Hardship, food insecurity, rising food prices, and hunger are fast becoming keywords in the major news headlines in Nigeria. In Nigerian parlance, e don red!
In every part of the country, you are likely to find citizens complaining about the rising cost of living. Even food items once considered staples, such as rice, beans, eggs, and yam, are fast becoming a luxury, on top of the fact that the real income of Nigerians is shrinking by the day. No bi small thing.
In fact, I recently saw a trending video of Nigerians struggling for bread. This is not good at all.
Nigeria has gotten so bad under Tinubu that people don’t mind being flogged just to get a free N100 naira bread.
This is happening in Tinubu’s Lagos💔💔💔
pic.twitter.com/BE8dXK12qN— That Naija Guy™ (@IamThatNaijaGuy) February 15, 2024
Kontri don hard sotey person go chop cane before e chop bread?😭 Sad.
But come to think of it, with all the shege (financial difficulties) that came with the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, things are more difficult for Nigerians now in 2024.
Even our royal fathers and religious leaders have added their voices to this conversation. Dem, too, don dey feel the hunger ‘heat’ from Nigerians within their territory.
In the words of the Sultan of Sokoto, ‘We are faced with the rising level of poverty amongst our people, lack of normal sources of livelihood for the common man to have, even if it is one good meal a day.
‘I believe talking of insecurity and the rising level of poverty are two issues that we cannot fold our arms and think everything is okay. I have said it so many times and at so many fora that things are not okay in Nigeria and of course, things are not okay in the north’.
What about our labour leaders?
They keep calling for a nationwide strike and keep suspending the move. Na so-so labour union threats without action.
We call on the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, whose responsibilities include the determination of federal government fiscal policies, mobilisation of domestic and external financial resources for national development purposes, and management of foreign exchange reserves, to come up with urgent measures to buck the trend of growing food prices.
As for our dear President Bola Tinubu, the time to act is now. The plight of millions of Nigerians cannot wait any longer. We demand that you prioritise this issue and demonstrate strong leadership in finding lasting solutions to the crisis of food prices and food insecurity in our nation.
Photo source: UNICEF
