Foreign rice scarcity hits Kano markets, as Customs clampdown on smugglers

…Local rice appreciates

The sequence to rigorous arrests and determination of the men of the Nigeria Customs Service to meet up to their statutory duty, the Kano State Command of the service after redoubled efforts, has dealt a great blow to smugglers of foreign rice in the state.

Investigation in different major markets in Kano has revealed that there is scarcity of foreign rice in the state as a result of measures put in place by the state’s Customs which has led to tremendous successes in checkmating activities of smugglers of the commodity.

Local rice marketers have expressed delight over-appreciation of the product in Kano State markets sequence to rigorous arrests by the men of the Nigeria Customs Service, Kano/Jigawa Command, which has rid the state markets of foreign rice products.

Investigation in different major markets in Kano has revealed that the local rice produced in the country now dominates the markets as there is a scarcity of foreign rice in the state as a result of measures put in place by the Customs which has led to tremendous successes in checkmating activities of smugglers of the foreign commodity.

It would be recalled that the Nigeria Customs Service, Kano/ Jigawa Command, in January 2019 alone confiscated over 3,000 bags of foreign rice smuggled into the country valued at N100 million.

Confirming the development, Alh. Musa Nabanki, Public Relation Officer of Singga market in Kano, said the closing of the border by the Federal Government and the clampdown on rice dealers by the men of the Customs are the main reasons behind the scarcity.

He said, Customs in the state, have embarked on intensified campaigns against those they suspect to be smugglers, and their members who are accused of patronizing such smuggled products, this, he said has led to fear among the marketers to bring in the foreign rice over the fear of seizure.

Nabanki, however, lamented that non-availability of the Local rice and the exorbitant price charged when one is able to get it despite the federal government’s efforts towards making the product available and affordable is a thing of great concern.

Musa, who also is a major dealer of rice, spoke passionately over the situation saying that, the poor quality of the local rice is not encouraging as companies empowered by the government to produce standard and qualitative local rice have failed to do so woefully.

The businessman pleaded with the authorities of the Nigeria Customs Service to consider their plights and sit on a round table with them so as to further discuss and agree on better ways of doing their businesses to avoid going contrary to the Customs laws in order to salvage the situation.

The Public Relation Officer (PRO) of the Command, ASC Isa Danbaba when contacted for his reaction referred the matter to the Customs Area Controller.

According to the Comptroller, Nasir Ahamed, the ban on foreign rice is a federal government policy that rice should not be imported through the land borders, that it’s a policy aimed at encouraging self-sufficiency in rice production in the country and to achieve this, importation of rice has to be reduced drastically.

He said “reducing this will save us our foreign exchange, create employment because agriculture is one of the mainstays of the country and the Northern part of the country can only benefit from agriculture when we desist from importing rice”

Nasir, however, encouraged the local millers to increase their level of production so that they can flood the market with their products at good prices which will further cripple the demand for the imported product.

“Once they flood the markets with their goods at affordable prices, the foreign rice will naturally disappear from the markets as no one will go for it”

He stressed that, unlike the foreign rice which no one knows when they were produced, under what conditions they were produced and no one can actually ascertain their production and expiry date, the local rice is produced locally and could be examined and confirmed fit for human consumption.

Furthermore, the Area Controller said, no country depends on another to feed its citizens, to even say the product is scarce means there it is still available in the market and that what’s to hear is that, foreign rice has completely disappeared from the markets under his command so that local millers and farmers and marketers would grow in all earnest.

“ We owe it a duty to this country to stop the importation of such products and become sufficient, and we owe it a duty to the country to ensure that unemployment as a result of activities of smugglers which cripples local businesses is reduced to the barest minimum.

We would put more officers on the roads to look for any smuggled rice that is coming in and stop them before they get into our markets so that from scarcity it will turn to not available that’s what we want to hear”

He warned that he cannot have any discussion with anybody on anything that has to do with rice and other banned goods as he has no such powers.

The Officer in Charge of Operation, (OC) CSC, Kaila Shuaibu while contacted, commended the Area Controller Nasir Ahmed for his leadership style of maintaining a good relationship with his officers which has boosted their morale greatly in delivering their duties.

He described Ahmed, a no-nonsense man, and a monster to smugglers who have vowed to flush them out of the states under his command.

The administrative manager, Amarava agro-processors’ Ltd, of Fullmark group, a major local rice processor in Kano, Adam Bello, said those who complain about the local rice are simply those who bring in smuggled rice into the markets.