Still on the matter of rice.
There is an old English saying, ‘there is safety in numbers.’ Loosely translated, it means that being in a group of people makes you feel more confident or secure about taking action. Sometimes, we think of this phrase when we want to take an action or sometimes-inaction. We think that because of our numbers, we will be protected. I suppose, Nigeria as a country, thinks in that way too.
Well, sadly, and as we are soon realising, our population has not made us safe. Instead, it has only exposed the stark reality on ground- which is that there is a severe scarcity of resources to go round.
Earlier this week, we received news that the federal government had sent a trailer full of 50kg rice to all government ministries. At my place of work, the news was met with excitement. Last month, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, announced the launch of the N40,000 per 50kg subsidised rice in Abuja, stating that the initiative was part of a broader strategy to ensure that no Nigerian goes to bed hungry.
He said the subsidised rice programme aims to provide relief to citizens amid soaring market prices. The current market price of a 50kg bag of rice ranges between N80,000 and N100,000, depending on location, type and vendor. The federal government is providing 30,000 metric tonnes of rice through the subsidised rice programme. This translates to approximately 1,000 trucks, each carrying 600 bags.
In any other African country like Seychelles, Rwanda or even South Africa, the impact of this food subsidy would be felt significantly. This policy of providing financial assistance to low-income households to help them afford food can be done through direct payments or by subsidising the cost of specific food items. This method continues to be employed all over the world to alleviate the suffering of the poor.
Not so in Nigeria. In this country, 600 bags is not much in the grand scheme of things. The number of bags allocated to the hospital was not going to be enough. What was anticipated to be shared equally among departments, unions and faculties on a first come, first serve basis, turned into a pandemonium in a matter of seconds.
Chaos everywhere! Fights broke out and security had to be brought in to disperse the crowds.
The question now was- who is more deserving of the subsidised rice? Is it the junior staff, who has lower purchasing power? What about the more senior staff? Why should they be disenfranchised? Are they not Nigerians too? Someone argued that it should be given based on the number of people in each family; e.g, a man has three wives and 14 children. Still another argued that it would be callous to deny others their equal rights to subsidised rice just because of the situation of others.
Multiple quarrels and several debates later, we arrived at the same conclusion: Nigeria’s population will be our greatest undoing.
I am not one to defend government (because they have failed us several times), but the truth remains that the Nigerian government is trying its best to tackle the rising cost of food in the country. Many policies like food price control, subsidies, food banks, food fortification and agricultural subsidies through supporting farmers by providing subsidies for seeds, fertilizer, and other inputs have been done and are still ongoing projects. The country currently uses trade policies to regulate the import and export of food items, helping to ensure a stable supply and prevent price fluctuations.
Despite all these policies, the impact is yet to be felt. I wonder why?
With a population of greater than 200 million, why wont people go hungry? Who do you give? And who do you deny? Who is more eligible, more deserving? The lower class who go to bed hungry or the middle class who won’t mind purchasing the rice at a lower price? How can BUK-ASUU be allocated only 400 bags of rice? Do you know the sheer number of lecturers in that university alone? And what about the unemployed or those in the informal sector? How will they get access to the subsidised rice? Who will fight for them?
According to UN estimates, Nigeria’s total population will double from 200 million to more than 401 million by 2050. If the trend isn’t stopped, it will exceed 728 million by 2100. Nigeria’s difficulties, which range from acute poverty to political instability, will increase if population growth remains out of control. The resources available are unable to meet the basic needs of the growing population. This has resulted in inadequate facilities in our health sector, food insecurity, housing, transportation and even employment.
Do you remember the stampede at the Immigration employment exercise in 2014? When about 6.5 million people in all 36 states of Nigeria, including the FCT, stormed various recruitment centres in the country for the 4000 vacant positions in the Nigeria Immigration Service?
Do you remember the pandemonium and the chaos? Well, that is the memory that flashed across my mind when I heard that subsidised rice was going to be shared.
This our population sef- Is it a path to collective prosperity or will it lead us to everlasting doom?
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