The “inconsumable” rice: A case of persecution or unpatriotic politics?

By Marufh Bello

Uncertain yet whether the giver or the taker is right regarding the case of the bags of rice donated to the state governments across the country by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to support the state governors in their efforts to tackle in the country the statewide hunger, a fallout of the lockdown, partial or full, on the account of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (Covid-19).

In the last few days, there have been discussions, counter accusations and arguments in the land as far as the rice donation by the Federal Government to the state governments, particularly Oyo State, is concerned. The foul cry first emanated from Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration when the news of the “inconsumable” condition of the rice hit the news media via the agents of the state government –it was everywhere in the news media space, online and traditional. On the social media, there were live graphics and/or videos of the purported “spoilt” rice, of particular reference is the timeline of Mr Akeem Olatunji, the state Publicity Secretary of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who wrote on the subject with the video of the “spoilt” rice, thus, “1,800 Bags of Rice Brouhaha: Seeing is Believing… But for the eagle eyes and adherence to details of the Oyo State Commissioner for Agriculture and SA on Agric-Business to the Oyo State Governor, contaminated rice would have gone to the tummy of the Oyo State citizens. The Nigerian Customs Service have accepted the human error and promised immediate replacement of the 600 bags certified not good for human consumption. A responsive Government is always concern about the well-being of her citizens and that’s exactly what Governor Seyi Makinde led PDP administration did.”

There were many insinuations as above, particularly on the social media by the party members and loyalists of Governor Makinde, that the federal government deliberately disbursed the “spoilt” rice to the Oyo State Government with the intention to discredit the administration of Governor Makinde. Not quite long after the reported breaking news that the federal government supplied the state poor quality rice, the spokesmen of the state government informed that they had returned the rice and the customs command headquarters had agreed to replace the “spoilt” 600 bags as mentioned in the above Facebook post of Mr Olatunji. However, the Nigeria Customs Service (NSC) swiftly responded thus, “The attention of the Oyo/Osun Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has been drawn to some mischievous and deliberate falsehood being circulated in the media for reasons best known to their author(s) concerning the Federal Government’s palliative given to Oyo State, among other states.

“As a responsible agency of government whose functions include ensuring that nothing that could compromise the security, economy and general being of Nigerians are allowed into the country, we cannot turn round and be associated with giving anything that will negatively affect our people. We, therefore, wish to state as follows:

“That in line with the Federal Government’s effort to cushion the hardship in the nation, the CGC (Comptroller-General of Customs) had directed the distribution of relief items, including bags of rice, across the nation through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management as palliative to the vulnerable in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As instructed, on the 20th of April, 2020, the Oyo/Osun Area Command received high ranking members of the Oyo State Government in the persons of the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Jacob Ojekunle, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs Saidat Bolatumi Oloko, the Executive Adviser to the Governor on Agribusiness, Mr Debo Akande, the representative of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development in Oyo, Mrs M. O. Lasisi and other members.

“They visited the command twice on the same day to inspect the bags of rice that were available for allocation. The Customs Area Comptroller, Hu Ngozi, led them to the warehouses where they inspected the bags of rice, checked expiration dates and expressed satisfaction and readiness to evacuate their allocation. Before leaving the command on their second visit, they pleaded to be given those from a section of one of the warehouses they considered “fresher” and this was granted.

“Subsequently, on the 21st of April, 2020, the Oyo State Government team came with their vehicles under the supervision of Mr Jacob Ojekunle, Mrs Saidat Oloko, Mrs M. O. Lasisi and other top officials, in the presence of the Customs Area Comptroller, other officers and members of the press to witness the loading and exiting of the 1,800 bags of parboiled rice allocated to their state as palliative to the vulnerable.

“Incidentally, in the process of loading, few bags fell at different times and burst open in the presence of Mr Ojekunle and Mrs Lasisi and there was no time that any of the burst bags of rice had weevils in them. The warehouse had no signs of weevils, neither were there signs of weevils on the loaders or on the trucks under the scorching sun.

“The three (3) states, Oyo, Osun and Ekiti States, took delivery of the bags of rice allocated to them, returned their landing certificates to show delivery to their final destinations. They also showed appreciation to the CGC for his magnanimity. Contrary to allegations by the Oyo State Government, Osun and Ekiti States have not complained about their allocations.

“The Command is, therefore, surprised, even embarrassed to hear three (3) days later, that the rice allocated to them were infested with weevils and unfit for human consumption.

“The command wishes to reiterate that weevils do not hide and in the process of loading the vehicles, traces of weevils would have been noticed on the floor, on the bags, on the loaders or on the trucks bearing in mind that the entire process was in the presence of the CAC, the Oyo State Government’s high ranking team and men of the press with full video camera coverage.

“The Command is also aware that, for whatever reason, some pictures of bad rice have been circulating on the social media. We disassociate ourselves from such false images and we suspect foul play on the part of the handlers of these allocated 1,800 bags of rice. The State Government may wish to dig deeper.

“It is surprising how bags of rice that exited the Command HQ (headquarters) in good condition suddenly became so bad after 3 days as being circulated in the social media.”

