The presidential candidate of the National Democratic Coalition (NDC), Peter Obi, has expressed concern over the worsening food security situation in northern Nigeria, describing the looming hunger crisis as a consequence of poor leadership and policy failure of the APC government since 2019.
Reacting to a recent warning by the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) on the growing food emergency in the region, Obi said the crisis was avoidable and should not be occurring in a country blessed with vast agricultural resources.
In a statement posted on his X handle, Obi lamented that northern Nigeria, widely regarded as the nation’s food basket, was now facing one of its worst food crises in years.
“The recent report from the UN about the impending food crisis in northern Nigeria is disheartening, more so because it is avoidable. Northern Nigeria is the nation’s food basket, and nothing short of incompetent and irresponsible leadership could have created this tragedy,” he said.
The former Anambra State governor called on the Federal Government and state governments to move beyond political rhetoric and make deliberate investments in agriculture and food security.
According to him, authorities should prioritise the protection of agricultural corridors, provide accessible support for smallholder farmers and strengthen partnerships with international organisations, including the World Food Programme, to avert a worsening humanitarian situation.
“I urged our national leaders to reassess their priorities and address the dire circumstances facing our citizens.
The Federal Government and state leaders must move beyond mere political discourse and make transparent, upfront investments to secure agricultural corridors, support smallholder farmers with accessible resources, and collaborate vigorously with organisations like the World Food Programme to bridge funding gaps before this crisis escalates and claims more lives, especially those of children,” Obi stated.
He expressed alarm over reports that more than 17 million people across nine northern states are currently facing crisis-level hunger, while over 35 million Nigerians could be affected nationwide during the lean season.
Obi particularly described as troubling reports that over 10,000 residents of Borno State had fallen into what humanitarian agencies classify as “catastrophic” hunger conditions.
“The fact that over 10,000 residents of Borno State have entered catastrophic hunger conditions represents not only immense human suffering but also a profound national failure,” he said.
The opposition figure attributed the worsening food crisis to persistent insecurity and the inability of farmers to access farmlands, noting that banditry and insurgency had displaced many farming communities across the North.
“This food crisis stems from two critical structural failures: insecurity and farmers’ inability to access their lands. Banditry and insurgency have turned agrarian communities into displacement zones. Until we secure our agricultural areas, we cannot secure our future,” Obi added.
He further criticised what he described as the country’s reliance on short-term interventions, arguing that sustainable solutions require investments aimed at boosting agricultural productivity, rural infrastructure and agro-industrial development.
According to him, Nigeria’s worsening position on global hunger indices reflects a failure to address the structural barriers hindering agricultural production.
“We need to adopt policies that address the structural barriers to agricultural productivity and transform our land resources into agro-industrial output. We can overcome hunger and poverty if we urgently shift our focus from consumption to production,” he said.
Obi maintained that Nigeria possesses the resources and capacity to overcome hunger and poverty but stressed that achieving this goal would require leadership that places the welfare of citizens above political considerations.
“A New Nigeria, devoid of hunger and mass poverty a Nigeria where we transform our arable land into productive acreage remains attainable, but it demands leadership that prizes the lives and livelihoods of the Nigerian people above grandiose projects,” he said.
The World Food Programme and other humanitarian agencies have repeatedly warned that conflict, displacement, inflation and climate-related shocks are worsening food insecurity across parts of northern Nigeria, particularly in the North-East, where millions depend on humanitarian assistance for survival.
