Nigeria is currently experiencing a serious high cost of food prices crisis in its history. The crisis manifests itself in the inability of the nation to produce enough food to feed its population and the need to import food at exorbitant prices. The impact of the current high cost of food has a negative impact on the nation.
According to the report 2019 by the Global Hunger Index, Nigeria has a serious hunger problem and ranks 93rd out of 117 qualifying countries. With a score of 27.9, in recent time Nigeria suffers from a level of hunger that is serious. Nigeria is one of many food-deficient countries in Africa and its alarming hunger statistics.
In spite of series of federal and state governments’ poverty alleviating intervention programs aimed at tackling hunger in the land, many Nigerians can still hardly get food to eat, let alone meet the human-designed three meals per day.
Let the truth be told there is massive hunger in the land, which clearly flies in the face of claims by the Minister of Agriculture, Sabo Nanono, to the contrary. I’m sure he either does not know the true hunger situation before ordinary Nigerians or just saying its to pleasing his Oga’s administration.
It’s apt to quote him: “When people talk about hunger I laugh because they do not know hunger. If you go to other countries you will see what hunger is.
“Food in Nigeria is fairly cheap compared to other countries. In Kano, for instance, you can eat N30 worth of food and be satisfied.
“So, we should be thankful that we can feed ourselves and we have relatively cheap food in this country,”
Even the minister of Agriculture and Rural Development admitted there are inconveniences but the Federal Government should find some means of palliatives to cushion the effects of the high cost of food price.
Let the truth be told, the costs of goods are now too high in Nigeria. The closure of borders at this austere period is so excruciating, especially to the poor masses. Our local production has not reached the level being envisaged by next level government policy.
From time immemorial inadequate or high cost of food, prices have been linked to lawlessness. A hungry man is an easy target for selfish members of the bourgeoisie who would buy their services for a price to foment anarchy within the society.
The high cost of food in Nigeria is alarming but always government officials not seeing the light or intentionally distorts the reality either on self-survival or just to be sweet-mouths to the number one but in simple term deceiving number one.
But I will not blame him because the officials do not know where the shoe pinches the common man since they live in the comfort zone.
Yes without any doubt Federal Government should find some means of palliatives to cushion the effects. Though it is what we buy that we sell, reasonably, things are hard these days. From Bayelsa down to Adamawa, the story is the same.
There is massive hunger in the land, from Lagos to Kano because of higher population and it has become difficult if not impossible for residents to bear the cost of food price as many go to bed on empty stomachs due to paucity of funds have combined in making many hungry.
A plate of rice sold for N100 is not enough for an adult to eat for the whole day. And we all know that food is very important, and the basic need of an average man is to satisfy his stomach first before any other thing is considered.
What we are experiencing its either hunger or cost of foodstuff has skyrocketed. Even the local foods are not cheap many people out there who can’t have a standard three-square meal. Since Nigeria’s experienced a recession where inflation rate doubled, in the country
Food is not cheap in Nigeria just two months ago imported Thailand or Indian rice was sold at 14,000 now hovering around 20,000 per bag even local bags of rice processing in the country is around 17,000 per bag. The high cost of food prices has resulted in the incidence of malnutrition among its citizens. Present and successive governments in Nigeria have failed to provide enough food to meet the needs of citizens.
Dukawa can be reached on [email protected].
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