By Sani Sa’idu Baba
My dear country men and women, I was honestly moved by the report of the United Nations on the persistent food price rise in Nigeria in October. It is indeed a red flag and early sign of the inevitable, especially as farmers are already crying over reduced yield due to cessation of rainfall occasioned by climate change. Whatever the case, Nigerians are likely to suffer in the remaining part of the year and beyond unless an urgent miracle happens.
To say it as it is, failure of leadership has undoubtedly contributed to food shortage in Nigeria. This reminds me of a very captivating statement by John F. Kennedy, one of America’s most loved and flamboyant presidents, that: “A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.” With a little modification, you’d think Kennedy was referring to Nigeria of the 21st century under President Muhammadu Buhari. Just super-impose ‘Buhari’ where ‘nation’ is, and you’d be right on point. But in place of ‘a nation that is afraid of its people’, simply put ‘a leader that does not intimate but intimidate his people’. That seems to be what our president continuously throws on our faces. He never find out what the true situation is, only to receive unverified reports by the power mongers around him that everything is alright. It is still painful to remember what the former Minister of Agriculture said that N30 food can still satisfy a hungry adult in Nigeria. For Buhari, however, every Nigerian has a vote to cast, though some votes are more important than the others. Because it is obvious in Nigeria today that only certain class of people is entitled to food and good living.
According to World Bank (2001), food security is of three folds, these are food availability, food accessibility and food affordability. This triad of food security is by far above which the common man could cater for in Nigeria. No doubt, food is life. Hence, food has become an instrument of national power. It is within that need for food that I write to take a cursory look at the issue in all its ramifications.
There is no doubt that the previous administration under President Jonathan had scored good marks in the area of agriculture with his effective transformation policy in the sector. Although some has attributed that to the then Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, now the President of African Development Bank. But no matter what it was, Jonathan has indisputably earned the credit. However, recent developments in the present Buhari’s administration, especially the frequent clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the predominantly farming areas of the North central region, resulting in the destruction of lives and farmlands, have become a major threat to efforts to boost food production. It is worthy of note that Buhari’s ministers of agriculture in the last six years; Audu Obe and Sabo Nanono, both in their 80s have been adjudged the worst in terms of performance in the history of Nigeria agricultural ministry. Perhaps that has made the situation worst under Buhari. From Benue to Taraba, Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau in the North Central region and Zamfara and Kaduna States in the North West, clashes between farmers and herdsmen, and the increasing rate of banditry and kidnappings have left in its trail heavy losses of lives and property. These losses of lives have adversely affected farming activities and other related businesses. This has resulted in a drastic reduction in farm products, a development that has heightened the fear of hunger. Already, most farmers in the affected states have abandoned their farms for fear of being attacked by the criminals.
As a result, there is growing fears of insecurity over the past few months in the country, and this has been fueled by lack of stable supply of food,, and rising food prices. Prices of essential commodities and food products have skyrocketed making them unaffordable for the common man. This has been attributed to seemingly impractical policies of the federal government. The price of rice, for instance, has hit an all time high to about N30,000 per bag, triggering panic across the country. There is also increase in prices of other staple products, thereby aggravating the woes of the common man. Shortage of products and ever-increasing prices have created sentiments across communities, dampening the country’s efforts to end poverty. There are estimates that more than 65 per cent of the Nigerian population is food-insecure. Unfortunately, the government has made no effort at price control laws that will help eliminate the deeply rooted corrupt practices among the people.
