Will Nigerians eat Christmas rice? Nigerians eat rice more than every other food, in marriage ceremonies, funerals, birthday, or any other events you can think of, rice is the Nigerian first choice of food. As the festive period approaches, children have already started telling their friends stories of last Christmas and the type of rice that was prepared by their parents as they look forward to the upcoming Christmas celebration, which is just a month away.
Nigerians can cook rice in three major delicacies, which are fried rice, Nigerian Jollof rice, and white rice, which is also known as stew rice. Since the closure of the Nigerian borders by the government to prevent the smuggling of foreign rice into the country to encourage local rice farmers to increase productivity.
 Rice has become the new gold in the country as its price has increased up to twenty-five thousand Naira (25,000) in some Nigerian states like Edo. This hike in price seems not to bother the government, and they continue to keep the borders closed despite the pressures coming from different bodies urging the Nigerian government to open the borders. During this period, neighboring countries like Benin republics’ economy have witnessed a great shock as businesses have seen a major setback.
The border closure has not only affected Nigerian citizens but, also those in neighboring African countries like Ghana are now victims of the Ghana Trade Union as their businesses are being shot down. It was recalled that the Ghana trade union had put enormous pressure on the Nigerian government, urging them to open the border as their goods are not allowed to go through the borders. One question in the minds of Nigerian citizens is, “will the Nigerian border closure be an advantage or a disadvantage to the country?
The results of these questions have started showing as the government has begun supporting the local Nigerian farmers to process and package the local rice. More people like the richest man in Africa (Dangote) has also promised to build a rice processing plant in the country. According to reports from some Nigeria media platforms claim that over 500,000 (five hundred thousand) bags of rice have been sold since the borders were shutdown. This is a good development as Nigerians now eat more of local rice than foreign rice.
Though there have been complaints from the citizens that the locally processed rice has stones, it is believed that soon there will be better processing plants, and support from the government will be increased. Nigerians are already finding a way out of this food crisis as more farmers have started going into rice farming, although it will take months for things to balance, it will be a sacrifice worth making.
