In Post Colonial Nigeria
We’re Still Dealing With Food Insecurity
Yes, you are going to end up bargaining for the price of a bag of garri.
Just the other day, I found myself staring down the peak milk section in a supermarket, when I should have been perusing the soy milk section. But then, I realized how I was unable to find a carton of fresh milk. Fresh, UHT processed, pasteurized milk. From Ikoyi, to Lekki, to Ikeja to Ogudu.
Nigeria, what happened to all the fresh, liquid milk? Isn’t it more expensive to dehydrate milk to powder…as the load of milk would be incredible. Is it the ‘epileptic power supply’?
Also, don’t get me started on the quality of fruits and vegetables. You know, the type those aboki sprinkle droplets of water to make them appear even more scrumptious (fat chance). But where can the average Nigerian find consistent freshness? On Lagosian streets? Ikeja? Ojota? Ogudu? Not from what I’ve seen.
Pockets of hawkers with fruits that have seen better harvests swathe both sides of streets, and with the sun/rain beating down, adding the maddening cacophony of traffic. Fortunately, those in the shops fare a tad better, or do they?
I’m confined to Lagos at the moment, so forgive my exclusivity.
Refocusing, the question remains: how can average Nigerians eat healthy? How can organic hotspots with biodegradable food packaging and organic straws, serving quinoa salads and freshly juiced smoothies cater to a demographic that strive to make ends meet on a day to day basis?
Nigeria ranks up a pretty high total percentage of food wastage in Africa, largely due to poor food preservation practices. When fruit and vegetable cultivation (imported food wahala — this is an entire topic on its own), transportation and in-store/out-of-store preservation should be highly prioritized.
In this way, perhaps our government can enable our farmlands introduce fresh produce to hawkers and make agriculture a major part of the country’s revenue. Establish laws to revolutionize hawking by introducing stalls, as well as rehabilitating general areas specifically for mass trade, etc.
Let’s get laws to institutionalize consumer protection, in fact, let’s institutionalize consumer rights. Nigeria is a fierce 'customer is always right' campaigner — but only when it’s time to pay. It’s the 21st century, can we get sale prices that don’t fluctuate like our electricity supply? If I buy a kilo of chicken breasts today for N2500, it should not be N2800 tomorrow, haba.
Nigeria is the top producer of ginger in Africa, and 2nd in the world — yet it costs N20 000 for a kilo from stores (usually upmarket areas and online stores). Let’s break it down: how many pieces of ginger should a kilo have? The standard number is 12, but standard doesn’t work here. I’d say about 9–10 pieces would be what we’ll work with in Nigeria (unless someone will prove me wrong). So say N100 for each piece (sacrilegious!), Which would amount to N1000…so…is my math not mathing?
But if you buy them from a hawker, you’d know that N1000 ginger will last you well into the first quarter of this year (depending on how frequently you use it). The power our informal sector holds, in terms of food vendors and traders, is too incredible not to be redirected back into the general economy. Agriculture and poultry farming has the potential to lift Nigeria far above the ditches of food insecurity — it truly does, provided there’s adequate research and development.
Looking at the wonders it did for South Africa, where Nigeria’s farmlands aren’t barren, I think it’s time we, as a nation, bring our food scientists, food technologists and farmers (*cough, cough* stricter action against bandits, and consumer rights protection, really *cough, cough*) on board in order to plow into this untapped field. Surely.
