It is not unlikely that Nigerians may have witnessed either on television or read about the rhapsody of the rice pyramids of Abuja. You’d recall tha the federal government in its infinite wisdom pulled a publicity stunt to excite, engage and divert our attention from the topical issues of the moment. Or so, it seemed if you looked past the veneer of the showpiece.
This novel idea, at least in modern times, tended to refresh our memories of the defunct groundnut pyramids of Kano in the days of commodity marketing boards spread across the country.
The rice pyramids of Abuja was a perceptive construct calculated to bridge the dearth of positive news from Abuja. Sure enough, it ignited a firestorm of reactions from both ends of the divide.
Not only did it create an irrestible impression of Nigeria’s self-sufficiency in rice production, the event unwittingly signaled our triumph over poverty. Of course, once a nation overcomes the challenges of food production, that country is well on its way to prosperity. But much more, the rice pyramids may have held Nigeria out as a member of the global community of rice producers. How true? That was picture the rice pyramids of Abuja unwittingly portrayed to the undiscerning mind. But, isn’t that ridiculous, given our present state of affairs? Especially,when the reverse is the truth. No magical circus can obliterate that reality, no matter how calibrated the vaudeville.
It needs restating that the January 16 charade was a well orchestrated showpiece invented to beguile, hoodwink, and possibly get the nation clapping and dancing. It was an event conceived as a ritual appeal to launder the image of the government despite its shortcomings and monumental failings in public administration and policy formulation.
It would interest you to know that the federal governmen in concert with one of its formidable agencies, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the hitherto moribund rice farmers association of Nigeria embarked on this voyage of discovery by titillating Nigerians with the eye-catching circus of sort. We must commend the brand managers of the jamboree for a job well done, even though it lacked all the ingridients of a well thought out programme.
The pyramids of Abuja may have come as a big surprise to very many citizens after the great scramble for rice during the festivities of the yuletide season. Need I reiterate that a bag of 50kg rice was sold between n30,000 (thirty thousand naira only) and n65,000 (sixty five thousand naira only) depending on the quality of the brand and the location of the buyer. The imported brands were, of course beyond the reach of the average person. Most families kept their distance from the staple food on their dinning tables during the Christmas festivities.
The nation was not in the least ready to articulate the essence of such a grandeur exhibition which at best was a dramatic fanfare. By the way, exhibitions are never known to give positive effect to hunger pangs.
Although, the initial intention of the government in iniating the rice pyramids was to display the successes of the Anchor Borrower’s Programme, ABP an initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele. Despite the huge amount invested in putting up the fanfare, we have again squandered an opportunity to make a bold statement on behalf of the battered image of the government. The rice pyramids of Abuja was without question counterproductive. We could have done better, if we had done our homework properly through cost benefit analysis and project planning and execution.
The event was ill-conceived because the timing was wrong. Therefore, it was bound to crash like a pack of cards. Though, a good idea, no doubt but the implementation was less so.
If the federal government had flooded the markets nationwide with the rice it kept in silos for the exhibition,, may be it would have crashed the price of the commodity. The multiplier effect would have been unquantifiable. Nigerians would have applauded the government for its foresight and visionary leadershi. There wouldn’t have been any need for the meaningless exercise it entangled itself with. A little planning would have saved the government the unnecessary embarrassment.
Little wonder why the event was greeted with scepticism by the people. Ordinarily the return of the pyramids would have been a source of joy as well as a good public relations tool for President Mohammadu Buhari led All Progressives Congress. They however, bungled the opportunity at the altar of awful narrow considerations. In fact, the event had helped to widen the trust deficit between the government and the people.
Perhaps, we need to interrogate the success of the Anchors Borrower’s Programme and how it had impacted the farming community. And ultimately how helped in preserving our dignity in food production. According to Mr. Emefiele, no less than a trillion naira have been given out as loans to farmers since 2015. Who are the beneficiaries of these loan schemes? The nation should be properly informed, after all, it is the tax payers money. Unfortunately, It’s been alleged in certain quarters that a great percentage of the beneficiaries of such schemes wre portfolio farmers who had no visible farmlands anywhere in the country. And that the CBN loans were given out to political patrons of the President. While these allegations may be difficult to verify, since they remain in the realm of speculation, nonetheless, it is difficult to reconcile the sources of the Abuja rice pyramids vis a vis the imperatives of insecurity in the country.
How is it possible that the country could harvest millions of paddy rice in the face of daunting insecurity in virtually every part of the north. Bear in mind that in some states, farmers are required to pay “jangali” —-taxes and levies to the obnoxious bandits and terrorist before they’re granted access to their farmlands. As a result, many farmers have abandoned their farms. Yet many others have relocated to Internally Displaced Persons camps. Not to mention the army of unemplyed farm hands who have over the years migrated to urban centres nationwide. This assertion may have put paid to the reasoning that the rice on display could have been ferried in from neighbouring countries such as Niger, Cameroun etc.
The rice pyramids of Abuja is a poignant illustration of the hollow thinking that went into the execution of the programme. And that explains why the pyramids of Abuja is
a metaphor for failure, incompetence and bad politics.
This is my stand.
Thomas Ebikabowei Peretu
A social commentator and political analyst
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