations of racial abuse from elderly infirm whites.
As far as immigrants go, Omolomo, as friends call him, is a prince. Not just because of the first job offer he got – many others get such too – , but in the circumstances of his arrival in the UK in 2014.
For most African migrants, getting a visa to the UK is a major challenge. Getting a berth upon arrival and guidance towards getting a job are the next.
Omolomo cleared all these hurdles with his eyes practically closed. He had married a British citizen in Nigeria, and the family moved ahead of him to the UK. When it was time for him to join them, he easily picked a spouse visa. As for travel, all he needed was money for ticket. His family was there to give him a berth, and he didn’t have to beat about the bush for a job.
A N2.47 million per month warehouse job was a dream job for Omolomo, like other immigrants. But by the time he finished paying bills, there was nothing left.
“Living abroad is very expensive. You hardly save after all bills. Most times, we run into debts; we only survive by credit cards”, he says.
But family and friends in Edo North, Benin City and Lagos are not aware of the entire situation. They have heard of incomes that are stupendous when converted to naira. But they are largely unaware of the bills that are equally stupendous. They are either unaware or simply don’t care for the fact that the income gets finished on location, and pile up demands for support back home here.
“I get serious pressure from friends, immediate and extended families almost on a daily basis”, he says.
Despite all the advantages that the UK offers him, Nigeria still counts for Omolomo.
“I always visit Nigeria yearly. I prefer to call Nigeria my holiday base”, he concluded.
It’s in Nigeria that whatever change he saves would amount to something.
