With every new article in this F.O.O.D series I'm left feeling disgusted than the last time. A profit margin of 36% on a staple product that is imported tariff free is beyond criminal. Nigerians are being starved just so a few people can benefit immensely. Like you said, a government that allows this has lost its raison d'etre.
Best post ever! 😂 Charles Town Maroons very distinct group of Maroons and are alive and well with an annual festival. They would greatly appreciate this story so shall look for a link. In general, the fascinating story of Black Jamaican returnees (usually missionaries) not widely known though a few books exist. Black Baptists active also in Ghana and Western Cameroon from early 19th C.. Interesting point here is that not confined to religion. Thanks for this 👍👍
Thanks for reading! I tried to find more on Shackleton's, Catherine Ricketts, but ran into a dead end sadly. Good to know the Maroons are still alive and well!
What is worrisome for me, besides how these policies keep us mostly poor and hungry at the expense of a few, is that these oligarchs are shockingly popular. The argument often given on the streets for them is that they are creating jobs, and, of course, they are Nigerians. Not many understand that they are getting insane producer surpluses, and we are all the poorer and hungrier for it.
As an aside, the colours in the charts are too similar and it makes them a little hard to decipher.
Exactly! We have so much vim for foreign-owned companies like MTN and Multichoice - every time the latter raises subscription rates, there is a national meltdown. But none for our own guys who fleece us off even more.
Each article leaves me more frustrated than the last. The government is basically strangling millions of its citizens to cater to some select few. These companies declare insane profits year after year, one would think it’s due to their ingenuity, these bros are literally gaming the system 😭😭
Merely thinking about the constant drama since Dangote’s entry into the oil and gas industry, I just know in a few years time, there’d be a series like this on how he lobbied the system for maximum profits at the expense of Nigerians. Owari da ☠️
The government’s persistence with these tariffs are nothing short of a betrayal of the people and a deliberate inflation of food/flour prices while Nigerians go hungry all to prop up the Dough Boys.
Scraping this punitive barrier immediately is the simplest way to ease the suffering and expose the myth that protectionism equals progress.
Any administration clinging to it has indeed lost its legitimacy to govern.
The numerous economic woes bedeviling the country are primarily self-inflicted. As the F.O.O.D series has shown, the current economic policies amount to a form of state-led economic banditry, as it appears that they are systematically designed to expand the ranks of the poor.
In a nation of over 200 million, where this persistent economic sabotage leaves countless households without food, shelter, or basic nutritional needs, the failure to establish an effective THINK TANK is a profound national deficit. Such a body is desperately needed to subject these numerous regressive laws to rigorous scrutiny and force the structural changes required to lift the country out of its economic doldrums.
How else can one explain the imposition of stiff tariffs on essential goods we barely produce? A heavy tariff is slapped on a commodity of which local production accounts for less than 3%, even as national consumption stands at 5.6 million MT. That's a crime against humanity. This pattern is replicated across other critical staples that have been a subject of this F.O.O.D series for the past four weeks.
As a disciple reader of FF, he has consistently written about the adverse effects of Cement in "Konkere war" on our housing sector as far back as 2011 or 2012, yet in 2025, what he wrote about then that made us have millions of uncompleted buildings lying on our streets persists. 😭 😭
As has been aptly noted, "reducing the cost of food for Nigerians by abolishing this unnecessary tariff is one of the most straightforward policy decisions available to any government." The time has come to jettison the easy and lazy cliché of "protecting the local industry", a policy that has consistently failed to protect the poor while only serving to enrich a powerful few.
Hmmm, tongue in cheek 😋 move:
FF, Tobi, and perhaps some that I can't mention their names here, what are you guys doing to reverse these trends? No doubt, you have friends in this government even if you don't like the government and I guess this can't stop you from making a covert move that will make a dent in this doom path we find ourselves. Your move isn't a guaranteed loss; it's a lottery ticket you haven't scratched yet. Potential jackpot is in your hand who knows what you're holding until you play. 🙈🙈🙈
“A government that knowingly orchestrates such a fleecing of its own hungry citizens has forfeited its fundamental reason to exist.”This is terribly sad! But thank you for another brilliant exposé on the F.O.O.D series. Although it’s a sad theme, your intended puns and metaphors make the reading so delicious. Thank you.
I’m currently doing a master’s in social data science and have been looking for a research question around Nigerian institutions (or something similar) that’s both interesting and data rich. Would love any ideas or pointers you might have!
With every new article in this F.O.O.D series I'm left feeling disgusted than the last time. A profit margin of 36% on a staple product that is imported tariff free is beyond criminal. Nigerians are being starved just so a few people can benefit immensely. Like you said, a government that allows this has lost its raison d'etre.
