By Viola Ifeyinwa Okolie
This time last year, we were purchasing and eating made in Nigeria rice. The quality for those who bothered to let go of propaganda temporarily and admit to truth, was world class.
You know we Igbo people and Sunday rice, I remember one Lebanese in Kano when he heard I was Igbo, asked one of his boys to bring a bag of “Igbo rice” for me.
They brought out Stallion Gold.
“Why do you call this Igbo Rice”?
“Because Igbo people maximise profit a lot. You see this rice, when you cook two cups, it will swell and full the pot. Then anyone you eat and remain, by the time you come to warm it, you pour small water and it will swell some more”.
That was what Ebony Rice was like. I loved Ebony gold, my money no dey loss with that one.
What is happening with our economy? What measures can the President and the Central Bank take to loosen this crunch on the economy? How do we recoup and recover lost grounds?
Businesses are failing and folding. Jobs are going the way of the ancestors. Depression is setting in. Crime and criminality is on the increase.
Most important to me, how do we bring back our rice?
Export quality rice, we would have supplied Ghana et al the real deal and to make matters worse, import restrictions on rice via land borders were lifted? From China to Ghana to your kitchen in less time than it will take Falz to say “I just want to be shiarman”!
Unto Ofada rice be dat.
Who can supply me a large quantity of ofada rice biko?
1 comment
So after my update on this, I got this in my inbox from a reader: “Madam. we have 13 commercial millers in the country. The problem with distribution is dealership and this affects retailer ship.The dealers don’t want to stock Nigerian rice because they make more money from imported rice”.How can government encourage the retail of our local rice when the restrictions on the importation of rice through the land borders have been lifted? The rices (apologies Senator Buruji Kashamu) comes in from neighbouring countries and end up far cheaper than local rice considering that the demand for local is not as high and the manufacturers have to keep an eye on overheads.Which way Nigeria?