Those who tagged Nigeria as the poverty capital of the world few years ago deserve a medal. Little did we know that by this time, with the country’s resources, citizens would still be living from hand to mouth. The people really read the signs well, to have predicted what was to come. It is indeed ironical that a country that is rich and blessed with human, material and natural resources of immense proportions could suffer this way and cannot afford to feed her population. Whereas other countries of the world of equal proportions of endowment are breaking new grounds in all fields of human endeavours. Ours, regrettably, has remained stories of uncertainty, hunger, deprivation, pity and setbacks for many years. The reason for this however is not farfetched, which of course is that past and present leaders who are supposed to be forward looking did not know that a day like this would come when a loaf of bread in the country can no longer be affordable by the common man in the street. Arising from so many economic reports and postulations from experts about the economy, the country is indeed living on borrowed times if the magic wand does not occur to reverse the ugly trend.
The government also recently admitted that the revenue target of the country is not looking good and was constrained owing to many factors; one of them being the underperformance in the oil sector, the main stay of the economy as a result of decline in production, occasioned by oil pipelines destruction and theft of crude. The unending security problems again, that forced so many farmers who are now confined at various Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, especially in the northern part of the country was alluded to as one of the reasons for the scarcity of food in the country, since people can no longer go to their farms freely to cultivate and plant crops. The reality is that a large number of the Nigerian population surprisingly are becoming beggars by the day, including able bodied men and women, without any form of physical disability. It is often said that a government that cannot feed her population has no business being in power. But because anything goes here, the people are on their own and have resigned their fate to God, under the present circumstances. The fact however, is that the economic situation in the country is so dire. People are going to bed on empty stomach and many families are not sure where the next meal would come from, while we admit that food security in the country has been undermined by so many factors, especially the Boko Haram terrorism and Fulani herders’ onslaught almost everywhere.
The point therefore is that this is not also the time to expect the American and European Aids Organizations for any kind of donations because the war between Ukraine and Russia, coupled with other natural disasters in so many parts of the world may have taken its toll on donor agencies in the world. Nigeria whose case is purely mismanagement and corruption may be the least of their problems. What possibly could save the situation is for the citizens to take their future in their hands and look inward. By so doing, they can train on skills like home farming, which does not demand large expanse of land, fish farming, poultry, etc. to reduce hunger that is fast ravaging the society. We call on kind hearted Nigerians and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to support in training some Nigerians on special skills acquisitions to further cushion the impact of poverty currently affecting the lives of many in the society. It’s much more important to teach people on how to fish, better than give them fish. We also call on the government to wake up to its responsibility and ensure that the issue of insecurity is finally addressed, so that people can go back to their ancestral lands to live their normal lives and fend for their families. Keeping people in IDP camps would further increase the hunger in the land which today has become a way of life for most Nigerians, unfortunately!
