Opinion: Evil conspiracy of RIFAN/ CBN by Ayeni Oladehinde

One Vice President; Rice Farmers' Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), South/South of Nigeria was eulogizing rice pyramid in the glare of the whole world on AIT kaakaki this morning as an extraordinary big achievement even in the face of high cost of processed or polished rice in the market places during the last festival of just last month in year 2021. Kai, Kai,  some people can defend anything in the name of selfish benefit in a system that is corrupt to the moon.

 Everybody knows that the Anchor program of the CBN is ridden with corruption through connivance with some few elements of farmers' association who will never see anything wrong with CBN officials turning to inputs provider and even emergency extension service officers when its role as commercial banks oversight function is very obvious for loans to be channelled while the apex bank monitors to ensure no defaults and discrepancy.

 Uuuuh who now monitors CBN in this act or even query them? This is a Big question asking for answers. Just wait, I am getting somewhere, what do we mean by pyramid itself that they want President Buhari to commission ? this is a question a scientist had one time corrected me saying it is an impression of when Nigeria was not attending to processing aspect of the agricultural value chains to ensure a premium agricultural products for buoyant economy and proactive productivity.

 For anybody talking pyramid of rice in view of high cost of it when many processing factories cannot even get enough paddy to process so as to mitigate high prices is a sheer deceit and mire gimmick to paint a wrong picture to our President in order to get more approval for more loan approval that will not be judiciously spent and well accounted.

I must commend the disposition of President Buhari to agricultural development, nobody can take that away from him, but he must tread softly so as  not to be cajoled into giving order for more fund release through the CBN without proper evaluation of the past disbursement. Pyramid of agricultural production is a reflection of raw materials without value addition, and of what impact is that to us where billions of dollars are being expended on foods import due to shortfall of productions.

 They want to catch on President's speech that we must go to the farm to lure him into giving more fund promises in order to continue in their game at the expense of real smallholders' farmers. No, enough is enough. Mr. President must say " No to their prank" it is only helping them, but not the entire food value chain system. How can CBN feel comfortable in its loan program without partnering Federal Ministry of Agriculture, research institutes with other strategic agencies? Maybe they would have been corrected with this " pyramid" stuff and better advised on better word that will connotes comprehensive productivity involving farmers, processors and marketers. Get me right, agric sector needs support, but the support must be well accounted in order to meet its target.