Obi Blames Leadership Failure for Rising Hunger, Urges Urgent Action to Avert Food Crisis

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has said Nigeria's worsening food insecurity will continue unless leaders begin to prioritise the welfare of citizens, warning that the country risks a deeper humanitarian crisis if urgent steps are not taken to address insecurity and revive agricultural production.

Obi made the remarks while reacting to a recent warning by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) that more than 17 million people across northern Nigeria face acute hunger, with over 35 million Nigerians projected to experience food insecurity during the current lean season.

In a statement posted on his X account on Saturday, Obi described the situation as tragic and avoidable, arguing that Nigeria's vast agricultural potential should make widespread hunger unacceptable.

"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 urged the Federal Government and state governments to move beyond political rhetoric and implement practical measures to protect farmers and boost food production.

He called for increased investment in securing agricultural communities, providing smallholder farmers with easier access to funding and farming inputs, and strengthening collaboration with international development partners, including the World Food Programme, to bridge critical funding gaps before the situation deteriorates further.

Obi said the latest figures paint a disturbing picture of Nigeria's food security challenges, noting that more than 10,000 residents of Borno State have reportedly entered 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. 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," he said.

According to him, the country's food crisis is largely driven by persistent insecurity, which has prevented many farmers from accessing their farmlands, while years of inadequate investment in agriculture and rural infrastructure have further weakened food production.

"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 stated.

He also criticised what he described as the government's preference for short-term measures over long-term agricultural reforms, insisting that Nigeria must adopt policies that remove structural barriers to food production and encourage agro-industrial development.

"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," he said.

Obi maintained that Nigeria has the capacity to eliminate hunger and mass poverty but stressed that achieving that goal would require leadership committed to improving the lives of ordinary Nigerians rather than pursuing projects that do not directly address citizens' immediate needs.

"A prosperous Nigeria, free from hunger, is achievable, but it requires leadership that prioritises the welfare of its citizens," he said, adding that "a new Nigeria is possible."