Let Us Have A Jollof Rice Economy By Kirk Leigh

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The only way to end the recurring, irritating and tiring Jollof wars between Nigeria and her tiny, noisy neighbours and also shame the Minister for Information and Culture for his embarrassing gaffe on the subject, is to restructure this economy away from oil to one based on Jollof rice.

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It is only when this economy flows with mouth-watering, rich and nourishing Jollof with more than enough to export for dollars can pretenders to the number one spot like Ghana and non starters like Senegal stop being forward and exuberant on the subject.

Our control over this culinary item should be so total that wherever the word ‘Jollof’ is mentioned, these minion nations would be awe struck.

Before dismissing this idea as the ramblings of another misguided patriot, recall that Indians recently beat us to this, by exporting ready-to-eat jollof to Nigeria, to the chagrin of all. If anything, the Indian initiative should tell us that it is doable and it has potential.

After all, there are countries whose mainstays are Bananas as in Ecuador and Tea in Kenya. In fact, the Tea industry has been one of the key pillars of Kenya’s economy since independence from Britain in 1963; they’ve recently started exporting fresh flowers.

Nigeria’s soil and climate is perfect for growing rice and the factor intensity which favours labour ensures that we can produce rice cheaper than most countries, while our absolute advantage guarantees that we can export the commodity across the world. If we take it a step further to start packaging jollof to the world, we would have discovered a treasure trove.

A Jollof rice economy will not just encourage the growing and export of rice; it will help develop businesses along the rice value chain as well as businesses that are producing the various spices and condiments used for the contentious delicacy.

These spices include, fresh plum tomatoes, red onions, fresh Scotch Bonnet Peppers, Tatashe, Tomato Puree, Curry Powder, Dried Thyme, Bay Leaves, Stock cubes, all of which are already flourishing across the country.

An economy which is Jollof based is sure to highlight the culinary side of Nigeria’s tourism business, which, unfortunately, is bogged down by a myriad demons. Tourism is a magnet for billions of dollars for any economy that can get it right. For those that get it wrong, the consequences are baleful. South Koreans recently rued the outcome of Chinese boycott of tourism site, Jeju Island.

Jollof has potential to empower local makers of cookers, boilers and fryers and others in that line; it can guarantee them decent earnings from their endeavours. These local fabricators can find work as makers and installers of milling machines, as part of the rice value chain.

The same applies to the poultry industry and other protein sources associated with the industry, such as beef and fish in all its guises, fresh, grilled or fried. A flourishing beef industry, would further entrench Nigeria’s place as the country with the most cattle in Africa, with capacity to compete with the United States, the world’s number one beef producer.

A jollof based economy is simple enough to understand than one where we have to struggle to fathom the intricate workings of concepts, such as Joint Ventures (JVS), Profit Sharing Agreements (PSE), and Cash Calls as is the case with the humongous oil economy.

To be sure, operators of the oil economy are still struggling to understand the workings of the industry, let alone how much oil is readied for export on a daily basis. It is the reason why there are always conflicting figures between the NNPC, DPR, the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance. It is also the reason why audits reveal crater sized discrepancies and wholesale theft of our commonwealth.

But with Jollof rice, everyone, even the market women can tell what was produced, how many was exported and match it against what was earned. It would be a system with less audit ‘wahala’ and accountability can be ensured.

Needless to say, a Jollof economy has potential to return the country to true fiscal federalism that government and the elites have been paying lip service to. With Jollof, farmers, and industrialists and by extension, the states where the products come from get the complete benefits of their produce/products without the lopsided situation as exists in oil production where they have to wait for the centre for handouts on a monthly basis.

An untoward system that has impoverished states so much so that they owe workers upwards of one year’s wages. It is a sure-fire way to revamp states economies.

While the oil economy cause untold environmental degradation and destroy livelihoods of locals in addition to being the source of discontent and unrest, a Jollof economy will ensure the opposite and guarantee a pollution free society where the output is biodegradable leading to better soil texture for improved yields.

Our Jollof economy may look simplistic and a bit of overstretch in a world caught by the digital bug and the innumerable returns, promised by big data and digital technology in line with Moore’s law. It may appear something of an aberration until our noisy neighbours do something about it.

In fact, it would be no surprise if they are quicker to latch upon this idea, as we slumber in typical fashion only for us to go biting our big fingers half a dozen years from today. But let it be known that it has been proposed by a patriot, whose love for Jollof and country drove him to help his country own the impeachable delicacy by any means necessary.

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