… Faults Palliative Measures, Urges Govts To Act Fast
The traditional ruler of Owa Kingdom in Delta State, and the immediate past Chairman of the State’s Council of Traditional Rulers, His Royal Majesty, Obi Dr Emmanuel Efeizomor 11, weekend, took a critical look at the culture of palliative measures to hungry Nigerians, saying that it must stop forthwith.
Obi Efeizomor, who gave the advice in his Palace at Owa-Oyibu, Ika North East Local Government Area of the State, posited that adopting palliative measures when Nigerians are hungry does not in any way solve the problem of hunger in the country.
Rather, he said, it breaks the psyche of a responsible person, who thinks of freedom. “You make the person feel that he is in a mass prison, as in the past, it was not done. Nigerians went to farm to produce food, and in the evening, they returned home, thus they had enough to eat, and even sell”, he added.
The right thing to do, therefore, is for government to create an environment for peace, development, growth and security that would allow Nigerians to go about their daily businesses or farming for their daily sustenance.
“Distributing rice, beans, or whatever as palliatives to Nigerians with the aim of addressing the issue of hunger does not work; it is debasing”, the Monarch said.
In the spirit of teaching Nigerians how to fish, instead of giving them fish when they are hungry, Obi Efeizomor advised that, governments at all levels should begin to put in place, policies and programmes that would put food on their table.
Unfortunately, he lamented that, conflict has set in and hoodlums have occupied a greater part of our forests in this country, while helpless farmers are at home, hungry. They can no longer go to their farms because of fear of being maimed or killed by hoodlums.
Referring to late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who once said: ‘’Hunger is an instrument of war”, Obi Efeizomor expressed deep concern that, in the case of Nigeria today, hunger is an instrument of conflict. Nigerians are hungry, and prices of food have gone up, beyond the reach of most of them.
Who is unleashing hunger on Nigerians, and when will this stop?, the Monarch asked. “Government at all levels in this country must act fast to address the food and hunger situation in the country now, before the situation gets out of hand”, the Monarch advised.
