The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, has blamed what he described as incompetent and irresponsible leadership for the worsening food crisis in Northern Nigeria, following a fresh warning by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) that millions of Nigerians face severe hunger.
Reacting to the UN report in a statement posted on his official X account on Saturday, Obi said the looming humanitarian crisis was avoidable, insisting that no country as richly endowed as Nigeria should be battling such levels of food insecurity.
According to him, Northern Nigeria remains the nation’s food basket, making the unfolding crisis a direct consequence of leadership failure.
“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,” Obi said.
The former Anambra State governor recalled that he had recently urged the Federal Government and state governors to shift attention from political rhetoric to practical interventions capable of preventing the crisis from worsening.
He said governments must prioritise securing farming communities, supporting smallholder farmers with critical resources and partnering with international organisations such as the World Food Programme to bridge funding gaps before more lives are lost.
“I called on the Federal Government and state leaders to 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 (WFP) to bridge funding gaps before this crisis escalates and claims more lives, especially those of children.”
Obi maintained that Nigeria has the capacity to eliminate hunger if leaders place the welfare of citizens above politics.
“A prosperous Nigeria, free from hunger, is achievable, but it requires leadership that prioritises the welfare of its citizens.”
Expressing concern over the latest WFP findings, Obi noted that more than 17 million people across nine northern states are facing crisis-level hunger, while over 35 million Nigerians nationwide are at risk during the current lean season.
He described the situation in Borno State, where more than 10,000 residents have reportedly entered catastrophic hunger conditions, as a national tragedy.
“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. Nigeria should not rank among the world’s hungriest nations, given its abundant resources, particularly the vast stretches of fertile, uncultivated land in the North.”
Obi identified insecurity and farmers’ inability to access their farmlands as the two major structural causes of the crisis, warning that agriculture cannot thrive while rural communities remain under constant threat from bandits and insurgents.
“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.”
He also criticised what he called the government’s reliance on superficial interventions instead of policies capable of transforming agriculture and rural infrastructure.
According to him, Nigeria must urgently abandon its consumption-driven approach and embrace production-oriented policies if it hopes to defeat hunger and poverty.
“Our global hunger ranking continues to worsen because of our proclivity for adopting superficial measures that do little to boost agricultural productivity or transform rural infrastructure. 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.”
The former presidential candidate concluded that Nigeria could still overcome hunger and mass poverty if leaders focused on improving the lives of citizens rather than embarking on what he described as prestige projects.
“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 road dualisation projects.”
