THE NATION ON SUNDAY JUNE 17, 2012
Comment & Analysis
15
Remember Marie Antoinette! Government may be stretching its luck too far with the planned increase in price of bread
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IVEN the already high and debilitating level of poverty in the country, it is most disturbing news that the price of bread, a staple food of Nigerians, will most likely increase next month. The expected increase in the price of this popular commodity, is due to the planned imposition, from July 1, of a new levy of 15 percent on wheat import; a measure which will raise the duty to 20 percent. Data from the Finance Derivative Company (FDC), a Lagos-based economic and financial advisory firm, indicate that the price of flour, a key component in the baking of bread, will most likely rise from N5,700 to N6,555 per 50kg bag as a result of the proposed levy. The firm reports that in anticipation of the new cost regime, millers are already stockpiling the commodity and the consequent additional carrying and storage costs borne by them will most likely be transferred to consumers. It is, therefore, projected that the price of bread will rise by 15 percent from N200 to N230 per loaf, on the average. Such an increase in the price of a staple food, coming just after recent hikes in fuel price and electricity tariffs will worsen the hardship of Nigerians and further increase the number of those living below the poverty line. It is obvious that the new levy on wheat imports is in pursuit of the Jonathan administration’s policy of promoting the consumption by Nigerians of bread made from cassava flour, rather than the current popular preference for wheat bread. Indeed, President Goodluck Jonathan has clearly demonstrated that the mass consumption of cassava bread by Nigerians is one aspect of his administration’s transformation agenda that he is very passionate about. He has not only eaten the bread at meetings
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T transformed from the Electric Corporation of Nigeria (E.C.N) to National Electric Power Authority (N.E.P.A) and now to Power Holding Company of Nigeria (P.H.C.N), and nothing has changed in power supply to consumers. A Yoruba adage states that the dog’s name tag does not change its character. The E.C.N was doing fine up to the First Republic perhaps because of the low population then. Only few large communities were then electrified, which made consumption of electricity very minimal. At a point in time, Nigerians decried the lack of engagement of technocrats. Today, we have a super technocrat, Professor Barth Nnaji at the helms of affairs in power ministry. This made everybody to heave a sigh of relief. But alas, the story is the same! Promises of increase in power generation have become a mirage day-inday-out. For days, weeks and months, power supply has become epileptic. As a vice-chairman of P.H.CN neighbourhood consumers’ committee in Kwara State, I had done enough coverups for the company that I was almost lynched by some consumers during one of our meetings. I was doing this, thinking perhaps, P.H.C.N would change gear in its effort at serving the public effectively. The minister in charge Prof Nnaji, has again assured Nigerians that power outage will become a thing of the past in
of the Executive Council of the Federation, he publicly pledged to continue to consume cassava bread until he vacates office. When the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, presented bread baked from 40 percent cassava and 60 percent wheat contents to the council last year, President Jonathan admonished Nigerians to “tame our exotic taste” since “some of the things we bring from outside are not as good as what we have within our country.” We agree that the policy of promoting the consumption of cassava bread to reduce the dependency on wheat is a patriotic and laudable one. If successful, it will stimulate local agricultural productivity as well as create jobs for our farmers and help to conserve foreign exchange. Currently, Nigeria spends N635 billion per annum on wheat importation. Indeed, the country is the largest importer of wheat from the United States, from which she imported 123 million bushels of the commodity in 2010. The persistence of this situation means creating jobs and wealth for foreign producers of wheat. Decrying this situation, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, says quite
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rightly that “It’s about our economy. When we spend all our money importing food, the value of the Naira crashes and the price of everything goes up. We have millions of hectares of land, of which we are not using more than 40 percent. Nigeria should be a power-house producing food, exporting food, processing food and that is what we are doing.” Nobody will dispute the minister’s sentiments and logic. But are we going about the implementation of the policy the right way? The huge import of wheat is a function of the high consumer demand for wheat bread. Consumer taste cannot be decreed or changed by fiat. As far back as the General Ibrahim Babangida regime, there had been the attempt to substitute local wheat for imported wheat. Many state governments collected funds from the Federal Government to implement local wheat schemes. Like President Jonathan, Babangida ate bread purportedly baked from local wheat on television but the whole thing turned out to be a huge scam. During the tenure of President Olusegun Obasanjo, there was also so much talk about investing massively in the production of cassava and the promotion of cassava bread, with little to show for it. We are afraid that right now, we are putting the cart before the horse. Have we invested enough in the production of cassava and the requisite technology to bake bread from cassava flour? We do not think so. With the high prices of other staple foods like yam and garri, will we not be confounding the nation’s security challenges if we deliberately provoke bread price increase at this time? If high bread prices fuel social unrest, will we, like Marie Antoinette, ask the people to eat cake since bread is unaffordable? The government should re-think the policy.
