THE visits were eye-opening, revealing, and really lived up to their ‘fact-finding’ purpose.
Few weeks ago, the federal agency in charge of ensuring consumers’ rights are not violated in the country, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, commenced a tour of some major markets, across the country. And the purpose was simple: ascertain the reason(s) prices of food items, and other goods, have continued to aim for the roof, and beyond the reach of the average Nigerian despite government’s efforts at stemming the tide.
Interestingly, few weeks after visiting some markets in Ado Ekiti, Katsina and Bauchi; Wednesday, May 29, this year, the first anniversary of the incumbent administration at the centre, it was the turn of traders in Lagos, the nation’s commercial nerve- centre to be listened to, when the agency visited the Mile 12 International Market, Ketu and Oke Odo Market, in Ile Epo Area of Agbado Oke Odo Local Council Development Area of the state.
Explaining the rationale behind the visit, to the leadership of the Mile 12 Market, , the Team Lead of FCCPC,, who is also the Head, FCCPC, Lagos Office, Mrs. Susie Onwuka, stated that the agency was on a fact-finding mission to the market, going by the fact that the current food inflation in the country, had continued to defy intervention.
“The federal government is concerned that prices of food continue to aim for the roof, despite several interventions. The intention therefore is to come here, listen to you, hear the views of customers in the market, as we go round the market, and make recommendations to the government on areas we believe they can further intervene,” the FCCPC Team leader had said.
Expressing his delight at the FCCPC’s visit, the Chairman, Mile 12 International Market, Alhaji Shehu Usman Jibril, refuted claims in some quarters, that some traders in the market engaged in hoarding, so as to create artificial scarcity, with the aim of extorting consumers.
According to him, most of the items sold in the market are perishable goods, such as onions, pepper, yam, fruits and others, thereby making it almost impossible for any individual trading in such items to involve in hoarding.
“The major challenge that we have on our hands here is that of insecurity. Most of the people you see in the IDP camps today in the North were once farmers. They were displaced from their farmlands, and are, as a result settled in IDP camp. What this also means is that the quantity of agricultural produce that come from the North have reduced drastically, due to insecurity, because people can no longer go their farms in the North.
“On the issue of price inflation by traders, as being claimed in some quarters, I can tell you nobody is inflating anything. There was a time a basket of tomatoes was selling for N1,000, N2,000 because it’s much, and there is no where you can take it to. But when you buy a basket of tomatoes for N100,000, how do you sell it? Don’t forget most of those traders are widows. They pay house rent, children’s school fees and other bills,” he added.
On what the leadership of the market is presently doing to alleviate the situation, Jibril stated that in talks with the Lagos State government to secure some piece of land, where they can farm, to supplement what the farmers in the state are doing there are ongoing.
“Lagos has over 22 million people, and if you don’t have food there will be more criminals in the state,” he explained.
Interestingly, besides insecurity, the Babaoja of Oke Odo Market, at Ile Epo, Alhaji Taofeek Olorunkemi would attribute the challenge of food inflation to the withdrawal of fuel subsidy, a development, he stated, had resulted in high cost of transportation.
“We the traders are also concerned and confused. We can’t trade as we used to. Our working capitals are being gradually wiped out. Besides the fact that some of our suppliers from the North are no longer coming, even some within the South West too no longer find it easy coming here to supply us due to high transport costs,” he stated.
While commending FCCPC for embarking on the mission, Gloria, a regular customer at Oke Odo Market, in a chat with Brands & Marketing, would also want the government to quickly act on whatever recommendations made by the Commission; since Nigerians are increasingly finding it hard to purchase food items in the markets.
Alhaji Jibril would however want the government to quickly fix the issue of insecurity, to enable the farmers in the North, who constitute over 80 percent of the market suppliers, return to their farmlands; Alhaji Olorunkemi believes the issue of high cost of transportation must be fixed for prices of food items to come down.
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