As Christmas approaches, rice smugglers have intensified their activities across the borders Udemma Chukwuma reports
DESPITE the federal government’s effort to put an end to rice importation in order to boost local production, different brands of foreign rice are still occupying many stores across the country.
With local rice almost out of sight in the markets, one cannot but wonder if this is to be blamed on most Nigerians who prefer foreign rice to locally produced ones, perhaps due to its high price.
Although the importation of the commodity through land borders has been banned, yet great quantity of foreign rice journey into the country via various means and borders, including Seme-Cotonou border with the aid of smugglers.
Our reporter who went on the undercover gathered that Iteku in Ogun State, which shares boundary with Isashi, Lagos State, is among the routes which smugglers pass through bring in rice into the country from Cotonou.
The uncharted routes
When the reporter paid a visit to Iteku to confirm this; bags of rice were being offloaded from buses and loaded into canoes which they use in taking the bags of rice across Isashi, through a narrow waterway. At Isashi, big buses were parked, with their backs ends opened towards the river while young men loaded the bags of rice into the buses.
According to a resident of Iteku, the route is unknown, to Customs “because of the settlement they (the smugglers) make.” The source stated that they also take this route to prevent Customs from nabbing their goods. “They just bypass Customs through here,” said the source.
The source revealed that the village, which is occupied by mostly farmers and hunters, is usually busy during Christmas season. “Before Christmas time, this place will be filled with trailers of rice, starting from that (pointing toward the) river to the hill and the houses here will be stocked with bags of rice.”
The source added that these people carry on this act without fear due to the fact that the Customs can only come to the other side of the river (Isashi). “Before the Customs come here (Iteku), the fayawo (smugglers) will get the information because they have informants and the Customs have informants too. The fayawo have informants at the checkpoints and they pay these people certain amount of money, including telephone rechard card which they use to communicate with their clients about the movement of the rice from one checkpoint to the other.
“Before the Customs get to the waterside the informants would have told them that they are on their way to the place. Most of the Customs are friends with the fayawo people; most of them date the fayawo women and they tell their girlfriends that their boss will be coming tomorrow to raid the place. They too will cease movement for that day,” the source asserted.
The rice gets to Iteku through Lusada from Igbesa, before they transport it to the market, according to the source. Iteku can be accessed through Iyana School, Bus Stop, Unity Estate, Iba, Ojo Local Government Area, Lagos, or through Iyana Isashi in the same Ojo Local Government Area, Lagos.
Just as danger is associated with every other illegal business, rice smuggling also has it ordeals and smugglers can hurt anyone who is a threat to them. “These people can go as far as killing anybody who serves as an informant to the Customs. If someone like you (pointing at the reporter) goes to that river and start snapping (taking pictures) of the bags of rice and they don’t know you, it is a big problem. They will want to know your mission because they will be scared maybe you came as a spy; they can kill you because they will think you came to monitor them. They can let you snap picture the water but not the rice,” the source confided.
However, the source said on one occasion when the place was raided without the smugglers being informed that the Customs would raid the place, they were able to seize more than 50 trailers filled with bags of rice from Iteku. It was a big haul.
Meanwhile, some of the indigenes of Iteku who pretended to be minding their business collect N500 per truck. Our source said “Each motor that comes here pays N500. There is a young man in this village that collects the money for them on a daily basis; he delivers N65,000 to the community every Tuesday, but he gives more than that during Christmas time.
“The bags of rice are usually offloaded from the trucks and transferred into the boats by the youths in Iteku; it is what they do for a living because there is no work. Most of them pay attention to the rice business because their office and source of livelihood is the waterside and the boys work in groups and get paid at the end of the day. They share the money according to their age.”
On the first day when the reporter visited, the place was not as busy as it was on the second visit. Our source stated: “This place is like this because of the rainy season, it is usually filled with rice during Christmas period, by then the water would have dried up a bit. There will be queue of trailers of rice here.” The source added that as Christmas was approaching volume of business and activities would gear up.
On the issue of security in the village, the source said: “There is money in fayawo, but it is risky because Customs can just come anytime and seize their goods.”
To corroborate the source’s statement that rice was coming into the country from Cotonou, the reporter went to Alaba Rago Market, Ojo Local Government Area in Lagos, where bags of rice are sold in large quantities. The market is located in between Okokomaiko and the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo.
On getting to the market, the reporter, who pretended to be interested in going into rice selling business, approached a young man, Abdul (not real name), who earns his living by carrying goods for customers.
The reporter inquired how and where they buy the rice and how much one can use to start the business. He said: “The rice is from outside, in short, it is from Badagry, Cotonou. Before you bring it to Nigeria, Customs will seize it unless you settle them,” Abdul said, in Pidgin English.
He continued: “To buy the rice from Contonou is not a problem, but to bring it in, especially if you don’t know anybody to assist you to cross the border with it.”
