* Farmers urge caution over forex restriction
A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr
Obadiah Mailafia, has criticised the directive by President
Muhammadu Buhari, to the CBN to stop allocation of foreign exchange
for food importation.
He faulted the claims that the nation was self-sufficient in
food. Mailafia noted that the policy was not well thought out,
stressing that it would encourage all forms of illegal activities,
including smuggling.
Speaking on Channels Television Sunrise programme on Thursday,
the development economist said the decision of the CBN to implement
the directive showed that it had been captured politically.
The former presidential candidate of the African Democratic
Congress in the 2019 general elections also stated that the apex
bank had lost its professionalism and autonomy hence its
willingness to pander to the whims of the political class.
He said, “I wish there was any thinking here. There has been no
thinking whatsoever. You can’t run policy on a whim; you run policy
based on technical and scientific understanding of the situation at
hand.
“Somebody just woke up one morning and issued a diktat to the
CBN. I feel disappointed; we don’t have an independent CBN
anymore.
“There has been a capture of CBN, politically. It has no
autonomy anymore; it is just an appendage of some people who are
using it for whatever purpose that they want.”
Mailafia argued that the subservience of the CBN was reminiscent
of the military era when soldiers looted the public treasury with
impunity, describing the Presidential directive to the CBN as
backward thinking.
The ex-CBN top shot also dismissed claims that the nation was
now self-sufficient in food production, noting that food was more
expensive across the country, citing the shortage of food in some
Internally Displaced Persons Camps in the North-East which
precipitated mass protests by hungry refugees last year.
He added, “It’s like we have got back to the military days when
the military would literally bring tellers to the mint and order
printing of fresh mints (currencies), load them into the trailers
and drive off with them.
“You can never be more primitive in running an economy. It is
not only primitive but completely backward thinking.”
In a related development, farmers have advised the government to
take all necessary precaution as it implements the restriction of
forex for the importation of food.
Speaking with one of our correspondents in separate interviews
in Abuja, the All Farmers Association of Nigeria and the Cassava
Growers Association of Nigeria lauded the initiative but urged the
government to put the right things in place to make the plan
work.
The National President, CGAN, Segun Adewumi, said, “It is a good
development if we can take all the necessary precautions.
“Right now we are producing at subsistence level and that means
the cost of production is high. I want them to understand that
smallholder farmers in Nigeria can also produce at commercial
levels.
“To achieve this, you get some hectares of land; you clear it,
demarcate it into plots and allocate these plots to farmers. You
now supervise them. I can assure you that where they used to
produce two tonnes, they will start making up to five tonnes.”
Adewumi added, “And in that way, the cost of production here
will equal the international rate, as against what we see right now
in the sector.
“At this cost, food will be accessible to many and revenue will
be generated not just for farmers but for government.”
The Chairman, AFAN, Lagos Chapter, Chief Femi Oke, said the
government should not only ban forex for import of food but should
also support local food processors and producers.
He said, “It is a good development. Rome was not built in a day;
we have to start from somewhere. When the cultivation of rice in
commercial quantities started, this was how the government
encouraged its production by banning the importation of rice into
Nigeria.
“So putting a ban on the importation of food items from abroad
is to encourage all processors of agricultural crops. And I’m sure
that they will now lay greater emphasis on assisting farmers that
are into the production of crops.”
On whether Nigerian farmers had capacity to produce enough food
for the country, the AFAN official stated that indigenous food
producers were up to the task.
Oke said, “Of course, we have the capacity. Look at the issue of
rice. Right now, every state in Nigeria is trying to produce rice
in commercial quantities. So it is a good move by government to ban
the importation of food items.”
He wondered why food was being imported into Nigeria when it
could be produced in-country.
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