We Have Facts Foreign Rice Is Poisonous, Customs Insists, Warns Nigerians of Health Risks
FOU CAC, EJIBUNU
*Urges all to be involved in combating smuggling
BY Francis Ugwoke
The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has again sent a note of warning to Nigerians who have remained in the habit of consuming foreign rice, insisting that most of the grains smuggled into the country were poisonous.
The Acting Comptroller of the Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Deputy Compt. Hussein Ejibunu , said most of the rice being smuggled into the country were health risks and should not be consumed by Nigerians.
Ejibunu disclosed that in some cases, some Nigerians he described as unscrupulous elements and profiteers , travel out of the country to import these grains through neighbouring ports with warehouses in Cotonou from where they try to smuggle the grains into Nigeria.
The implication is that some of the smuggled products may have stayed for too long and expire before reaching the hands of final consumers.
The Customs Controller who spoke to members of the League of Maritime Editors and Publishers in his office called on Nigerians to go for locally produced rice and shun foreign rice, adding that the quality of Nigerian rice has improved tremendously from what the situation was several years back.
Declaring war against smugglers, he also called on all Nigerians to be part of this effort, stating that the task cannot be left to only one agency.
Ejibunu said, “It is important we don’t allow unscrupulous elements, people that are profiteers, people that don’t have the interest of people at heart to turn Nigeria into dumping ground.
“It is with our own resolution, both with you and us to make sure we clean the aegeus table in Nigeria…. If you consume foreign rice, stop consuming it from now. Foreign rice is poison and I have my facts. The only rice that is good and edible for our living is our own rice here. All the rice you see they bring in is poison. The country from where they bring this rice, do they eat it?. Our own citizens go there, they build warehouses in Cotonou and they will bring rice in piece meal. The other day, one of the rice they say is “Pride of Africa’…is it made in Africa?. It is what they reserve in their silos that are already bad that they will now rebag and put a lot of chemicals into it then they send to you.
“ 10 – 15 years ago, do we have incidence of cancer as we have been having it these days? Most of the time, you wake up in the morning and discover you have pain here and there, it is because of all these things. So, it is important we look inwards. We need all Nigerians because this is a fight that only one agency cannot fight alone.
“ By the time you go out there and let them know all the evil surrounding this imported rice, you don’t consume it, you will see the difference.
“We have a lot Nigerian rice, Coscharis, Abakaliki, Niger and others from Nigeria and all these rice, no one has come to tell us the rice is bad.
“As a matter of fact, they (producers) are improving on them. You cannot eat Nigerian rice and see stone there again. And come to think of it, there is the economic advantage and value in terms of employment when the producers are allowed to get maximum support.
“If you don’t patronize their products, do you think they will be able to employ people, if you don’t, the next thing is retrenchment which is negative to the economy”.
Responding to a view that local rice may not be adequate for Nigerians, Ejibunu said this was not enough for Nigerians to consume poisonous rice.
He however added that there has been increase in the production of local rice in Nigeria unlike before, adding that every progress should be seen as gradual.
He said, “Ab initio, the production of local rice, did we have it as we have it now? It is gradual. When they started, what they were producing, they have improved on seriously. I agree with you that the production is not enough but that does not mean we should go and start consuming poison. Now, if we don’t consume what we have, I keep saying it, any country that refuses to consume what it produces will never progress. Some years back all these cloths we are putting on can be produced in this country. I know of somebody who made service shoes locally. I have it in my office and have been using it for the past four years. The belt I am putting on is made in Nigeria. But can flair for foreign goods , our urge, our ambition to consume foreign made goods, some Nigerians will make goods in Nigeria and put it made in Italy just because he wants someone to buy it. If you go to Aba, there is virtually nothing that they produce in Itali that Aba cannot produce. But will you encourage it, it is you and I that refuse to encourage it.. What we need is absolute patriotism”.
Operatives of the FOU had recently intercepted 7,250 bags of rice which were said to be poisonous based on laboratory test conducted by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
Ejibunu had then said, “Pursuant to the Federal Government’s policy that encourages local production of rice against the importation of foreign parboiled rice, this Unit had seized 7,259 (of 50 kg each) bags of rice, which is an equivalent of over twelve (12) trucks load.
“Sequel to a laboratory test analysis on some of the seized foreign parboiled rice by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), one of the test parameters indicated some contents of lead (a soft heavy toxic malleable metallic element) in the tested rice; making it unfit for human consumption.
“Consequent upon this laboratory analysis on the foreign parboiled rice; as a responsible government agency, we are letting Nigerians know that apart from the negative economic impact of importing foreign rice into the country, some of these imported rice are unhealthy for human consumption. Thus, we advise consumers to desist from patronizing the federal government banned foreign parboiled rice”.
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