Ban of food products into South by North- Where South got it wrong

Immediately the news of Arewa halting and ordering trailers conveying food products into Southern Nigeria to reverse, many Southerners reacted childishly and most notably, politically to the development. Children began to complain how food blockade happened in 1967 while market women braced up for a possible hike in price of food products. Unfortunately; we all got it wrong, we are simply not proactive and once more showing that we rely on the North for sustenance.

Some politically inclined minds and noisy politicians with their noisy freedom franchise owners have started threatening how the South will halt and cut off oil pipelines supplying oil to the North. I was disappointed to have read such nonsense from unintelligent people that have not been able to differentiate between politics and real circumstance.

I recall a meeting I had with Honorable Ujunwa Onwudiwe of Imo state house of assembly who was behind the unpopular grazing bill at Concord hotel. We discussed a couple of things that had to do with agriculture and how the bill she was sponsoring had more to do with food security in the South and further livestock farming. But that was not what the people wanted to hear; we simply believe anything livestock or crop farming is the business of the North while trade or oil is ours.

With the recent development; instead of start blabbing and childishly reacting to the development; why not alter the presumed false status? It is only a fool that will say because of you denied us food; we will deny you oil. Oil is secondary and for upgraded maintenance while food is primary and for mandatory sustenance. The right reaction is to go back to basics- find a means to encourage the people to swing into farming because the development is a sign of early warning.

The country is torn apart and there is an inevitable storm gathering; we are beginning to see the early signs of what will be used against the South and it came the best time it could have come. Now; no one needs suckling or complaints; all we need is the right reaction. One man is in Europe ranting how the oil to North should be cut off without knowing oil to the North is entering the drums or wells of just a few. He further doesn’t know how to even cut off the oil; it takes militancy, sweat and risk of death because the owners of the pipelines you believe can be cut off will protect their merchandise.

Some actions don’t need direct reactions; this action of the North should rather cause a self reflection, it should spur us to do the needful because the food they have or turning back is not impossible in the South but only because of priority differences. We can change our priorities; we can give them the right response and no one should listen to political merchants and noisemakers that tend to fill a popularity bag with any development they see.

There is land in South; there is water, there is sun and there is everything we need to tell the food they bring down here ‘f*ck off’. We can do it and we have every reason to do it now; farming is as good as oil business, just change of priority and understanding of the days we are in and food security will be assured.

Ifeanyi Chijioke- Investigative/Independent Journalist

Writes from Enugu.

Ifeanyichijioke97@gmail.com

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