Phrank Shaibu, communications aide to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration for its frequent use of rice as a primary intervention for various crises in Nigeria. His comments come in response to the government’s recent decision to distribute 1,200 bags of rice to each minister as part of its grassroots palliative measures.
Dr. Dele Alake, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, emphasized that the rice distribution is aimed at providing more food at the grassroots level, starting with the elderly in his state. The initiative, according to Alake, is part of a broader plan to extend support to widows, orphans, people living with disabilities, and students in future interventions.
Shaibu, however, criticized this approach, questioning the administration’s grasp of basic nutritional needs. He highlighted potential health risks such as beriberi, a condition linked to Vitamin B1 deficiency, and mocked the administration’s simplistic solutions to complex issues. He sarcastically suggested that adding ‘ewa oloyin’ (honey beans) to the rice might prevent such nutritional deficiencies.
Shaibu’s remarks were shared on X (formerly Twitter), where he lambasted the government’s tendency to address diverse problems with a single solution—rice—regardless of the issue at hand.