Crash the price of rice too

   "Do whatever you can to crash the price of cement in 30 days". These are the words of Mr. President giving orders to the cement manufactures last week at the government house Abuja to crash the cement price. For two or so months we have been witnessing an unprecedented soaring of cement price in this country where a bag that was initially sold at # 1,650, now cost between #2,200 to #2,300 or more, depending on the particular product one wants. This really has brought hardship on the citizens of this country who use the product for construction works. One has to commend the president for deeming it necessary to intervene on the sufferings of the citizens as a result of this situation by summoning the manufacturers to a meeting and outrightly ordered them to reduce the price within 30 days. 

   After the meeting, the manufacturers while assuring people and the government that they are indeed going to do whatever possible to reduce the price  also revealed the various reasons why the price had to go this high. The Chairman of Dangote Cement, A. Aliko Dangote stated that the major problems the industry was facing were in the areas of supply of Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO) and the loss of 6000 trucks by his group recently. He however did not tell us how these were lost by his company. He added that the post election crises in the north was partly responsible for the hike in price. This is where I have problem, may be the Chairman of Dangote Group needs some memory refresh as regards the fact that, the cement price had reached over #2000 even before the elections and the post elections violence that erupted. So that excuse does not hold water. This greatly showed lack of sincerity from the manufacturers. Or may be its just true as somebody opined that the likes of Dangote who financed with a huge amount of money, the Goodluck/Sambo campaign are out to recoup their investment. Nothing could be further than the truth. In any case, the president did well by intervening and calling on the manufacturers to reduce the price in such a minimum period of time. 

   If Mr. President can do that, how about calling on them to crash the price of rice too? Which by far is more important to an average Nigerian than cement. And also which is by far much more expensive than the cement. A 50 kilogram bag of rice is sold between #8000 to #8500 depending on the product, compared to 50 kilogram bag of cement which goes for #2200 to #2300 depending on the product too. And curiously enough, two of the cement manufacturers that Mr. President had meeting with at the state house are coincidently the major importers of rice in this country. They don't produce the rice in this country therefore, they can't complain that there is no availability of LPFO in the country as they don't need it here. They equally can't complain of the high cost of taxes that they are required to pay when they import those products as we are all aware of the various tax wavers and concessions that they do enjoy when they import those products. There is just basically no justification that this click of very few but highly privileged individuals would be subjecting the over 150 million citizens of this country to this suffering. A bag of rice which is sold at the neighbouring Niger and Benin Republics respectively at equivalent to #4500, and their bags are fuller than ours, is sold at #8500 here in this country. The president only felt it necessary that the cement price be reduced but not that of rice's. If at all the masses of this country who are suffering, matter to the government, then how about ordering the importers to crash its price too?