Ismaila Biliaminu Manne
Despite having laws to regulate the prices of essential commodities, many Nigerians are grappling with unprecedented surge in the cost of living.
The skyrocketing prices of grains, in particular, have led to a disturbing trend: the rampant hoarding of grains by opportunistic traders, who are exploiting loopholes in the law to inflate prices of commodities and maximize profits.
This artificial scarcity has exacerbated food insecurity, leaving millions of Nigerians struggling to access basic necessities.
As a result, basic staples like rice, maize, and wheat have become unaffordable for millions of Nigerians.
Particularly in Northern Nigeria and rural areas, the situation is dire; residents and farmers finding it difficult to afford food for living, seeds, and equipment needed to cultivate their land.
To address this issue, expert called on government at all levels to gather enough intelligence and unravel warehouses where foodstuffs were unfairly stocked, and also, suggested dry-season farming of rice and maize should be facilitated to ensure that Nigerians have access to the food to survive.
Unfortunately, the consequences of hoarding crisis are far-reaching and devastating, triggering economic hardship, with food insecurity is on the rise, families are forced to skip meals or rely on inferior alternatives.
Meanwhile, the government’s inability to address the crisis is fueling hoarding and widespread discontent, with protests and demonstrations erupting across the country.
Malnutrition Soaring High
According to a report, Francis Ebom narrated that his children now eat twice a day, which is breakfast and dinner “while my wife and I sometimes eat only once a day because eating has become a luxury. Food items are now very expensive.
A bucket of garri now sells for N2,500 while rice, Nigeria’s commonest staple food, now sells for between N1,200 and N1,500,” in 2024.
With this, Malnutrition rates are soaring, particularly among children and pregnant women. The number of pregnant and breastfeeding adolescent girls and women suffering from acute malnutrition has soared from 5.5 million to 6.9 million – or 25 percent – since 2020 in 12 countries hardest hit by the global food and nutrition crisis, according to a new report released by United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF.
“The global hunger crisis is pushing millions of mothers and their children into hunger and severe malnutrition,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “Without urgent action from the international community, the consequences could last for generations to come.”
What the Law Says
The Nigerian Law on business conducts, Price Control Act prohibits the abuse of prices of goods in Nigeria and provides punishment for market offenses, including hoarding and other related offenses.
Section 7, subsection 1(i) of the act states that if a person holds (controlled) commodities and refuses to sell the commodity in question while having it in stock, the individual shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than six months without the option of a fine.
However, despite the provisions of the Price Control Act and the cost of living, several traders keep hoarding grains for years, leading to the rise of food insecurity in Nigeria.
According to a Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) report, greedy merchants hoard grains for years to sell at sky-high prices in Nigeria, with one finding a bragging space online and swearing. “I swear I have three hundred bags of rice. If the price doesn’t reach N150,000 I will not sell it. The ordinary Nigerian should go and die, very stupid and senseless people. I don’t care. Here the store is full of rice. Show it to them. If you didn’t insult me, may God forsake you,” part of the report reads.
A Toll For SMEs
The erroneous act of hoarding grains did not only make living conditions difficult; it took a toll on Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs) like Ibrahim Bello, a Garri seller with over a decade of experience in Sokoto. Lamenting his distressing concerns about the significant losses he incurred in 2024, in an interview. He attributed his struggles to two primary factors: the removal of the fuel subsidy and the exploitative practices of merchants who hoard goods to sell at exorbitant prices.
In his words, “These kinds of people will buy goods in low quantity, but they will prefer to hoard 50% out of it and wait until it adds money, and then give it out for sale,” he said.
The report added that Bello used to buy one sack of Garri for N15,000 from the merchant, but now the situation has changed. “A sack being sold for N15,000 then was far more profitable than the current situation,” he added. “Could you believe one sack is now N80,000?”
Similarly, Ibrahim Kabiru, another entrepreneur expressed his deep concern. “In the last few months, the price of a mudu of beans has jumped N5,000 but it used to be N2,500 per mudu around last October. I can’t even figure out the kind of strategy to use in order to equip my business so that I will also have a profitable business,” the beans seller stated.
“Hoarding of foodstuff by middlemen created the scarcity”_ Expert Opined
The managing director of Gouria Rice, Dogo Muhammed, told BusinessDay that hoarding of foodstuff by middlemen was what created food scarcity in Nigeria and called on government at all levels to gather enough intelligence in unraveling warehouses where foodstuffs were unfairly stocked so that people could have access to such places.
“Hoarding of foodstuffs by middlemen created scarcity, and the law of demand and supply came into play. The government at all levels must, as a matter of urgency, gather enough intelligence and get those warehouses where foodstuffs are unfairly stocked to get them released for the populace to have access to it.”
He added that dry-season farming of rice and maize should be facilitated immediately so that there would be enough grains to feed the nation. If there could be three cropping cycles of rice, maize, and sorghum annually, the issue of food security would be properly addressed.