He hinted that the bags of rice are cut open and the driver of the car will then hide the rice in various parts of the car. “If Customs see the rice; you don arrest yourself, by yourself,” he asserted. He confirmed that some follow the bush paths or through water. “If they catch you passing there, they might shoot you, “he said, but refused to say who he was referring to as ‘they’.
The sellers in the dirty Alaba Rago Market take precautions and could harm anyone who tries to meddle in their business, said Abdul. According him, anyone who come to investigate where they buy the rice from is at risk of death. “Dem go just put you for inside well,” he said, For this market? asked the reporter, “Yes,” he replied.
He continued: “Dem go put rope for your neck and put you for well, if the rope wey dey your neck done go down the well very deep, they go cut am and the person go fall inside the well; banja!
After a while, Abdul began to suspect that the reporter might be a spy, he asked suspiciously “Who you be?” and continued when the reporter was able to convince him that she was interested in the business.
According to him, a bag of aroso rice is sold at the rate of N7,400 while a bag of agric rice goes for N7,300, N7200, N7100 per bag, depending on the brand. Meanwhile, they buy a bag at the rate of between N4,000 to N5,000 from Cotonou, depending on the brand. “There is gain in this business but the risk is too much,” he lamented adding that one can start the business with just N20,000.
No photographs
Just as taking photographs at Iteku is like embarking on a suicide mission, so it is at Alaba Rago Market. The rice sellers are very mindful of strange faces.
A former fayawo woman, Uche Onyebuchi, attests to Abdul’s statement that all the rice in Alaba Rago Market are from Contonou and urged the reporter to visit the place or Seme border for confirmation. “Among other contraband goods in the country, rice is an enemy to Customs at Seme border,” Onyebuchi said.
According to her, with the strict restriction on rice smuggling, trailers filled with bags of rice still pass through the Seme border into the country, “because the rice owners settle the custom officers with huge sum to cross.”
She said some drivers who specialise in ‘crossing’ rice; charge between N1800 to N2,000 per bag. She confirmed that the drivers hide the rice in every part of the car such as “under the seats, on the floor and cover them with foot carpets. In fact, three bags of rice can be hidden in the engine of a car and the Customs will not know unless if someone give them information that the car is carrying rice.”
She said when the rice finally gets to Alaba Rago or any other market, ‘they pour the rice together and repack it in bags, or repack it in new bags if the customer wants the rice special.” Special, according to her simply means to counterfeit the rice. They repack the rice in fake bags and sell at the same rate with the original rice which has made name in the market.
In most markets a of cup rice which is called (derica) in Lagos, goes for N200, in some areas for N180, while local rice such as Abakeliki rice is sold for N400 while Ofada rice is sold for N500 per cup. The price difference is enough reason for anyone who is not buoyant to go for the foreign rice, even though the local rice is more nutritious to the foreign rice.
There is no doubt that as Christmas approaches smuggling of rice across the land borders is a big business. For the Customs to level up with the smugglers would take a lot.
However, when contacted to react to the activities of the smugglers, Mr. Willy Egbudin, the Customs Area Controller of Seme Area Command, said his unit is combating smugglers adequately. According to him, “We have intelligence-led patrols, approved check points and proactive measures of mass enlightenment of stakeholders as a means of discouraging their involvement in smuggling as well as other unlawful activities.”
He added that the volume of rice being smuggled into the country through Seme border could be measured by the seizures made by them and this he added are widely reported in the media.
In an email response through Olottah Ernest, the Public Relations Officer of the Command, Egbudin said, “At various times between 2013 and parts of 2014 under my watch as Customs Area Controller, we have made various high profile seizures of rice. These include single seizures worth N12 Million, N7 Million and many more. Some of the seizures were concealed with other dutiable trade goods and with a combination of tact and intelligence our men uncovered the concealed rice.”
On the smuggling of rice going through Seme border, he said, “We have effectively suppressed smuggling in the command and strategically fortified the area against such nefarious acts. So, we need not join issues with such insinuation premised on lies.” He dismissed reports that smuggling was still going on there.
He, however, agreed that the challenges faced by his men are numerous. Some of these he listed as “the ignorant and deviant attitude of some members of the society who stake their investments and lives to carry out unlawful activities that are not favourable to our national economy. Some even go as far as sponsoring campaign of misinformation in the media perhaps to divert public attention.”
He added that any smuggled goods seized are made to go through a formal process of prosecution, court condemnation/conviction and disposal in accordance with the law. “Traders who buy the auctioned goods are at liberty to sell them in the open markets. Do not be surprised to see seized goods later in the markets as they were officially disposed and the revenue thereof paid into the federal government coffers.”
He dismissed allegations that some of his men could be involved in under the table deals with smugglers. Egbudin emphasised, “The allegation that Customs officials collect gratification from rice smugglers is an old blackmail tactics. We are not saying that our personnel are hundred percent perfect, but the full wrath of the law is visited on anyone found wanting or discovered to have compromised his or her official mandate under any guise.”
