There are talks and no luck as Nigeria tries to quickly bring food prices down
So many moves have been made since the president declared food insecurity an emergency on Thursday, 13 July 2023, but the output remains a flat.
Efforts by the federal government are going on to reverse the rising cost of food in Nigeria, but such moves have not yielded the desired effect so households have found themselves in a continual struggle to afford a meal.
Ways to finally escape this made it up to a list of topics that were addressed when the President of Nigeria Bola Tinubu gathered 36 governors of the federation, some ministers alongside security heads to a critical meeting on Thursday, 15 February.
The quorum assembled at the State House where they witnessed the president propose resolutions that eventually became the key things they would later go on to act on.
Part of what the gathering resolved to do centred on withdrawing from the idea of food imports and instead focusing on strengthening a Nigerian farmer’s capacity to grow crops for the nation so that the fight against hunger can be won from within.
From Kano, says President Tinubu, we have read reports about large-scale hoarding of food in some warehouses.
The National Security Adviser (NSA), the Inspector-General of Police, and the Director-General of the Department of State Services should coordinate very closely and ensure that security agencies in the states inspect such warehouses with follow-up action.
We must ensure that speculators, hoarders, and rent seekers are not allowed to sabotage our efforts in ensuring the wide availability of food to all Nigerians.
What I will not do is to set a price control board. I will not also approve the importation of food. We should be able to get ourselves out of the situation we found ourselves in because importation will allow rent seekers to perpetrate fraud and mismanagement at our collective expense.
The effect of hoarders in places like Niger State has been creating shortages that are bringing residents close to a breakpoint, it would seem.
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Niger villages have seen large trucks visit their communities to take farm produce that large-scale agro-commodities traders stationed in megacities but who have eyes on the ground would have paid for.
Although the food scarcity isn’t necessarily a problem caused by the buyers, Niger State residents want a ban on non-residents making large sum purchases from southwest regions like Lagos and Oyo.
President Tinubu’s response to limited food supplies is to support farmers [with schemes] that will make them go to the farm and grow more food for everyone in the country.
We must also look at the rapid but thoughtful implementation of our livestock development and management plans, including dairy farming and others.
So many moves have been made since the president declared food insecurity an emergency on Thursday, 13 July 2023, but the output remains a flat. A record is playing but there is no tune in the way many Nigerians picture promises that have been made to them.
For how long can they endure hunger is the question now as inflation drags to 29.90 percent following the last count in January 2024. Anger is brewing across the country, with protests in Sokoto, Osun and Lagos, among others.
There is a chance the protests will snowball since there is no relief in sight to ameliorate the severe impact of government policies on the disposable incomes of Nigerians.
Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.