In a media report by InsideOyo, the customs threatened that they would not receive any returned rice on the strength that the stocks of 1,800 bags released to Oyo State, as stated in their release above, were in good condition, although there were also in the media later that the Lagos and Ondo State Governments have also declared their allocation(s) of rice unfit for human consumption. In fact, it was read on a Facebook timeline that Lagos State had disposed of its own consignment into the lagoon. As at Tuesday, 28 April, 2020, the state governments of Ekiti and Ondo have refuted the claim that they had rejected and returned their allocations.

Following the viral display and publicity of the rejected rice by the Oyo State Government, there have been arguments, on the social media in particular, for and against the acts by the loyalists and otherwise of the two sides and others who were neutral. This development will definitely set a great thinker on a thinking spree as a lot are to be weighed and considered in these acts. Questions may agitate in one’s mind. First is to ask for how long have all the rice distributed as palliatives to the states stayed in the store of the Nigeria Customs? Hasn’t the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col Ahmed Alli, once said that imported rice could have stayed for five years in transit before getting to its final destination? For how long have the bags of rice released to Oyo State in particular stayed in the customs warehouse? According to the Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Dr Wasiu Olatunbosun, the rice has been in the warehouse of customs for over two years. Col Alli and his men have a civic duty to come out and clear this. What is the expiry date on the bags of rice? Didn’t the Oyo State Government’s representatives check the expiry date on the bags very well before allowing their movement into the appropriate ministry? Were all the 1,800 bags spoilt? What is the brand name on the bags of rice dispersed to Oyo State? Why have the rice released to other states been consumable as has been reported in the media? Is it possible to open the bags, remove the original contents, re-fill them and re-seal? Is there any likelihood that the stocks might have been contaminated within a day or two while in the custody of the Oyo State Government? Why were our local rice not released as palliatives in the first instance?

Agreed that the rice has expired and not good for human consumption, must we always go public to the extent of making it a news headline or putting it among our news items? Why do we eagerly go to press and hype every little matter that can be settled without any noise? Why are we making noise about it portraying the federal government as “killers” of the residents in the state, even if the claim by the Oyo State Government’s agents is correct? How can the federal government plan to kill en masse the people of Oyo State? Killing or endangering the health of the people for political reason(s)? Aren’t there no other mature ways of addressing such issues without provoking, frustrating and feeding the Nigerian masses and the (general) public with such unsavoury information all the time if we are not mischievous? Why must the federal government under President Muhammadu Buhari, through its MDAs, distribute such “expired” cereals to the public, if the claim by the Oyo State Government is anything to go or stand by?

It would be very inhumane and insensitive if the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and the Oyo State Government are, at this period in our history, still playing games with the lives of the Nigerians who have suffered a lot of lacks and denials from their leaders for a very long time. Playing politics at the moment with our lives would not only make our leaders appear unserious but portraying them as a wicked lot. The FGN now has a duty to prove to us further that they had not dispersed cereals not consumable by humans to the people of Oyo State by going beyond issuing a press statement as it is the easiest to do in such a situation but lacks potency to prove the case and disabuse the minds of the Nigerians who have been insulted by the gory sight of the emptied “spoilt” bags of rice on the social media. In addition, the customs officials, Oyo and Osun command, have a moral and official duty to ascertain that the bags of “spoilt” rice displayed on the social media were the exact stocks shipped to Oyo State and at what point were the rice infested with weevils.

According to a report, the Oyo State Government maintained it had returned the state’s rice consignment and NCS had agreed to replace the “inconsumable” rice, while another report says NCS has refused to accept any rejected rice from anybody. What a drama! Enough of playing politics and games with the lives of the Nigerians! Enough of pushing Nigerians left, right and centre without getting hold of any truthful situation of issues in the country! Enough of feeding Nigerians with fake information that always have political coloration and undertones capable of lashing unto them mental torture in the midst of the grinding hardship in the land even before the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic!

In the meantime, the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) televised in their major news bulletin on Wednesday, 29 May, 2020, how the customs command, a stone throw from the Oyo State Government Secretariat, closed their doors at the team that wanted to return the “spoilt” rice. Another drama you would call that. Why must the state Commissioner for Agriculture himself, Mr Ojekunle, lead the truck containing the rice to the customs office and staying there for one hour or thereabouts, according to Dr Olatunbosun? This is ridiculous!

The media team, however, whom, the statement reportedly released by NCS, alleged were at the inspection and witnessed “the loading and exiting of the 1,800 bags of parboiled rice” allocated to Oyo State should show up and help us separate truth from falsehood and fiction from fact. So also the same patriotic civic obligation is expected from all other government agencies at the inspection and allocation scenes. It will help further if National Agency for Food Drug Administration & Control (NAFDAC) could tell Nigerians what role they have played in all this? Above all, let all this trading of words between the two main actors and their agents stop. They should find a way to settle the impasse without involving the public and face the serious business of governance.

*Marufh Bello, based in Ibadan, is an independent journalist, writer, book editor, publisher and development media practitioner. Email: marufhbello@gmail.com (08055892936).