Tomato Scarcity as Metaphor by Reuben Abati

One of the major news items in circulation has been the scarcity of tomato. Incidentally, Nigeria is (was) the 14th largest producer of tomato in the world and the second largest producer in Africa, after Egypt, but our country hardly produces enough to meet the local demand of about 2.3 million tonnes, and lacks the capacity to ensure an effective storage or value chain processing of what is produced. Out of the 1.8 million tonnes that the country produces annually, 900, 000 tonnes are left to rot and waste. Meanwhile, tomato-processing companies in the country operate below capacity and many of them have had to shut down. 

      The CEO of Erisco Foods, Lagos, Eric Umeofia laments that tomato processing companies lack access to foreign exchange to enable them buy heat-resistant seedlings and other tools that would help ensure the country's sufficiency in local production of tomato paste. Similarly, Dangote Tomato Factory recently suspended operations due to the scarcity of tomatoes and the assault on its tomato farms by a tomato leaves destroying moth, known as "tuta absoluta" - a South American native, also known as the Tomato Ebola, because of its Ebola-like characteristics.

The Future of the Print Media in Nigeria: Not Yet an Obituary by Reuben Abati

A word of congratulations is in order as the departure point for this extended commentary on the future of the print media in Nigeria. It is amazing that it is now 20 years since the first edition of the City People magazine appeared on the newsstands. Within the intervening period, the publication in reporting the city to the people, and capturing the character and the persona, the joys and the foibles, the ceremonies and the traditions, the fashion and the glitz of the people of the city for the overall benefit of society, has established itself as a formidable and successful business enterprise within its genre. It has served as a practicing field for hundreds of journalists, and a compulsory rendezvous for those seeking knowledge and information about the softer side of life as it is lived in our cities.

The founder, Seye Kehinde, and his team and all members of the City People family, including present and old staff, and the faithful patrons whose patronage has sustained the business deserve commendation. I assume however, that if Seye Kehinde were to be asked to reflect on the experience of the past 20 years, his simple, modest answer is most likely to be "It's not been easy", or something along that line to summarize the challenges of managing business in an environment wracked by peculiar uncertainties.

The Niger Delta Avengers by Reuben Abati

Niger Delta Avengers is the name of a new group of militants in the Niger Delta who claim to be different from the former agitators and militants who operated between 2006 and 2009, largely under the umbrella of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). The title of this group may well serve as the thematic and definitive umbrella for the resurgence of low-level insurgency in the Niger Delta, for in the last month alone, more groups have joined the NDA to wage war against oil installations, the Buhari government, and the Nigerian state. These include the Isoko Liberation Movement and the Red Egbesu Water Lions. The groups are working in concert with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) led by detained Nnamdi Kanu.

Deregulation and the politics of public policy by Reuben Abati

This thing called democracy, particularly the Nigerian brand, never ceases to throw up new and intriguing lessons about the relationship between government and the people, and the larger, complex socio-political environment. I had gone to Lagos on an assignment in the last two days of the year 2011, when around midnight I received a phone call from someone close to the corridors of power, informing me that a meeting had just been concluded in Abuja where a decision had been taken to deregulate the downstream petroleum sector, and thus, in effect remove the subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol).

       I told him I was aware of plans to that effect, since the President had been holding a series of meetings with various stakeholders and constituencies on the same subject, but as at the time I left for Lagos, no final decision had been taken. The fellow insisted he knew what he was talking about and that in the morning, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulation Agency (PPPRA) would make the announcement. Sometimes in the corridors of power, informal stakeholders could enjoy faster access and be even more powerful than persons with formal responsibilities. There are persons and groups whose livelihoods are so dependent on government and the people in power that even a whisper at the highest level resonates immediately as an echo in their ears. I learnt very early never to underestimate such persons.

Social Media and the English Language by Reuben Abati

I get confused these days reading many of the posts on social media, and text messages sent through cell phones, because of the kind of new English that young people now write. The English language is without doubt quite dynamic. In the last 200 years, it has lent itself to many innovations, as cultural, religious, and situational codes have transformed the language and extended the dictionary, with new words and idioms.
       The kind of new English being written by twitter and what’s app users, particularly young people is however so frightening and lamentable, because it is beginning to creep into regular writing. Texting and tweeting is producing a generation of users of English, (it is worse that they are using English as a second language), who cannot write grammatically successful sentences. I was privileged to go through some applications that some young graduates submitted for job openings recently and I was scared.

