#Dabinogate: Where are our dates?

It is a hot Ramadan evening, and as expected, I am exhausted. Making a mental list of things to buy, I park my car at a popular supermarket in Kano and leave the comfort of my AC to make the short walk to the entrance. Alhamdulillah, I am greeted by the blast of the shop’s […]

It is a hot Ramadan evening, and as expected, I am exhausted. Making a mental list of things to buy, I park my car at a popular supermarket in Kano and leave the comfort of my AC to make the short walk to the entrance. Alhamdulillah, I am greeted by the blast of the shop’s AC.

Bread, Samosa, Spring rolls, dates, yoghurt and bananas.

I make a mental note to stick to my list because it is the middle of the month and spontaneous buying only leads to premium tears in this Tinubu’s economy. I am almost done with my cart, when I spot it. There, nestled in the aisle displaying dates, are packs of the fruit, clearly labelled ‘NOT FOR SALE’ and ‘GIFT FROM SAUDI GOVERNMENT’.

Ah ahn! Not again!

By the way, the dates cost N11,500.

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Is it not in this same country, a few years ago that Nigeria had to tender a very embarrassing apology to the Saudi government over the misappropriation of dates in the #Dabinogate scandal?

Anger made the exhaustion I was previously feeling dissipate immediately. I remember the headlines in 2017 very clearly: “Nigeria has apologised to Saudi Arabia after 200 tonnes of dates the kingdom sent as a Ramadan gift were found on sale in local markets.”

Haba Jama’a!

For the purpose of clarity, and to refresh our memory, I will give some background info.

Dates are traditionally the first things Muslims eat when they break the Ramadan fast each evening. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) traditionally ate dates or drank water to break his fast; hence we are encouraged to do so.

In 2017, Saudi Arabia sent 200 tonnes of dates as a Ramadan gift to Nigeria, intended for people displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency. The dates were intended for people who had fled their homes because of the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency. The foreign ministry said that Nigeria’s Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons had drawn up a list of places where the dates would be distributed, which included displaced persons camps and some prominent mosques.

Of course that did not happen. Before long, the dates had found its way to the Nigerian open market. The then Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Hajiya Khadijat Abba-Ibrahim, in a statement by the ministry’s spokesperson, Dr Clement Aduku in Abuja, apologised over the “unfortunate turn of events.”

She explained that the dates were distributed from a warehouse belonging to the Royal Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the presence of the Charge d’Affairs.

In her words: “It is important to note that once the dates were delivered to their final destinations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs became devoid of any subsequent responsibility. It is, therefore, disappointing to learn that some of the consignment is being sold for profit. The ministry apologises unreservedly to the government and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for this unfortunate turn of events. We assure all that the situation is being investigated to avoid a repeat in the future.”

Well, it is the future, and it has happened again.

The federal government made the usual bold claims: “We will investigate and get to the root of the matter,” blab blah blah.

Tell me again why the Saudi government will not get tired of Nigeria’s shenanigans? Illegal immigrants, na we, visa forgery, na we, begging on the surrounding Masjid Haram, na we. In fact, if you ask me, the country is being quite magnanimous in giving charity every Ramadan, year after year. We should hide our faces in shame.

Whether it is the government, traditional rulers, imams, or internally displaced persons themselves that sold these dates, the fact remains that eight years later, nobody has been prosecuted over the #dabinogate scandal, and that has given more people the guts and effrontery to display these dates on a supermarket aisle in broad daylight.

 I am not even sure which one makes me angrier: the fact that we are selling dates meant for charity for profit or the fact that they cost N11,500.

Emboldened by my anger (a hungry man is an angry man), I stormed the cashier and asked for the manager. Luckily, it is a shop I visit frequently, so meeting the person in charge was not an issue. I waved the pack of dates in his face and demanded an explanation.

Stammering, he tried to absolve himself, saying that his oga had granted someone permission to supply dates, among which were this particular batch. He swore that he did not know who the person was and did not want to make trouble.

I threatened him that if the dates were not removed, I would report the matter to the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and the Saudi Embassy, citing their shop (Never mind that I know absolutely no one in these organisations). I reasoned with him that as a regular customer, I would not like to see the shop closed for investigation into fraudulent issues. It was bad rep.

The man thought about it for over two minutes. I could see the cartwheels turning in his head. No businessman worth his salt wants his shop closed for even an hour, let alone creating a bad rep. Just maybe he saw the rage in my hungry eyes or he wanted to humour the small woman threatening fire and brimstone. For whichever reason sha, he immediately asked his boys to remove the dates from the shelves.

I paid for my groceries and left, satisfied.

One small step at a time. We shall get there.

Nonsense and dabinogate kawai!