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Nigeria to Slash Funds For Essential Food Imports While Currency Crisis Looms

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — Hard to imagine a steaming plate of Nigerian joll of rice without the rice. Or without fish. Or wheat. Rice, fish and wheat are Nigeria’s top three food imports but foreign exchange for these staple food imports is about to end by order of President Muhammadu Buhari. Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said Tuesday the move to end imports of these essential foods is aimed at improving Nigeria’s agricultural production and attaining food security.

Published

6 years ago

August 27, 2019

Oakland Post

By Global Information Network

Hard to imagine a steaming plate of Nigerian joll of rice without the rice. Or without fish. Or wheat. Rice, fish and wheat are Nigeria’s top three food imports but foreign exchange for these staple food imports is about to end by order of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said Tuesday the move to end imports of these essential foods is aimed at improving Nigeria’s agricultural production and attaining food security.

“Don’t give a cent to anybody to import food into the country,” Buhari was quoted by his spokesman Shehu to say. “The foreign reserve will be conserved and utilized strictly for diversification of the economy, and not for encouraging more dependence on foreign food import bills,” he added.

Imported milk and other dairy products will also be restricted from access to foreign exchange in an effort to boost local production and investment in ranches.

Some may have hoped these risky ideas would be forgotten in time. But a recently decided lawsuit in the UK may have prompted the government to advance the timetable.

The lawsuit, decided this month, gives a company called Process and Industrial Developments Ltd the right to pursue some $9 billion in assets from the Nigerian government over an aborted gas project.

Currently Nigeria spends US$22 billion on food imports annually. Rice, imported from Thailand and India, accounts for about US$1.65 billion which could make Nigeria the world’s second largest importer of rice after China in 2019.

Many obstacles stand in the way of Nigeria becoming self-sufficient in food, some experts say. These include climate change, weeds, pests and diseases, farmers’ limited access to credit, training, rudimentary and time consuming tools like hoes, slashers, sickles, axes and rakes.

Economic analyst Tokunbo Afikuyomi says making it harder for businesses to import food through official channels will push importers to find foreign exchange on the Black market.

“Making it harder for businesses to import food through official channels is likely to lead to higher food prices as businesses use more expensive exchange rates or expensive domestic alternatives,” Afikuyomi told CNN.

He said Nigeria’s strategy should be to produce which foods it can grow cheaply and import others that are more expensive to make.

“Nigeria cannot produce all the food it eats — no country in the world is able to achieve this. Banning food imports to save foreign exchange is not the way to build a sustainable economy,” he added.

This article originally appeared in The Los Angeles Sentinel.

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Tiguan’s AI Touchscreen & Gear Shift: VW Just Changed the Game! #2

Explore the Tiguan’s cutting-edge 12.9-inch infotainment touchscreen featuring wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, voice control, and a new AI assistant. See how VW innovatively moved the gear shifter to the steering column, enhancing the center console and navigation system! #AutoNetwork #Tiguan #Infotainment #AppleCarPlay #AndroidAuto #AISystem #NavigationSystem #CarTech #TechReview #CarInnovation #Automotive

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2 days ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

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IN MEMORIAM: Legendary Funk Pioneer Sly Stone Dies at 82

Sly Stone’s musical approach radically reshaped popular music. He transcended genre boundaries and empowered a new generation of artists. The band’s socially conscious message and infectious rhythms sparked a wave of influence, reaching artists as diverse as Miles Davis, George Clinton, Prince, Dr. Dre, and the Roots.

Published

2 days ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Sly and the Family Stone play the Opera House in Bournemouth. Mojo review. Photo by Simon Fernandez.

By Stacy M. Brown
BlackPressUSA.com Newswire

Sylvester “Sly” Stewart—known to the world as Sly Stone, frontman of the groundbreaking band Sly and the Family Stone—has died at the age of 82.

His family confirmed that he passed away peacefully at his Los Angeles home surrounded by loved ones, after battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other health complications.

Born March 15, 1943, in Denton, Texas, Stone moved with his family to Vallejo, California, as a child. He began recording gospel music at age 8 with his siblings in a group called the Stewart Four. By his teenage years, he had mastered multiple instruments and was already pioneering racial integration in music—an ethos that would define his career.

In 1966, Sly and his brother Freddie merged their bands to form Sly and the Family Stone, complete with a revolutionary interracial, mixed-gender lineup.

The band quickly became a commercial and cultural force with hits such as “Dance to the Music,” “Everyday People,” and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”—all penned by Stone himself.

Their album “Stand!” (1969) and live performances—most notably at Woodstock—cemented their reputation, blending soul, funk, rock, gospel, and psychedelia to reflect the optimism and turmoil of their era.

As the 1970s progressed, Stone confronted personal demons. His desire to use music as a response to war, racism, and societal change culminated in the intense album “There’s a Riot Goin’ On” (1971). But drug dependency began to undermine both his health and professional life, leading to erratic behavior and band decline through the early 1980s.

Withdrawn from the public eye for much of the 1990s and early 2000s, Stone staged occasional comebacks. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys in 2017, and captured public attention following the 2023 release of his memoir “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”—published under Questlove’s imprint. He also completed a biographical screenplay and was featured in Questlove’s documentary “Sly Lives!” earlier this year.

His influence endured across generations. Critics and historians repeatedly credit him with perfecting funk and creating a “progressive soul,” shaping a path for racial integration both onstage and in the broader culture.

“Rest in beats Sly Stone,” legendary Public Enemy frontman Chuck D posted on social media with an illustrative drawing of the artist. “We should thank Questlove of the Roots for keeping his fire blazing in this century.”

Emmy-winning entertainment publicist Danny Deraney also paid homage. “Rest easy Sly Stone,” Deraney posted. “You changed music (and me) forever. The time he won over Ed Sullivan’s audience in 1968. Simply magical. Freelance music publicist and Sirius XM host Eric Alper also offered a tribute.

“The funk pioneer who made the world dance, think, and get higher,” Alper wrote of Sly Stone. “His music changed everything—and it still does.”

Sly Stone is survived by three children.

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PRESS ROOM: Clyburn on 10th Anniversary of Mother Emanuel AME Church Shooting in Charleston

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-06) released the following video on X, paying tribute to the 10th anniversary of the shooting that took place at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina on June 17, 2015.

Published

2 days ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

By Congressman James E. Clyburn

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CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-06) released the following video on X, paying tribute to the 10^th anniversary of the shooting that took place at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina on June 17, 2015.

“Over 6 years ago, the House first passed my Enhanced Background Checks Act to close the Charleston Loophole that allowed a white supremacist to obtain the gun he used to murder nine worshipers at Emanuel AME Church on June 17, 2015.

“I’ll never stop fighting to pass this law.”