By KEMI KASUMU
Joining an ongoing discourse on how food manufacturers and marketers make earnings inadequate for Nigerians and advice by former Commander of the Nigerian Army Ordnance Corp, Major General Adekunle Abdullahi Martins (Rtd) to Federal Government, Igboho, Oyo State High Chief Jibreel Adebayo Olaniran, has said he cannot agree less with the contributors so far.
General Martins had asked the Federal Government to take the economy of Lagos to its heart being, according to him, upon which depended all economies in Nigeria.
He said no amount of effort to make life better for Nigerians in terms of food security and access to good living, that so long the economy of Lagos continues to be left under the control of hoodlums and their sponsors, there will be no impact and earnings of the working class will never take them home.
The DEFENDER reports that the Army General ex-rayed the incessant and indiscriminate manner by which hoodlums increase transport fare, collect undue taxes from even petty traders while marketers do their own by hoarding to jack up prices of food and other items in Lagos.
He said, since it is the case that all producers of food take Lagos as distribution center from where other states of the South but to sell to their respective places, no matter how cheap the Northern people supply those items to Lagos marketers, Nigerians will continue to complain of hardship because of the activities of mediocres and their sponsors, who are now a parallel government in the supposedly Centre of Excellence.
Otunba Bosun Oladele, former Member House of Representatives, blamed the poverty caused by the activities of the marketers on the evil of Nigerians to fellow Nigerians.
Specifically, he said “we are the problem of ourselves”, he said suggesting things can only eat better if those in the act could embrace change.
In solving problem of this nature, which makes efforts of government in agriculture and job creation unimpactful in living stand of ordinary man, the Ondo State Governor, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), banned all forms of trade, transport unions and artisan associations across the state.
The governor said it was because of activities of agbero and market associations that transport fare always increased and prices of food go up daily despite Ondo State being close to the farm centres.
In his contribution, Chief Olaniran, a pharmacist, said:
“I cannot agree less with all the contributions. However, I have few submissions” and he said as follow:
Read details of his submission below:
1) Nigerians living in NIGERIA buy or pay for goods and services in Naira, but the Shylock Middlemen and Marketers will equate Commodity prices to foreign currency value,else how do you explain a Kongo or Mudu of Gaari selling for N500.00, and you would hardly see the difference between the Market prices of Nigeria and Foreign Rices(when Middlemen and Marketers buy Nigeria Rice in bulk at ridiculously lower prices, and re-bag them as Foreign Rices.
SolutionLet Government set up Consumer Commodities Protection Councils at all Tiers of Government, to buy from Farmers and Importers and sell directly to the Members of the Public retail quantities at regulated Control prices.
2) Let Government at all levels give incentives and conducive Investments friendly policies to both Indigenous and Foreign Investors, to produce what we consume in NIGERIA using 100% local contents.
All Importers of Goods and or Daily needs should be given a period of 6 Months to invite their Foreign Manufacturers to come and set up Manufacturing outfits in NIGERIA, to produce minimum of double their respective import capacity. Availability of goods under Demand and Supply market forces will force the Commodity prices down and to become relatively stable.
3) The wickedness in our People is more poisoning than anything from the known most poisonous Serpent.
To explain this,Workers demand for Salary increase and it’s granted after a long Battle in the Public domain. The benefit of Salary increase is lost within the first month of implementation e.g Landlord increases house rent,Transporters increase transport fees, Artisans increase their respective Service charges, Foodstuffs sellers either increase Commodity prices or reduce Standard measures to make more gains, Middlemen and Marketers will hoard their goods to hike Prices among others.
Solution: Let Government have an arrangement to improve Welfare package of the Workers without waiting for the Workers to make a demand for it. Once the Prices of Goods and Services go up in Nigeria,it will hardly come down.
4) Petroleum Products availability and prices have direct bearings on Transportation cost and cost of goods.
Any time the Price of Fuel goes up,or artificial scarcity is created by the Marketers or there’s panic buying of the Commodity, prices of Goods and Services will go up, and will never come down easily even if the price is reversed or lower.
Solution:
A) The Taskforce regulating sales of Petroleum Products should be up and doing all the year round, not only when there’s a Crises.
B) Government at all levels should invest in Transportation Industries, making available Cars,Buses and Trucks at affordable cost to Members of the Public as Plan B to the Commercial Transporters to directly reduce cost of Traveling. If People and Goods are transported at a cheaper rate, cost of goods and services will reduce proportionately.
Government should make provision for Water Transportation where applicable, while all roads must be motorable and Rail lines network(the supposed cheapest means of transporting Goods and Humans) are across all nooks and crannies of Nigeria.
5) The cheapest source of Energy to run a Company for a gain in Nigeria is Electricity, not Generator runned by Diesel.
All Investors that fled Nigeria will come back if they are assured of steady, regular and predictable supply of Electricity with the least Tariff across sub Saharan Africa; Nigeria has the largest Consumer Commodities Market in Africa due to her Population.
Solution:
Let Government invest in Alternative Energy source/Renewable energy to power home needs and cottage Industries,while the available Hydroelectric Power generating Plants across Nigeria are dedicated to power Major Industries for a breakthrough.
6) Security of Lives and Properties,if Investors are sure of security to their lives and Investments,all things being equal (centri paribus),all things will begin to fall in positively.