Best post ever! 😂 Charles Town Maroons very distinct group of Maroons and are alive and well with an annual festival. They would greatly appreciate this story so shall look for a link. In general, the fascinating story of Black Jamaican returnees (usually missionaries) not widely known though a few books exist. Black Baptists active also in Ghana and Western Cameroon from early 19th C.. Interesting point here is that not confined to religion. Thanks for this 👍👍
Thanks for reading! I tried to find more on Shackleton's, Catherine Ricketts, but ran into a dead end sadly. Good to know the Maroons are still alive and well!
Really good article (as always).
What is worrisome for me, besides how these policies keep us mostly poor and hungry at the expense of a few, is that these oligarchs are shockingly popular. The argument often given on the streets for them is that they are creating jobs, and, of course, they are Nigerians. Not many understand that they are getting insane producer surpluses, and we are all the poorer and hungrier for it.
As an aside, the colours in the charts are too similar and it makes them a little hard to decipher.
Yes, that’s a big part of the problem. Unless it’s a foreigner doing this, a large chunk of Nigerians will just shrug it off
Exactly! We have so much vim for foreign-owned companies like MTN and Multichoice - every time the latter raises subscription rates, there is a national meltdown. But none for our own guys who fleece us off even more.
Each article leaves me more frustrated than the last. The government is basically strangling millions of its citizens to cater to some select few. These companies declare insane profits year after year, one would think it’s due to their ingenuity, these bros are literally gaming the system 😭😭
Merely thinking about the constant drama since Dangote’s entry into the oil and gas industry, I just know in a few years time, there’d be a series like this on how he lobbied the system for maximum profits at the expense of Nigerians. Owari da ☠️
The government’s persistence with these tariffs are nothing short of a betrayal of the people and a deliberate inflation of food/flour prices while Nigerians go hungry all to prop up the Dough Boys.
Scraping this punitive barrier immediately is the simplest way to ease the suffering and expose the myth that protectionism equals progress.
Any administration clinging to it has indeed lost its legitimacy to govern.
The numerous economic woes bedeviling the country are primarily self-inflicted. As the F.O.O.D series has shown, the current economic policies amount to a form of state-led economic banditry, as it appears that they are systematically designed to expand the ranks of the poor.
In a nation of over 200 million, where this persistent economic sabotage leaves countless households without food, shelter, or basic nutritional needs, the failure to establish an effective THINK TANK is a profound national deficit. Such a body is desperately needed to subject these numerous regressive laws to rigorous scrutiny and force the structural changes required to lift the country out of its economic doldrums.
How else can one explain the imposition of stiff tariffs on essential goods we barely produce? A heavy tariff is slapped on a commodity of which local production accounts for less than 3%, even as national consumption stands at 5.6 million MT. That's a crime against humanity. This pattern is replicated across other critical staples that have been a subject of this F.O.O.D series for the past four weeks.
As a disciple reader of FF, he has consistently written about the adverse effects of Cement in "Konkere war" on our housing sector as far back as 2011 or 2012, yet in 2025, what he wrote about then that made us have millions of uncompleted buildings lying on our streets persists. 😭 😭
As has been aptly noted, "reducing the cost of food for Nigerians by abolishing this unnecessary tariff is one of the most straightforward policy decisions available to any government." The time has come to jettison the easy and lazy cliché of "protecting the local industry", a policy that has consistently failed to protect the poor while only serving to enrich a powerful few.
Hmmm, tongue in cheek 😋 move:
FF, Tobi, and perhaps some that I can't mention their names here, what are you guys doing to reverse these trends? No doubt, you have friends in this government even if you don't like the government and I guess this can't stop you from making a covert move that will make a dent in this doom path we find ourselves. Your move isn't a guaranteed loss; it's a lottery ticket you haven't scratched yet. Potential jackpot is in your hand who knows what you're holding until you play. 🙈🙈🙈
Each piece in this series is even more frustrating than the last. Thank you Feyi!
“A government that knowingly orchestrates such a fleecing of its own hungry citizens has forfeited its fundamental reason to exist.”This is terribly sad! But thank you for another brilliant exposé on the F.O.O.D series. Although it’s a sad theme, your intended puns and metaphors make the reading so delicious. Thank you.
Really enjoy your articles! 😊
I’m currently doing a master’s in social data science and have been looking for a research question around Nigerian institutions (or something similar) that’s both interesting and data rich. Would love any ideas or pointers you might have!
A select few - "elite" and the government colluding to plunder and tear the citizenry apart
Man this f.o.o.d series has completely disgusted me, these guys are so heartless, bereft of any morality. Nigeria is one evil land sha