Nigerians now hungry despite rich arable lands – Peter Obi

The 2023 Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on Wednesday declared that Nigerians can no longer afford sustainable food with the nature of their income.

Obi lamented that households are suffering due to hunger despite the rich arable lands Nigeria is blessed with.

He made the remark via a post on X to mark the 2024 World Food Day celebration.

Obi said: “Today, the world marks World Food Day, a very significant global event that raises awareness about the issues of hunger and food insecurity and serves as a reminder of the need to commit to food security and fight hunger to a standstill.

“This global observance is particularly important to us in Nigeria, where food prices are skyrocketing every day, and basic food items are becoming unaffordable to most people.

“Severe hunger has now become an unfortunate member of many households in Nigeria – the once giant of Africa, a nation that has the most arable land in the continent.

“Nigeria’s struggle with a food crisis and hunger today is saddening, considering the richly blessed and vast arable lands with which we are endowed as a nation. In the past, I used to lament that the majority of Nigerian households spent most of their income on food alone, sparing none for savings and other critical exigencies.

“Today, it is heartbreaking to note that most Nigerian households are no longer able to afford sustenance food with their income. Food prices are soaring, food inflation is skyrocketing, the food crisis is worsening by the day, and hunger has graduated to a national crisis.

“In a Food Security Update Report released last week, the World Bank likened Nigeria’s worsening food security crisis to war torn countries like Yemen, noting that we have a significant rise in the number of people facing acute food shortages and an epidemic of hunger.

“Today, the Global Hunger Index ranks Nigeria among the 20 most hungry nations in the world. In August 2024, it was reported that more than 31.8 million Nigerians were acutely short of food due to security challenges and the removal of fuel subsidies. It was also reported that 15.6 million children in Nigeria were facing hunger.

“The United Nations predicted that 82 million Nigerians, about 64 percent of the country’s population, may go hungry by 2030 if the government fails to tackle the menace of food insecurity.

“The domestic food inflation in Nigeria remains among the highest globally, with food prices increasing by 37.5% year-on-year as of August 2024. I believe these reports, sad as they are, only paint a lenient picture of the severity of the food crisis and hunger in reality.

“Over the years, I have maintained that moving the country from consumption to production remains the surest way of combating food insecurity and pulling the nation out of the present food crisis.

“I have equally stated, unequivocally, that the greatest asset our nation has is the vast uncultivated lands in the North coupled with our huge demographics. Therefore, We must be intentional with our agricultural investments.

“A state like Niger State, which is twice bigger in landmass than the Netherlands (excluding water) can neither feed itself nor feed the nation, while the Netherlands exports over $100 billion worth of agro products annually.

“If we can prioritize investment in agriculture by combating insecurity which has kept farmers away from the farms, and adopting modern ways of mechanized farming, we will be able to combat hunger and achieve food security for the nation.

“A nation booming in productivity, free from hunger, with an abundant food supply remains our commitment to a New more prosperous Nigeria.”