LETTERS
The canker-worm called PHCN July this year. We have been deceived into believing this since the Obasanjo days and nothing has worked. The most painful of it all is that immunity covers P.H.C.N on damages no matter how much damage they cause on the socio-economic status of consumers. Such immunity should be removed in the forthcoming amendment of our statute by the National Assembly.
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INCE March 2011 when the people of Syria joined their brothers from other Arab world to stage their own Arab Spring, that would see the end of their sit-tight leader, President Bashir al Saad, much blood has been spilled to the consternation of the world. The world thought the government of President Al saad would go the way of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, but the situation in that country has gone beyond imagination of the waiting world to see the end of a president who has stubbornly refused to negotiate for power to be made more democratic in his country. When the United Nations’ efforts to ensure that another government is installed in that country failed to
Consumers will be glad to pay for their consumption, if there is adequate supply of power. In a more civilised nation of the world as Professor Nnaji knows, the power outage, even for only five minutes would have been announced weeks before. This does not happen in Nigeria where courtesy has been thrown to the dogs. This shows that we are still living
in the woods. Should there be uninterrupted power supply, no Nigerian artisan, pure water seller, industralist; computer operator etc. will have cause to complain. Even, water cannot be pumped without power supply. If all the aforementioned count their losses on consumption of petrol or diesel, it will be unpalatable. On the other hand, one is tempted to ask, how many
houses can afford generating sets? Many Nigerians have died prematurely as a result of global warmth. We can generate adequate power locally as naturally endowed as Nigeria is. It is an irony that Nigeria satisfies other African nations with power supply while the son of a blacksmith cries over lack of a knife. Our rulers need to search their conscience. The minister in charge
must make it a point of duty that his July date is not a mirage. As earlier mentioned, all natural endowment like gas, windfall, solar etc. should be utilised to produce sufficient megawatts for use as energy. I was at Ugheli and saw gas flaring in the night. Why can’t we utilise rather than flare this gas? Above all, the economy is at the brink of collapse if something tangible is not done to revamp the power sector. If truly Nigeria wants to join the 20 top economies of the world, the power sector must be virile. By Silas Ajagun, Ilorin, Kwara State
Saving Syria from civil war materialise, they wanted to pass resolution ensuring that President Al Saad bowed to public pressure to step down for the bloodshed to stop, Russia and China which are allies of Syria blocked every move to bring the regime down. This necessitated setting up of various diplomatic measures to ensure the regime came to terms with the reality on the ground to make political reform, but all in vain. The coming of former UN Secretary General Kofi Anan who is widely respected, failed to convince the government of President
Al Saad to stop the frequent bloodletting of innocent Syrians who are protesting for the good of their country. The recent killing at Houla of 96 people including children, call for urgent step to avoid civil war in that country. The key to peaceful resolution of the conflict in Syria lies with both Russia and China which should use their links with Syria government to bring an end to the senseless killings in that country. Also the move by some European countries to withdraw their envoys in that country should be seen as step to save the people of Syria from
the dictatorship of President Al Saad who believed wrongly that he only has the ultimate power to rule Syria like his father did when he held sway when he was alive. What one hears and sees every day was a gory scene of massacre of innocent soul of defenceless civilians who are been ruled by a senseless leader. This should not continue with the world just looking helplessly. We hope countries all over the world will recall their various envoys in that country to teach the recalcitrant Syrian leader to respect human rights of his people
by allowing them choose what is good for them. One is at a loss over the hypocrisy of this western world by not taking military action like they did with late Muaamar Gaddafi when NATO went into that country to save human lives. Are they afraid of the Syria army determination to bring them to shame? Every measure must be taken to stop the carnage going on in Syria and the country should not be allowed to be plunged into civil war. By Bala Nayashi, No 1 Yashi Area, Lokoja
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