“Desperate crowds and foods of death“, Lasisi Olagunju tagged his Monday article. According to the celebrated columnist, “If the hungry feared death, they would know that an uncontrolled crowd is a barrel bomb that kills without borders. Hunger was the devil in the fatal gatherings of Ibadan, Abuja and Okija. I blame the lords of the land. On their watch, everyone begs, or rummages the trash can or joins deadly food rallies for IDP rations.”
Citing Shakespeare’s King Lear, Olagunju wrote: “Kings and presidents should pause their greed, rethink their policies and create some space for the people. They can remain big without being “superfluous and lust-dieted.” They can let “distribution undo excess” so that “each man (will) have enough.”
Posting on her X handle, Law teacher and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Joy Ezeilo shared some thoughts. Below are her tweets.
In fulfilling the Christmas charity obligations for Christians who can afford it, we must be mindful of the hunger in our communities, as millions are in need now more than ever.
Therefore, it’s crucial to plan effectively, implement crowd control measures, involve security personnel, and distribute aid in open spaces with multiple escape routes. I conduct targeted distribution without prior announcements.
However, the rising cost of rice poses a challenge, making it difficult to provide the usual number of giveaways.
**Crippling Inflation: Prices of Rice**
– Significant increase in rice prices from 2022 to 2024.
– Prices for different quantities of rice have more than doubled in some cases.
**Price Comparison**
– **5kg Rice:**
– 2024 Dec: N10000
– 2023 Dec: N4500
– 2022: N3000 –
**10kg Rice:**
– 2024 Dec: N20000
– 2023 Dec: N9000
– 2022: N5000 –
**25kg Rice:**
– 2024 Dec: N46000
– 2023 Dec: N20000
– 2022: N12000 –
**40kg Rice:**
– 2024 Dec: N74000
– 2023 Dec: N32000
– 2022: Data not available
– **50kg Rice:**
– 2024 Dec: N90000
– 2023 Dec: N40000
– 2022: N24000