President Buhari, Cameron and Corruption by Reuben Abati

"We have got the leaders of some fantastically corrupt countries coming to Britain… Nigeria and Afghanistan, possibly the two most corrupt countries in the world", UK Prime Minister David Cameron was caught on tape telling the Queen ahead of the anti-corruption summit organized by the UK Government, this week, which was attended by Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari. This diplomatic gaffe rubbed many Nigerians on the wrong side, but most of the responses, coloured by overtly emotional love of country and a certain defensiveness is downright hypocritical.

       We all know that indeed Nigeria is "fantastically corrupt", and that is why the most profound reaction, the most honest also, is the statement by President Muhammadu Buhari who admitted that indeed Nigerians are "fantastically corrupt" and that Cameron is right, but the clincher was the rider added by President Buhari, when he said he would not ask for an apology but he would be glad if Great Britain can release all the stolen loot in its custody. I know President Buhari is often criticized for condemning his own people offshore, but no one can fault his sharp honesty, certainly not in the present instance. His reply to the Cameron statement is absolutely brilliant, diplomatic and loaded with a meaningful sarcasm that is yet to be properly defined.

Lucy Kibaki's Death: Africa's Most Violent First Lady by Reuben Abati

Lucy Muthoni Kibaki was buried yesterday, 9.12 am, Nigerian time, in Othaya, Njeri County, Kenya in the presence of about 300 guests and family members, after a requiem mass attended by over 3, 000 dignitaries and 20, 000 mourners. She was the wife of President Mwai Kibaki, the third President of Kenya, in office from 2002 -2013. She is definitely, one of Kenya's most controversial public figures in the last 50 years.

       There has been no other First Lady like her in the history of Kenya and perhaps in the whole of Africa. It was indeed not suprising that her casket on its journey back to Nairobi, from Bupa Cromwell Hospital, South West London, where she died on April 26, was draped in national colours and that she received the equivalent of a state burial. Mama Lucy was that type of First Lady who had she been denied such state recognition and if the dead could rise and return to sleep, would have stormed out of the casket and accuse the government of Kenya of disrespecting her. She was one hell of a woman.  It seems Kenyans are afraid of her, in life, even in death. Ironically, there has been more focus on her positive attributes rather than her frightening negatives, perhaps because it is incorrect to speak ill of the dead.

The Cost of National Depression by Reuben Abati

I hear the World Bank says Nigeria is now the worst place to do business in the entire world.”

“ I don’t believe it.”

“I also hear that of the 15 fastest growing economies in Africa, Nigeria is no longer on the list.”

“ I say I don’t believe that. And stop hearing bad things.”

“We are not even in the top 10 of the World Top 10 oil producers anymore. Yet, we used to be No. 6.”

“ I still don’t believe that.”

“Inflation is now 13.2%, or well may be 12.8%.”

“Story”

“If you go to the market with N400 to buy pepper, that amount can’t get you enough pepper to fry two eggs.”

“Stop eating eggs. Too much cholesterol is bad for your health.”

“Moody’s has also just downgraded Nigeria in its ratings for end of March 2016.”

“Moody’s?”

“Yes. It is a credit and investment ratings corporation.”

“It is called Moody? What do you expect, then, other than a moody report?”

“Our rating by Standard and Poor’s is also negative.”

“I see. Standard and Poor’s giving a poor rating. So?”

“We are talking serious economics, not word play”

“I hear you”

May Day, Tiwa Savage, Her Husband And Nigeria by Reuben Abati

"Ol'boy, man don see something oh."

"Wetin you see?"

"My eyes don see something. My ears don hear, and my mouth sef, I for talk something join."

"Talk make I hear"

"No be dis Tiwa Savage and him husband matter? The husband wey say him wife offend am, he no gi am food, him wife dey form for house but him dey open leg for other men, and na another woman they give am edible catering, and the man come vex he wan jump inside river for Lekki-Ikoyi bridge"

"Who the hell are you talking about?"

"Tiwa Savage and her husband"

"And who are those?"

"Tiwa, now. Marvin First Lady.  She is one of Nigeria's topmost female artistes. And her husband.  They are quarrelling. The husband tried to commit suicide. She says her husband prefers to follow other women, take cocaine and ignore his responsibilities as a man and a husband. Social media is agog with the news. Mainstream media is feeding on it too. The man even tried to jump into the Lagoon."

"And has he done so?"

"No. He was restrained by Banky W and Peter Okoye."

"And who are those? Red Cross Officials?"

"You are in this country and you don't know Banky W and Peter Okoye?"

"There is no way anyone can possibly know all the members of the Red Cross? "

"They are musicians, not Red Cross, not NEMA"

"Oh, I see"