HUNGER, a six letter word means so many things to so many people, but a general belief is that a hungry man is an angry man. Besides that, Hunger can also be used as a weapon of war. Yes, so many Wars have been fought and won by hunger in one way or the other within and outside Nigeria. And in the present circumstance, hunger is being used as a weapon of war in the Russia / Ukraine war and many others around the globe.
This probably explains why the recent disclosure by the Food Agriculture Organisation, that about 33 million Nigerians will face acute food and malnutrition insecurity in 2025Â puts a soured taste in the mouth and thought provoking.
According to the analysis, conducted by the Federal Government in collaboration with the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), including multiple partners, by December 2024, an estimated 25 million people will be experiencing acute food insecurity.
The report said key drivers of the crises include persistent insecurity, inflation, climate change and high poverty rates and in terms of food and nutritional concerns, that many households are expected to experience food consumption deficits specifically in lean sessions such as this.
Truly, the hunger research is not a threat , It is real and what happens in the markets proves it.
Hunger is said to be one of the major issues that affects the citizens of this nation. It is said that 40 percent of the citizens live below the International poverty line daily, while another 25 percent are vulnerable.
It is also said that Nigeria was ranked the second poorest in food affordability globally by the Institute of Development Studies, United Kingdom. As a result of these gloomy pictures of food Insecurity, Lifestyle had to go to the public domain on the matter.
One James Imafidon, a big time farmer while speaking on the issue said that hunger in 2025 is real and that it has already started, “go to the market, you will know that hunger is on the ground “.
He stated that the painful aspect of the whole thing is that hunger and health are deeply connected and that people who are food insecure are likely to face sensitive chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure and above all high health issues.
He said that, to say that Nigeria is facing acute food crisis is an understatement, adding that the above percentage is not true, stating “it is a lot higher “. He stressed that currently that Nigeria faces one of the world most hunger crises with more than 30 million expected to be affected by food insecurity next year 2025 ,which is a one third jump from this year. He said that nobody can doubt this.
Mr. Imafidon said that one should have recommended farming as a way out but which farm would the people go to because of insecurity “,if not insecurity and alied vices, one would have suggested that people should go to the farm and be productive at least, but it is difficult under the present situation in the country. “ He said without farms and farmers, where will the food come from, urging the government to start finding solutions to the food crisis by fighting insecurity.
He lamented that Nigerias food crisis is complex and requires a combination of factors to address the many factors that contributed to it. According to him, some possible solutions are improving agricultural productivity, improving infrastructure, strengthening the food security, protecting the farmers, increasing revenue from food exports due to the war in Ukrain etc etc.
Also , he advised that government policies such as the removal of petty subsidies and the unification of forex rates should be revealed. And that since it has been proven that hunger and health are deeply connected, people need food to be healthy and be productive.
There is no way a hungry populace would be made to be productive. It, therefore, behoves on the government to move fast to avert the impending starvation in the days ahead. “let us always remember that a hungry man is an angry man and anything negative could result from there “.
They say prevention is better than cure. The government can do it if it wants to. It is important to note that malnutrition, social unrest, poverty, environmental degradation, life threatening diseases, increased dependence on imported goods, farmers redundancy could result from hunger and food insecurity in any nation, Nigeria inclusive.
All tiers of government –Local, State and Federal Government should collectively fight the Hunger and the impending starvation of the citizens of this nation.
It is becoming obvious now that the existing policies and programmes by the present administration are not working out well .They need to re-strategize for a better tomorrow.
