Nigeria’s Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Nentawe Yilwatda, claimed that the Christmas stampedes were not unique to Nigeria.
Speaking on Channels Television, he said these tragedies happened because the events weren’t properly organised.
According to Yilwatda, even developed countries like America have faced similar problems:
“Stampedes have taken place in more developed countries than Nigeria,” the minister said.
“If you recall, Hurricane Katrina in the US, when they had food distribution because of poor organisation, they had stampede.
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“Also, in the school food distribution in Texas, in the US, the same thing happened. It has happened in several countries that are more developed than Nigeria where you have poor organisation.”
In December 2024, three separate stampedes occurred when crowds rushed for free food in Oyo, Anambra, and Abuja. About 70 people lost their lives. Many people blame these deaths on widespread hunger and high food prices. Police have detained the private organisers who were giving out the food.
Minister Yilwatda highlighted that the Federal Government, which he says is Nigeria’s largest distributor of aid to poor citizens, has never had such accidents during their food distributions. He advised private donors to organise their distributions carefully and offered the ministry’s help in organising future food giveaways.
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