Reckless Rice Import
Nearly two years after the agricultural transformation agenda of the federal government was launched, Nigeria’s food bill is still on the upsurge. The minister of agriculture and rural development, Dr Akinwummi Adesina let the cat out of the bag in Kebbi where he disclosed that Nigeria spends N1billion daily on rice importation.
The minister who was inspecting rice farms in Kebbi and Zamfara states took pains to remind Nigerians that the era of foreign rice would soon be over as the federal government plans to ban the importation in 2015. He however revealed that under its agricultural transformation agenda, the federal government intends to add 20 metric tons of food to the domestic food supply by 2015.
This has been the way past federal governments, military and civilian theorized on various agricultural blue prints yet it turned out to be nothing more than mere muscle flexing exercise. The so-called Operation Feed the Nation, OFN failed to feed the people during its time. It was the same unrealized expectations with the Green Revolution, whose score card was close to zero as food imports continued to soar unaffordably. Even the present administration’s agricultural transformation agenda may well be heading for the abyss like others.
Historically, nearly all the states in Nigeria produce limited quantities of rice for local consumption. For decades, rice farmers were shoved aside by the political leadership. With neither vision nor commitment to the well-being of the citizens, the leaders refused either to fund or expose the farmers to the latest rice production and processing techniques forgetting that when one imports, he also pays for the production and labour costs of the commodity imported.
To ease the current over dependence on foreign rice, Nigeria must take another hard look on the National Youth Service Corp. NYSC scheme. There must be courage to end the present one year of whiling away time under the scheme. As a dormant national work force, the one year scheme could be effectively harnessed in the agricultural sector and transform it. The mooted policy change is far much better than the existing pattern of deployment of youth corpers which makes nonsense of fields of specialty. Graduates in sciences serve as dispatch clerks in the messengers section; mathematics graduates posted to the ministry of information, culture and tourism while engineering graduates teach history and religion in secondary schools just like their counterparts who majored in banking and finance deployed to security departments. This service year charade explains why the NYSC scheme records high truancy and accidental deaths.
Universities of agriculture and other agric related tertiary institutions should through research and creativity come up with means of destoning locally produced rice and popularize its consumption.
To bring about increased agricultural productions, Nigeria should do away with national pride and appoint Thai or Indian nationals as the country’s minister of agriculture to revolutionize rice production. Nigeria cannot overcome problems in the sector by floating high sounding slogans such as Operation Feed the Nation, Green Revolution and lately Agricultural Transformation Agenda, mere catch phrases to hood-wink the masses.
The banning of imported rice in 2015, the general election year will over politicize the commodity Politicians will not only stockpile the commodity but convert it to a weapon for winning votes thereby causing the banned imported rice to become an endangered over valued commodity to influence the uninformed among the electorate.
Wake up, OWMC
sir, it is hard to believe that after two years of a corrective regime in Imo State, the Rescue Mission is yet to impact positively on the use of the environment.
Imolites, particularly the upper class at night hours still urinate and defeacate like animals.
The descent to the animal level is because of the non-provision of public toilets and urinaries in parts of Owerri urban.
For the younger ones, it is possible to endure the discharge of these human wastes for nearly a day. But it is not so with adults. Biologically, the elderly ones must have developed weak or diseased viscera and so cannot withstand the elimination of either urine or faeces without being embarrassed publicly.
I am therefore appealing to the driver of the Rescue Mission, Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha to ensure that only resourceful and visionary leaders smell public offices. One is aware that the governor cannot be everywhere at the same time to ensure that things are properly done, yet he is being called upon because the officers cannot ignore his directives.
Users of the public toilet and urinary facilities will be willing to pay for the services as this will offset the cost of their maintenance and upkeep.
With no industries of note in the municipality, if properly handled, the project will generate job and pay the attendants stipends. Please, Mr. SOLAD of Owerri Municipal Council embark on this project and posterity will remember and reward you. Elderly men and women when so pressed become fractious and less human. What is more, Owerri Landlords and tenants are not so generous with their toilets.
No one enjoys seeing his father pulling out his manhood along the road side to urinate. Or a mother prostrating by the road side for the same purpose. In either case, the haste to ease oneself quickly and limit the scope of embarrassment causes urine to spray on the inner wears. This can be stopped.
Johnson Ibeneme
Owerri Urban
