Hunger Reigns In Rice Republic; Where Is Yari?
By Bolaji O. Akinyemi.
My greatest fear was a repeat of last year’s attack any where in Nigeria. Which was captured by my article, titled; PBAT: Are Christians In Nigeria Safe in 2024 Christmas?
A criminal occurrence anywhere within or around the territory where it happened last year will give us out as a nation where human life is equal to that of animals. Not animals in the society where lives of even insects matter, but of a society where the official leaders of the Christians in Government will sit at a sumptuous table feasting on tax payers money when the people the tax was scooped from are dying in search of sustenance for their survival is demarketing for a government already perceived as T-Pain, while many of us in our love for the nation are striving to turn our experiences to T-GAIN. Those around you by their insensitive conduct are making it look like a journey to T-Death!
Mr President, If a northern Christian couldn’t balance your election tickets for the reason you gave which I will painstakingly analyze in series in 2025. Is there no Christian in Northern Nigeria to occupy the official position brokered by our structure for a Christian to at least pacify those being slaughtered like goats for the reason of our faith?
We aren’t expecting those who are beneficiaries of our portion of national cake for pilgrimage funding to go to Jordan fasting. But it is an insult on the sensibility of Nigerians to be feasting under camera while the soul of a child was brought down to 5000 Naira only, and 35 was carted away under the reign of hunger. When they should be mourning, they were flaunting food. Not even the endless sad news from home will prick their hearts to eat in closet. Displaying heartlessness before the glare of the world in far away Jordan by the fellows is an international demarketing of not just your Administration but of our nation.
Sad enough that the criminality coupled with financial and economic crime being sustained by wrong media narratives went down again in Ryom Local government village of XY where not less down 15 people were brought down in their prime.
If Nigerians were hopelessly living in hope of a renewed hope, nobody bargained that the worth of human life will equal a modu of rice. Inadvertently, your reign has set us up indirectly under the rule of hunger and control of rice. Sir, is this Republic still federal? A republic where little things of life such as rice will determine who lives or dies is better described as Rice Republic! A daily fight for rice all year round hasn’t spared Christmases; but it got worse this Christmas.
If Muhammadu Buhari established the hunger rule, T-Pain subsumed the Republic under the control of Rice. Sir, your praise singers won’t tell you this! At your inauguration, a bag of rice was less than ₦30,000 Naira, but this Christmas season of December 2024 a bag of rice is over a ₦100,000. Unfortunately our confrontation with rice has gone from T-pain to T-death!
Rice of course has taken over the rein of our nation. Our low leadership productivity has finally institutionalised Fayose’s political theory of stomach infrastructure at the expense of mental capacity building and infrastructural development. A call for a few, for rice distribution will see multitude of the hopelessly hungry gather and many stampeded to death.
As early as February, the signs of death for rice was first shown at the Bashir Adewale Adeniyi led Customs Service where a call to come worship at the shrine of the gods of the hungry; Rice! Thousands showed up and 8 people were stampeded to death. Whatever has become of the inquiries into that unfortunate experience? Life rarely matters in Nigeria, especially of the poor. The greatest sin in Nigeria is to be poor. On the vague structure of false federation rest every financial advantage taken of hapless and helpless citizens. Reason the gospel of prosperity will continue to make sense to the not sensible, who are of course in the majority. The CG, like the IGP may get an extension of his tenure in 2025 without accounting for the souls of the eight hanging on this Government for lack of proactive leadership.
What the CG got away with is our fate at the Islamic High School, Ibadan, where multitude had responded to the advert that ₦5000 will be given to 5000 indigent children. The programme was scheduled for 10:00AM but report had it that accessing the venue as early as 7:00AM was an herculean task, because parents had woken their children across the city and had arrived the venue as early as 5:00AM to meet the gate of the venue closed necessitating desire to get into the arena ahead of others by scaling the fence. A mother was said to have thrown her child across the high fence of the school in hope that those at the other side will help catch the child, her hope turned out as our renewed hope. The child landed on his head and died immediately.
The unforeseen challenge that arose at the Customs Service Zonal office is to be blamed for the Ibadan stampede. It left Ibadan for Anambra and visited the home of Oby Jackson for rice distribution and left scores dead. Wherever and whenever leadership are not ready to be responsible and the citizens are not prepared to hold them accountable, whatever happens, those who lack foresight will blame on unforeseen circumstances. Nothing has exposed our failure as a people and Nation like the unforeseen circumstances that was unleashed on us at the Customs Service Zonal office at Yaba. From a Government institution, it rared its ugly head at Bauchi in March where 7 people where stampeded to death at a rush for rice in answer to a call made by a businessman. The Ibadan saga was a partnership between an entertainment broadcaster and a royal personality. Unforeseen circumstances presided over palative sharing at a Catholic Church in Maitama, Abuja.
