Ogogoro Ban Not Solution.

WHY should a suggested ban of ogogoro, the locally produced gin linked to deaths in Ondo and Rivers States, be the first solution that crosses the minds of the authorities?

How does the ban solve a challenge that could spread to other States? Why are there more interests in a ban than in finding the substance used in the production of the ogogoro? Why is it that after centuries of production and consumption of ogogoro along the same axis, deaths are just becoming the consequence of consuming it?

Should the authorities not be interested in the motives, if any, for lacing the drinks with poison?  Is this an individual acting or a group? Are there connections between the incidents in Rivers and Ondo States? Are there some unreported deaths linked to these incidents? Can the health authorities explain the survival of some identified among the group that took the drink? What is the source of the poison? Is it an agent added to the drink or a reaction from the manufacturing process or handling? Is the poison local or imported?

These, and more questions, should bother the authorities, as they search for solutions to the situation. It is advisable that people be alerted about the unwholesome ogogoro. It is also very important that there is an early resolution of the problem for ogogoro is not an ordinary drink to its patrons; it has deeper roots.

It is rooted in tradition. Few occasions in some places could be contemplated without gin, principally, the locally manufactured one. As a local substitute, ogogoro saves the economy billions of Naira wasted in importing fanciful versions of the drink, adorned in packaging that adds little else to the content. It is an industry that employs thousands of people across its delivery chains, in the often-derided informal sector.

The extension of the concerns to consumption of dog meat, another delicacy for some, is a further speculation that could cripple social life in the threatened areas.

Governments’ interests in the matter should not be perfunctory for more reasons. Would we ban other foods and drinks if the purveyors decide to poison them? A ban is a quick fix, which like all quick fixes would create more challenges. The incident reveals the fragility of the various spheres of our lives that governments have failed to secure. It calls for more proactive actions that could forestall poisoning of foods and drinks.

An immediate collaboration of government agencies in the affected zones is important for a comprehensive investigation of the incidents without further damage to the local economies that the ogogoro fosters.

These incidents have thrown up more issues than a ban can resolve.