WE DO not know from where and when this picture emerged, nor how long it has been in the social media. But it is certainly in the front row of the terrifying economic markers in the face of existential dilemmas unleashed on Nigerians by President Bola Tinubu’s actions and inactions in under 100 days (87 days so far) on the saddle.
It’s indeed another tragic beginning for another Nigerian president, who had traded on hope to ascend the throne, that in just a couple of months into his tenure, affording a full cub of corn has become such an expensive, luxurious and unaffordable commodity. This is not, in any way, meant to denigrate the essential value and role that corn, or maize, had played and will continue to do in battles against hunger and food insecurity globally.
An edifying dimension to this sad portrait is however the ingenuity and award-winning economic mentality of the peasant corn-roaster, who, in the bid to overcome the monster of market forces in contemporary Nigeria, decided to democratise access to the now expensive roasted corn by breaking cubs into pieces so as to also get access into the depressed pockets of corn lovers.
This photograph will, no doubt, remain iconic and could really be the picture to beat in a ‘Photograph of the Year Contest’ for 2023!
