What Nigeria must do to defeat its worsening insecurity – Peter Obi

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, must be intentional about sustainable investment in agriculture if it is to overcome its worsening food insecurity, Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, has said.

Obi, who spoke against the backdrop of a Food Security Update Report recently released by the World Bank, likened Nigeria’s food security crisis to war-torn countries like Yemen, which continue to witness a significant rise in the number of people facing acute food shortages and hunger epidemic.

According to a recent World Bank’s Food Security Update Report, Africa’s most populous nation is one of 18 countries experiencing a significant rise in the number of people exposed to increasing starvation due to a number of factors, which include intensified conflict and climate-related shocks, such as droughts.

The report further stated that the number of people in Nigeria facing acute food shortage has increased by 28 per cent within the last year. This is the fifth-highest jump recorded by any country after Chad, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, and Malawi.

While Nigeria has vast agricultural potential, the country struggles with conflicts, environmental disasters, poor conversation practices, and outdated farming practices, forcing it to rely heavily on the importation of staple foods like rice, maize, and wheat.

Northern Nigeria, where most agricultural activities take place, is bedevilled by violent activities by different armed groups, which affect access to farmlands. This has led to scarcity and price surges nationwide, making it increasingly difficult for low-income families to afford essential food items.

The World Bank called for urgent intervention to address the immediate food needs of the affected countries.

“I believe these reports, sad as they are, only paint a lenient picture of the severity of the food crisis and hunger in reality.

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“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,” Obi said in a statement on Friday, issued by Ibrahim Umar, his spokesperson.

The former Anambra State governor regretted that a state like Niger, which is twice bigger in landmass than The Netherlands, could neither feed itself nor the nation.

While noting that The Netherlands exports over $100 billion worth of agro products annually, he stressed the need for Nigeria to also prioritise investment in agriculture. This, he said, could be achieved by combating insecurity which had kept farmers away from the farms, and adopting modern ways of mechanised farming.

“If we can do this, we will then be able to combat hunger and achieve food security for the nation,” he said.

Obi believed that Nigeria could become a country of high productivity, hunger-free and abundant food supply.

Meanwhile, Nigerians face an even bigger problem. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the country’s inflation rate rose to 32.7 percent in September 2024 from 32.15 percent the previous month, marking a 0.55 percent increase. This is a significant leap compared to the inflation rate of 21.34 percent in December 2022.