‘State of Emergency On Food Security Long Overdue’—NIIA Research Fellow

A Research Fellow at the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Dr. Kester Onor, has revealed that many Nigerians can no longer afford food as they struggle to adjust to the economic shock caused by the removal of fuel subsidy.

This is coming barely 24 hours after President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency on food security.

He said on Friday during a monitored interview on Arise TV that the present declaration was long overdue.

Onor said “Nigeria does not have reliable access to a continuous quantity of affordable nutritious food. And the government finally making it a national emergency, is long overdue.

“It will be too adventurous to be talking about nutrition at this particular point in time, so, the main focus should be, how can we get at least two basic square meals, not a nutritional meal.

“This is because it is becoming difficult to afford two square meals for an average family of five, because of the effect of the subsidy removal on the average Nigerian household, which has created a serious challenge for the government.”

Onor revealed that there are four factors to consider before declaring a state of food security emergency, one in which the country is struggling to meet up to considering the price of things today, and the excruciating pains commoners are facing.

He said, “There are four dimensions to consider on food security namely; physical availability of food; economic and physical access to the food (how many Nigerians can afford varieties of food); food utilization (this is an aspect that shows the ability of the body to consume food and give the required nutritional vitamins to grow); and lastly the stability of the aforementioned aspect over time without shortage”.

According to Onor, the efficiency of the four factors has been hindered over time as a result of lapses in the country’s national security.

He said before addressing the issues of food security, which is an appendage of human security, the individual which is the reference object of security must be protected before any plans can be implemented.

“Due to the crisis of insecurity in Nigeria which is a major factor affecting food security, the security operatives in Nigeria have been overly stretched, and the porosity of our borders and the inability of the agencies to cover or adequately mount those borders.

“These existing lapses have ended up creating a safe haven for terrorist organizations to thrive. For us to deal with food security, there is a need to empower our security personnel and look at our security architecture to see ways we can empower them to be effective in their operations” Onor said.

He added that although the President has rolled out long-term plans, Nigerians are desperate, and they want to see immediate solutions to the current crisis.