Scarcity!

Scarcity is defined as the state or fact of being scarce; shortness of supply, especially of necessaries

When something is scarce, it is hard to get. When something is scarce, it is hard to find. When something is scarce, it is in short supply!

In the past, there had been scarcities upon scarcities in Nigeria. Not too long ago, there was a scarcity of Petroleum products, particularly petrol (pms). Just when Nigerians were getting over that scarcity, the butchers embarked on a "strike" which resulted to the scarcity of beef! Can you imagine that? Butchers on strike!

Well, another group of people have joined the strike wagon. They are the tomatoes and pepper sellers. Yes O! They are currently on strike, thereby making tomatoes and pepper very scarce!

I went shopping over the weekend and when I stopped at the stall I usually buy my tomatoes and pepper, I had the following conversation with the woman (lets just call her Customer):
Dee!: Customer good morning. Why is your stall empty?
Customer: Good morning o! We are on strike!
Dee!: *sounding very surprised* "We"? What are you talking about?
Customer: *laughing* Pepper sellers now. We are on strike.
Dee!: Why? What for?
Customer: I don't know o. They just said we are on strike!

Now can you imagine joining a strike without knowing the reason for the strike?!

Meanwhile, as I was shopping, I suddenly realised that there was little or no "reds" in the market. As I was driving back home, I noticed a road side seller had some tomatoes and pepper displayed for sale. I stopped to buy and when she told me the price, I SCREAMED! Four small sized tomatoes for N500.00 (approximately $3.3).

Tomatoes

 At the end of the day, this was what I bought for N1,500 (approximately $10.)

Tomatoes and Peppers

Right now, so many things are scarce in Nigeria, even humans!

God help us!

Eating out!

Food business is definitely a very good and lucrative business. This is because, no matter what, people MUST eat! At some point, we have eaten out, even if it is not in the beautifully furnished food outlets. In Nigeria, there are local joints, popularly known as "bukas". There are several bukas in Lagos, even in the high class areas, and these joints enjoy great patronage from executives to clerks. Another local joint is the beer parlour, where "isi ewu" (a local dish made from goat meat) or cat fish pepper soup are served with the beer.

How many times have we stopped to wonder the source of that food we eat outside our homes? Have we ever seen how the food we eat is prepared? Have we ever imagined how these food or ingredients are preserved? How clean or healthy is the food you eat, particularly outside your home?

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC), the regulatory body for food and drug matters in Nigeria had been visiting ALL fast food joints in Nigeria, with a view to ensuring compliance with the Good Hygienic Practice.

This recent activity which commenced October 2009, is a welcome development, considering that in the past, NAFDAC paid more attention to drugs and cosmetics. So far, the mighty hand of NAFDAC had fallen on some big players in the fast food business for carrying out their business under "unhygienic conditions". The first was Sweet Sensation. According to the news, the NAFDAC inspectors were shocked to discover that the source of water for the outlet was a borehole located close to an underground concrete sewage . . .

Hmmmm! Then some weeks ago, another fast food outlet was sealed. This time around, it was Tetrazzini. The vivid description of the entire premises made me sick. Imagine storing "fresh fish in deep freezers that were not properly functional. . ." or water pipes "leaking with algae growth and cobwebs around them . . ."

NAFDAC, please continue this exercise. Pay surprise visits to these outlets and please continue to make your findings public.

Gist

Sometime ago, I was informed that there was in circulation, contaminated beans. Immediately, I ensured that the proteinous legume was not included in any meal I eat or prepare! That means no more "moi-moi", no more "akara".

Just as I was adjusting to a non-beans diet, I received a text from a friend of mine. The text reads thus:                    

"Pls avoid eating apple for now.

        News said there are so many people

        in d hospital now. Pls pass it on."

All I could say was "very soon there will be nothing left for us to eat". As if to buttress this "fact", I received an email that the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has warned that nobody should eat apples for sometime. This really got me worried because I love apples, afterall, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away".

Well the good news here is that there is a press release from NAFDAC stating that they never issued any alert warning the public against eating apples! In a statement by the Director-General of NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii, NAFDAC promised to launch a full-scale investigation into the matter. Please read full story here.

OTHER GISTS

In another story published in the Vanguard newspaper recently, a couple were accused of "plucking" out the eyes of another man because he refused to move out of the flat. This, I call "man inhumanity to man". For more on this, click here.

In another strange but true story, I read about a 61 years old American woman, Penelope Sharon Jordan, who hid the body of her dead mother for almost 6 years! She did this to enable her collect her mother's pension! What was she thinking of? She is 61 years old! Read the full story here.