Dear Godwin Emiefele: You can’t spell PRICE without RICE

Enoruwa's Environment

Dear Godwin Emiefele,

One of the finest Governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria, you carefully grew Zenith Bank from something to everything. Not many believed the bank would survive the Post Jim Ovia era.



Well, you shamed them all. Congratulations. You are one of the prides of the East; I commend you again. Now back to the Nigerian project; as governor, so many thought you won’t get a second term or better still 2nd tenure as CBN governor. You did anyway.

Probably because of the many proposed policy reforms, or regional balancing of the country. I am not sure though. For whatever reason, it was worth it. It will worth it more if you talk to the national security adviser and the Custom number 1 on this border closure issue.

I hear the cost of a foreign bag of rice has jumped to about N29,500 as at September 30, 2019. Local version sells for about N19,000. Well, the closure of the border is a welcome development considering the intention to grow locally grown rice and the sanitization of the borders.

What I don’t understand actually is how the government intends to support businesses/traders/farmers to flood the market with more home grown rice to meet the expected high demand. We know an average Nigerian consume rice at least twice a week and nothing works for Christmas than rice. Mr Governor Sir, I know you have sponsored several policies to sharpen the economy in the past two months.

Let’s not play that cashless policy video; it might cause another version of ‘revolution-now’. It, however, got so many confused and troubled. The drama appears to have ended though. Thanks to sister Tacha and other forms of daily distractions, events happening in Nigeria. Let me plead again. We don’t want the price of rice to balloon to N30,000 or even higher than that. With this speedy hike currently being experienced, should we expect more? It better not.

With border closure; we expect more local rice to flood the market so that forces of demand and supply can stabilize the prices of rice. Some friends complained that the local rice is actually too local; that they can’t have a ‘born again’ Jollof and fried rice with it. How do we encourage them…let us just say be patient till quality is enhanced. Also, look into packaging and distribution. Let the products go round.

Price of rice needs to fall; fall drastically for the good of the masses. Finally, let the quality of the rice improve so we can have good jolly fried rice for Christmas. You know I can’t forget to commend your love for green tie. What I don’t know exactly is why you fancy the colour, green.

Well, we will talk about that in the next MPC meeting.

Till then, let’s think price control.

Your Green Tie spotter,

Kenneth Enoruwa

#ForTheCulture

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