Adeze Ojukwu

Despite the brazen display of cash, at the recent presidential primaries of political parties, many Nigerians are facing excruciating hunger, food shortages, inflation, and poverty.

Over the past few years, the nation has continued to record low agricultural output, due to the persistent attacks against farmers and farms, allegedly, by Fulani pastoralists.

As a result of desertification, drought and lack of fodder, these armed nomadic herders, invade farmlands particularly in the Middle Belt and Southern regions of the country, leading to endless killings and destruction of lives and properties.

Irrespective of Federal Government’s claims of successes in rice production and other crops, the country is still ravaged by poverty and hunger.

Sadly, the Ukraine war, has exacerbated this catastrophe, which has become a gruesome existential challenge to many communities, across Nigeria, Africa, Asia and South America.

Evidently, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has sparked a new wave of global food crises, which has worsened the plight of the masses in Nigeria and other parts of the world.

Nigeria has no business being among the hungry dens of the world.

Unfortunately lack of investments, in agro-allied industry, as well as bad leadership, economic and social woes, have contributed significantly, to this national malaise.

Over the past decades, Nigeria paraded a flourishing agricultural sector, with surplus production of palm oil from the East, cocoa from the West and groundnut pyramids from the north.

However, the discovery of oil, undermines and eventually destroyed this golden era, because successive governments paid little or no attention to the sector. Their eyes were on free dollar rain from oil sales.

If the government is serious, about eradicating hunger in the land, it needs to invest heavily in mechanized farming.

Out of the United Nations(UN) desgnated 17 Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs), Goal Two aims to achieve "zero hunger."

Based on current trends, Nigeria is certainly, not on track, towards achieving this goal and its targets.

The nation's handlers, need to pay attention to to this goal and its slogan to "end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture."

.Ojukwu, is a publisher, journalist and Fellow of USA-sponsored Hubert H Humphrey Fellowship, a Fulbright Scholarship. She is a passionate advocate for improved socio-economic services for all citizens, as articulated in the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGS). Please kindly send feedback to adeze.ojukwu@gmail.com

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