Irresponsibility is the only word for our attitude, if the February activation of rice for death by the Customs Service was according to them, “the crowd became desperate and charged through barricades in search of rice bags inside emptied containers”, when a bag of rice was 60k, now that a bag of rice is over a 100k. How do we as Government, Business Communities, Politicians, Priests and Public figures give the same excuse when desperation is at the highest level ever in the history of our country.
Ego, more than anything else is the problem of our political and social elites class, must we gather people before we can hand them palliatives?
That ego was what we swallowed during our ChristMaX kiddies party in Bokkos where 850 IDP kids were registered and kids were to be brought from other 5 locations where transportation arrangements were in place. We simply deactivated the mobilisation and transportation and decentralised, which allowed mobilisation centers to hold their parties.
This season last year, it was another call to rice, a gathering of our political power brokers at the table of the Commander in Chef, the Baker and feeder of 250 million people, half of who knows nothing but hunger. But whose status was beneath appearance at your table. Gathered to feast with you were 27 seating Governors out of 36, along with leadership of the Nation’s Assembly led by the Senate President, His Excellency, Godswill Akpabio and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abass.
Sir, I need not spell it out, but I owe you a mention that you are leaving the poor behind in the life “chopin” that has characterized the approach of political appointees.
While the political elites were at your “ricely” decorated table last year, human beasts were devouring the souls of others in Bokkos, Mangu and other LGAs. They literally poured sand in our Christmas jollof rice but it was President and the Governor of Plateau State, Barr. Caleb Muftawang at the table who directly felt the impact of the stone while munching.
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Thinking aloud at such a moment of mixed emotions; the President asked; where is Yari?
Did, Yari wait a whole year to respond with his own rice?
Yari got his branding for Senate Presidency right! His desire was to lead a firm, transparent National Assembly that would have served the interest of Nigerians, that’s according to him.
Another Christmas after he was missing at the President’s Christmas party. Yari has proven to be the real deal!
Politics is about dreams, ambitions and their aspirations. Northern politics is about feudal consensus!
The voice of rice is the loudest under the rule of hunger. And rice this Christmas, is the Director General of Yari’s Campaign Organisation at the senate. What is not clear is, is this DG in anticipation of 2027 or a possible activation of a rethink among our Senators to do the needful in order not to lack rice again?
Yari seems to have waited a whole year to answer the call by Mr President’s questions, where is Yari?
If rice were to have a mouth! I won’t be surprised to hear it say, present Sir! To Mr President’s inquiring about Yari’s whereabout. “I am here on your Christmas table representing His Excellency and Distinguished Senator Yari.
It was my usual occasional visit to the senate; a senator staring at 25 bags of rice from Akpabio, looked troubled with the challenge of hunger in his constituency and how to share 25 bags of rice to multitudes looking up to him. Still bemoaning the leadership provided by the senate, he got a call from someone who said Sir, I am asked to inform you that you have a trailer load of rice, (600 bags) as a gift for Christmas”. For me, by extension his constituents are bound to benefit from the legendary big sack carrying father Christmas posture of His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Yari this Christmas. The Senator literally leaped for joy, like a mother hen in search of food for its young. Or like a young man who in hope of food to eat found himself plate and spoon in hand at a buffet table, confused, not knowing the food to start with. We left for his house where another Senator friend came visiting, he asked, if he had received the Good News, of the “surplucity” of rice in the midst of Akpabio’s rice scarcity? The fellow, a Muslim, called Lady Felicia who was named by the first Senator as the bringer of the good news, she answered, “this provision is following the pattern of the same gesture from H.E Yari to all Muslim Senators and House of Representatives Member during the last Salah.
Whao!
Within Yari’s provision, every household in Nigeria is entitled to at least a derica of rice. If you have no rice to cook for Christmas and you have a Christian Senator or House of Rep’s member, head for their place and ask them; where is my Yari’s rice?
If you have been reached by your Senator or House of Rep’s member with Yari’s rice, be kind enough to say,
Merry Christmas, Senator Yari!
Imagine the volume of rice he shared successfully without a single casualty.
Of urgent necessity is the need for the ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and poverty reduction to structure policy for humanitarian intervention projects to demystify our unforeseen circumstances into foreseeable reality to the benefits of the poor mercy. Whatever our confrontation is; a merry Christmas my wish.
