Nigeria’s minister of agriculture called out some of the country’s wealthy citizens last week for allegedly ordering pizzas from London and having them delivered back home on British Airways flights.
Audu Ogbeh’s comments come as Nigeria tries to cut down its reliance on imports, which are seen as a status symbol. The minister claims the gaudy practice and imports were harming local farmers, Business Insider reports.
“Do you know, sir, that there are Nigerians who use their cellphones to import pizza from London?” Ogbeh, told a senate committee last Tuesday. “Buy in London, they bring it on British Airways in the morning to pick up at the airport.”
“It is a very annoying situation,” he added, “and we have to move a lot faster in cutting down some of these things.”
Ogbeh also slammed wealthy citizens who use imports as status symbols. He claims some citizens import daily necessities like rice and tomato paste because they think “it shows status, class, that they only eat imported things,”, the Daily Mail reports.
Press play below for his full speech.
