Starvation pangs in Nigeria and the silent rebel

One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well. — Virginia Woolf

Nigerians are angry with their government at all levels. According to the ace Nigerian novelist, Buchi Emecheta, “A hungry man is an angry one.” The Yoruba people will say hunger does not cohabit with any other thing (ebi kii wo’nu ki oro mi wo). In case you don’t know, the French Revolution, 1789 – 1790s, was precipitated by bread shortages. According to History.com, “The storming of the medieval fortress of Bastille on July 14, 1789, began as a hunt for arms—and grains to make bread.  The French Revolution was obviously caused by a multitude of grievances more complicated than the price of bread, but bread shortages played a role in stoking anger towards the monarchy.”

In the Holy Bible, Matthew 12 verses 1 – 4, “One Sabbath, Jesus was strolling with his disciples through a field of ripe grain. Hungry, the disciples were pulling off the heads of grain and munching on them. Some Pharisees reported them to Jesus: ‘Your disciples are breaking the Sabbath rules!’ Jesus said, ‘Really? Didn’t you ever read what David and his companions did when they were hungry, how they entered the sanctuary and ate fresh bread off the altar, bread that no one but priests were allowed to eat?’” This is to illustrate the importance of food to mankind. Hunger can make people to misbehave and, indeed, in Nigeria, people have started to steal and loot in the name of hunger.

This newspaper in yesterday, March 4, 2024, edition painted a gloomy and gory picture of the hunger situation in Nigeria. It chronicles an ugly development that has started to gain traction. The According reported that “Several trucks and warehouses, mostly owned by manufacturers and other members of the OPS (Organised Private Sector), have come under attacks from hoodlums as the food inflation and the cost-of-living crisis worsened across the country.”

The newspaper reported further that “Last week, some youths stole food items from trucks stuck in traffic along the Kaduna Road in the Suleja area of Niger State. On Sunday, hoodlums attacked a warehouse belonging to the Agricultural and Rural Development Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration located in the Dei-Dei area of the capital city where they looted rice, grains, and other relief items.” This is not the first time this has happened; a similar thing was witnessed in 2020 under the guise of #EndSARS protests.

Truth be told, life is very difficult for the majority of Nigerians. Food inflation has risen to 35.41 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The number of unemployed Nigerians has risen with many government Ministries, Departments and Agencies not employing; retrenchment of staff looms as the Oronsaye report on mergers of the MDAs gets the Federal Government’s nod for implementation. Many nano, micro, small and medium enterprises are folding up due to high operational costs. Those factories and industries that manage to produce are recording low sales due to low disposal income.  A December 2023 World Bank report put the number of Nigerians below the poverty line at 104 million. With people lacking jobs and being poor, many are resorting to stealing, banditry and kidnapping for ransom.

In fairness to President Bola Tinubu, he has taken a number of positive steps to curb hunger and starvation in the country. The President in July 2023 declared a state of emergency on food insecurity. On Thursday, July 13, 2023, the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Mr Dele Alake, who is now Minister of Solid Minerals, held a media briefing to give details of the Presidential Intervention on Food Security, Food Pricing and Sustainability. Aside from the state of emergency, he said all matters pertaining to food and water availability and affordability, as essential livelihood items, be included within the purview of the National Security Council.

He listed some of the immediate intervention strategies as follows: Immediate release of fertilisers and grains to farmers and households to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal; urgent synergy between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water Resources to ensure adequate irrigation of farmlands and to guarantee that food is produced all-year round; creation of the National Commodity Board that will review and continuously assess food prices as well as maintain a strategic food reserve that will be used as a price stabilisation mechanism for critical grains and other food items.

The stakeholders that have reportedly been brought on board include: The Nigeria Commodity Exchange, seed companies, National Seed Council and Research institutes, NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, food processing/agric processing associations, private sector holders and prime anchors, smallholder farmers, crop associations and fertiliser producers, blenders and suppliers associations, to mention a few. Alake said there are currently 500,000 hectares of already mapped land that would be used to increase the availability of arable land for farming which would immediately impact food output. He said the government would also collaborate with mechanisation companies to clear more forests and make them available for farming.

President Tinubu gave a further update on his food security initiative in his July 31, 2023, national broadcast when he said he had ordered the release of 200,000 metric tonnes of grains from strategic reserves to households across the 36 states and the FCT to moderate prices. He said his administration would also be providing 225,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser, seedlings and other inputs to farmers who are committed to its food security agenda. Tinubu said N200bn out of the N500bn approved by the National Assembly for subsidy relief packages would be disbursed as follows:  N50bn each would be used to cultivate 150,000 hectares of rice and maize. N50bn each would also be earmarked to cultivate 100,000 hectares of wheat and cassava. How far with these initiatives?

Noteworthy at curbing food insecurity is the initiative by the Lagos State Government to open Sunday Markets in at least 42 identified markets across the state where residents will be able to buy food items at discounted prices but not more than N25,000 per person. In a February 22, 2024 media parley, Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, hinted at the state’s ambitious plan of feeding no fewer than 1,000 people daily across each local government area through meal vouchers that could be accessed at selected canteens. This is exemplary and commendable!

In order to also douse tension in the public, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, on Monday, March 4, 2024, declared that the free distribution of the 42,000 metric tonnes of grains approved by President Tinubu would be rolled out across the 36 states this week. He also revealed that 58,500 metric tonnes of rice would be released into the market. It is unfortunate that the good intention of the Nigerian Customs Service to sell 25kg rice at N10,000 per bag to individuals in Lagos turned tragic with about seven deaths reported as a result of stampede.

This hunger pang is unbearable and needs to be neutralised. According to a Japanese Proverb, “Happiness rarely keeps company with an empty stomach.” American theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein, opines that, “An empty stomach is not a good political advisor;” while former American President, John F. Kennedy, said prophetically that, “The war against hunger is truly mankind’s war of liberation.” I do hope our political officeholders will do the needful before it is too late!