The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams has called on government at all levels to urgently cushion the effect of increasing prices of products and commodities in the country.
Speaking during the 2021 edition of Ogun Festival in Lagos, Gani said that the rising cost of essential products and commodities, like food stuffs, clothes and other perishable items, has made life more difficult for the people.
His words: “Any time the festive season approaches, the usual tradition in Nigeria is to jerk up prices of commodities, especially, food stuffs and other perishable items. This is not too good for us a nation.
“In the developed world, there is price control mechanism, and prices of every commodity remain as they are, even during festive seasons. Nothing changes so frequently like the weather, but in Nigeria, prices of food stuffs, perishable items and other essential commodities cannot be said to be static.”
Gani, who noted that Nigerians are always at the mercy of greedy sellers, said: “There is need for caution. We can borrow the idea of global price control mechanism as it was done in the developed countries. We need to review the present economic situation and determine the rate at which the prices of every product increases.
“Prices of items like foodstuffs, rice, beans, Semovita, Garri, Chickens, and gifts soar high beyond the reach of ordinary Nigerians. It becomes very difficult and hard to live in Nigeria and nothing changes at all. At this festive season, government at various levels must be sensitive to address the urgent needs of the people.”
Speaking on the Ogun festival, Gani said that Ogun is indispensable to mankind and great countries like China, Singapore, Japan and Germany celebrate it in their own way, “however, religious fanatic and bigotry have hampered our growth as a race. It is time to wake up from our slumber, so that we can restore our hope in cultural transformation.
“Recently, the Lagos state government celebrated the Food Festival. It is good that the state government is coming up with ideas that can really enhance the economic prosperity of the state. Other states in the southwest can look inward and work on something similar. Festivals, whether cultural, traditional, sports, Arts, educational movies or music remain potent tool to interact, integrate and share valuable ideas that can be used to create jobs and wealth