I did not forget that the Boko Haram insurgency that has ravaged the North-east for more than a decade, a region that immensely helped in food production in Nigeria, and the pockets of conflicts in some states where basic food items for the nation come from are making food commodity prices like beef, fruits and vegetables to rise, thus further masticating modest wage earners. It is axiomatic to posit that the Northern region of the country has remained a major source of food supply to other parts of the country, especially the South. To be sure, huge percentage of food items consumed in Lagos and other South and Eastern states come from the North. For example, Ketu, Mile 12 and Oyingbo markets in Lagos, all get supplies from the North on a daily basis as countless trucks are seen unloading quantities of onions, tomatoes, pepper, fruits, potatoes, yams, vegetables and the likes at these markets. But this is no longer the case as the general insecurity in the Northern part of Nigeria is adversely affecting farmers in the area. Fewer trucks now go to the South these days, because of the crisis, and this is adversely affecting prices of food.
The effects of the crisis in the North is already being felt, not only by the consumers but the traders as well who depend on supplies from the North for their business. Expectedly, the cost of foodstuffs, especially pepper and tomatoes has hit the roof. As reported on a television programme, housewives now complain that N500.00 worth of pepper for instance is no longer enough for a pot of soup for a family of four. While transporters are afraid to go to the North because of insecurity, Northern farmers are groaning too as traders from the South have not been going up North to buy the produce. Most crop farmers and those dealing in livestock in the North are fleeing their land en masse and migrating to neighbouring countries because of the crisis. In September 2013, the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) warned that Sahel States in Northern Nigeria are faced with severe food insecurity, and here we are today. The release mentions, “Poor families have used up their food stocks and are facing high food prices awaiting the next harvest.” Alarmingly, as at 2013, it pointed out that over 1.4 million children in the region are at risk of severe malnutrition in 2013. In certain products regrettably, the country’s ambitious Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) seems to have been hijacked by unscrupulous operators across the country’s borders.
However, other issues are equally accountable for Nigeria’s emergent food insecurity. Decades of bad policies, particularly in the agricultural sector, have taken a huge toll on the economy, with serious consequences on national development. Worst among the bad policies affecting the agricultural sector is government’s insensitivity to the needs of the rural areas. Prominent among these is lack of infrastructural development and incentives e.g loan for farmers. This invariably results in rural-urban migration. Also, the agricultural sector has witnessed a pattern of undercapitalization over a period of three decades, accounting for the sector’s poor performance and thus fueling of food insecurity in Nigeria. Above all, the recent policy of border closure by the Buhari administration has made issues worst, though it is still being debated.
The nation’s food security policy, in order to succeed, should adequately address, inter alia, those constraints that have been identified above. First, the problem of poor infrastructure in the nation can be tackled through increased investments in rural roads constructions, with a view to reducing transportation costs, and improve access to inputs and marketing of outputs. This should be complemented by similar investments in communications, electrification, healthcare and schools. Second, the prevailing dearth of appropriate technology can be improved upon by strengthening capacity to generate location-specific technology adaptable to the agro-ecosystems that are prevalent in the country, as well as creating the enabling environment for researcher/extension/farmer and rural finance policy linkages through information dissemination.
Third, of course no one can dispute the fact that the government has injected billions of Naira into agriculture, but that has been hijacked by bad elements and corrupt politicians in the system, thereby rendering government’s effort highly ineffective. This informed the need for collaborative efforts of the private sector of the economy. In this regard, the government should provide the enabling environment through the creation of investment incentives and formulation of policies, which would help to enhance the production of food and purchasing power of the poor to attract businesses to rural areas. For instance, Nigeria is blessed with abundant of land, forests that has never been cultivated before, where those criminal elements hides. The government can invite international companies from many countries in respect of varieties of products that we need in Nigeria and even Africa. A company for example will possess 50% share, the government will possess only 25% and the remaining 25% to be acquired by our resident business tycoons and also to be sell as shares to Nigerians. This will help create employment, reduce insecurity in the country, and eliminate the corruption that hijacked agricultural sector in Nigeria and most importantly secure huge production beyond our local consumption capacity.
Lastly, the president should OPEN NIGERIA’s BORDERS as a matter of urgency, if security of lives is truly his priority. This will help block the unstoppable consequences of food shortage and secure the 3As of food security.
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