Nigerians spend 65% of salary on food — Don

The World Food Programme (WFP), on Wednesday, said that Nigerians spend about 65 percent of their salaries on food owing to skyrocketing prices.

Hameed Nuru, director of the African Union Global Office and representative to the African Union and Economic Commission for Africa, said this in Ilorin, Kwara State, at the maiden edition lecture of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Ilorin in honour of Saka Nuru, the pioneer professor in the Ilorin Emirate.

The theme of the programme was “Navigating the nexus of food, security, safety, and disease: A holistic sustainable future and economic prosperity”.

Some African countries, including Nigeria, according to him, currently face high inflation, with their citizens left in hunger and starvation.

Nuru said there was an interlink between food security and national security, as this also affects agriculture, migration and economic development of any nation.

He observed that active conflicts and climate change were factors that resulted in food insecurity in most African countries, adding that conflicts have regional implications.

The director of the African Union global office further disclosed that WFP has provided food to about 3.6 million people in Nigeria.

Read also: The deadly duo of insecurity and floods fuel Nigeria’s food crisis

While decrying the lack of budget for food security in Nigeria, he warned that about a million people were projected to face hunger in Nigeria.

Nuru urged all tiers of government to expedite drastic measures to address food insecurity in the country.

“Nigerian farmers are small-scale subsistence farmers and to boost agriculture, there is a need for semi-commercial farming by farmers,” he said.

He also stressed the need for strategic plans, including hydrophilic dry agriculture to boost production, harness energy, digital education, water, land and people to guarantee food security in Nigeria.

Earlier in his welcome address, Wahab Egbewole, a professor of international law and the vice chancellor of the University of Ilorin described the honouree as a detribalised Nigerian.

Egbewole, who was represented by Suleiman Ambali, a professor and the deputy vice chancellor, management studies of the university, said: “Saka Nuru is the first professor in Ilorin Emirate and many people learned through him to get to the top.”

On his part, Saka Nuru, represented by his daughter, Rukayat Odekunle, who is the commissioner representing Kwara and Kogi States in the Federal Civil Service Commission, commended the university for the honour and recognition.