A Short Story About Maize in Nigeria

Before Before: Nigerians farmed maize. And sold maize. Those who wanted, imported maize mainly for commercial and industrial uses.

*No noise. People went about their businesses knowing they can get maize when they wanted. *

Beau Harry: Why must we import maize? We have to be food sufficient. I hereby ban the importation of maize.

*Scarcity ensues. The price of maize skyrockets. Farmers groan.*

Beau Harry: In my benevolence, I release 5,000 metric tonnes of maize from the food reserves at a subsidized price so you people can enjoy my mercy.

*Still not enough. Poultry farmers closing farms because chickens need maize. Eggs, the cheapest form of protein available to Nigerians, becoming expensive*

Beau Harry: Okay. Okay. Let's import. But only 4 companies will be given licenses to import into the country.
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This is how more poverty is created.

This is how oligarchy is created.

Prevent competition and give only a few access to what was available to all.
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On another note, this was how subsidy for fuel started. We could no longer refine crude because our refineries went bad so we started importing with only a few people granted licenses to import.

They imported at expensive prices, of course, so the government determined a price to be sold to the masses, and paid what was left (creating massive corruption in the process).

Example: Let's say that before the refineries went comatose fuel was sold for N15. Importation cost comes to N40. Government says, No...sell to them at N25, we will pay the remaining N15.

Officials at NNPC and Fuel Importers connive to say they imported at N70. They get N45 from government and share the N30 difference.

Can you see that there would have been no need for subsidy if we could refine in Nigeria?

So expect maize subsidy too.

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