By Francis Ewherido
The festive season has effectively started. At times like this, there is usually an increase in prices of foodstuffs, especially rice, tomatoes, pepper, poultry, etc. I called a relative last week. I told him to buy two emekpe (what we use to measure garri) of garri from my hometown, Eghwu (Ewu), Delta State, for a friend in Lagos. If I may just add, Ewu has the best garri in the world. If you like, argue, but you can only try to rival us; you can’t beat us. Some of my friends have fallen in love with Ewu garri and now place orders all the way from Lagos o! Anyway, my relative gave me a pleasant surprise. He said the cost of two emekpe is N20,000. What happened?
When the government floated the naira and stopped fuel subsidy, the price of garri flew up by over 100 per cent in Ewu and everywhere. When my relative told me about the increase in price, initially I thought flood had taken over our farms and destroyed cassava farms. When that happens, the price of garri usually goes up, but it was June and too early for the floods. Then he delivered the next surprise: “Ewu women said dollar rate had gone up compared to naira.” “What has dollar got to do with Ewu garri, when the cassava was planted, harvested and processed in Ewu? Do our people now import cassava?” I asked. He laughed and answered that other food items and goods had gone up, so they increased the price of garri to enable them meet up with their obligations. Of course, I knew. I was just teasing him.
You know that in Nigeria, the law of motion scarcely applies. Whatever goes up stays up. Rarely do prices come down. That’s why I was surprised that my friend now needed to pay only N20,000 for two emekpe instead of the N40,000 I had been paying since “dollar go up.” But it’s not only the price of garri that has come down. I read a report that prices of many food items have dropped sharply in several northern states, making consumers happy. I don’t have reports on other parts of the country, but I know the price of rice has also dropped in Lagos. The report from the north said that there are major drops in the prices of rice, beans, spaghetti, pepper, and cooking oil, etc. For example, a 50kg bag of rice which was sold for over N80,000 in September now goes for about N64,000 to N65,000. White beans also dropped from N105,000 to N85,000.
The drop in prices will bring a lot of relief to many families. It has not easy for some families, especially those whose breadwinners are low-income earners. Any reduction in prices is good news. The money saved can be used to meet other pressing obligations. The breadwinners too will feel a little relief. Many of them are under enormous pressure. Students have also been hard hit. I hope the reduction in prices will reflect in the amount of money they spend on food or the quantity of food they are served. Any news that alleviates the suffering of people, especially vulnerable Nigerians, is welcome.
The amount of bad news we receive daily and weekly in Nigeria is suffocating. I feel happy each time I read good news. Unfortunately, it doesn’t get the attention and mention it deserves sometimes for two main reasons. One, in the university in the 80s, under features of news, we had oddity and tragedies. The typical example then was, “if a dog bites a man, it’s no news because it happens every day, but if a man bites a dog, it’s news because it is rare and odd.” Too many people love bad and odd news. Oddities and tragedies continue to make the headlines till date.
The other reason is political. I have always said that Nigeria/Nigerians should be separated from whoever is president. Since 1999, we have had Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, the late Alhaji Umaru Yar A’dua, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the late Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) and now Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Presidents have come and gone, but Nigeria is still here. When you wish that an incumbent president should fail for reasons best known to you, you are actually praying against Nigerians because no matter what happens, a Nigerian president will not go hungry. Even state governors, federal and state legislators will not be hungry; not when they are still in power. It’s Nigerians who bear the brunt of bad governance. I pray for people in power. I wish them success for the sake of Nigeria and Nigerians. When it comes to governance, I keep my personal feelings about them aside and just wish them success.
The news of the drop in prices couldn’t have come at a better time. Christmas and New Year festivities are around the corner. A drop in food prices makes it easier for more Nigerians and their families to buy items for the celebration. I look forward to further drop in prices. Will last-minute shopping make prices to go up as we get closer to Christmas? May be, but it will be temporary.
Predictably, some foodstuff wholesalers and retailers are gnashing their teeth as a result of drop in prices. Over the years, they have been hoarding foodstuff and selling them later at premium, thereby feeding fat on the anguish of many Nigerians. For them it’s business acumen. Karma has caught up with them. It’s payback time. Money is good, but let’s have a human face in the pursuit of money.
This is just as I wish that the exchange rate of the naira will improve further against foreign currencies. I was very surprised when a friend told me that the turnover and profit of his company for this year have drastically reduced. All this while, I thought their humongous profits were coming from their main business. I didn’t know it was from hoarding and trading in forex which is unrelated to their business. With the official and parallel market exchange rates almost at par, their margins have almost evaporated. I know it’s “business,” but I couldn’t help telling myself, “Saboteurs of our economy plenty, sha.”
STILL ON THE NEW COASTAL ROAD
I am a longtime proponent of the coastal road from Lagos to Calabar. I have never hidden that fact. But my interest today is on the Lagos portion of the road. The Lagos State Government promised us that it will liaise with the federal government and the contractor so that the coastal road from Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, down the Lekki axis to Ibeju Lekki, will be open this December to ease traffic on the axis. These are the areas mainly affected by heavy traffic during Detty December. The last time I wanted to use the road, representatives of the contractor mounted road blocks at the beginning on Ahmadu Bello Way. Google had warned me not to take that route, but I defied Google and paid dearly for it. I spent over an hour between the Bishop Aboyade Cole Street junction on Ahmadu Bello Way to the beginning of Ajose Adogun Street by the roundabout on Ademola Adetokunbo Street, VI. That distance usually takes about three minutes maximum.
A few days ago, my friend went through the coastal road. The staff of the construction company had vacated the road blocks, but alayes (street urchins also called area boys) have taken over. They extort money from motorists before allowing them to pass. I don’t think this is what the Lagos State Government wants foreigners and other users of the road to experience during Detty December and beyond. The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and other Lagos State agencies, especially those in charge of tourism, should please take note.
