High Cost Of Commodities And Hunger Problem Killing Nigerians
If you are reading me outside Nigeria, know that thousands to millions of Nigerians are dying of hunger when compared to any other sickness, diseases, and pandemic, yet the hope to restore Nigeria, reduce the current speck on hunger isn’t forthcoming
So many problems are currently affecting the citizens of Nigeria. Amongst these problems, the most disturbing is the continuous hash increase in the prices of food items and other basic essential commodities
The problem of the high cost of food commodities is already sparking serious national concern for everyone especially the poor citizens who can’t cope but mostly dying of hunger in their own country
Hunger is killing Nigerians, as well the nutritional deficit it has brought, the unbearable cost of food prices has turned into a major threat and weakened the effort of the government toward addressing the several socio-economic and cultural crises in the country.
But there’s bound to be a food crisis in the country with the insurgency and crime syndicate all over the place. As we already know, because of these inhumane activities dominating the system, there’s bound to be food insecurity and malnutrition problem.
Recently, farmers are scarred for cultivating their fields at the fear of herdsmen or some unknown gun-men chasing them out or even shooting them to death for a no just cause.
Living in Nigeria has never been as hell as what it is today, with farmers being at the messy of the menace, these and that has contributed to the problem Nigeria is facing now
The days of manna raining from the sky are gone. It takes planting and harvesting to make food available for human consumption.
Consequently, when the farmer’s safety at the field is at threat of undeserving death – one can tell that availability of food will be a mirage.
Today, while Nigerians are still trying to grapple with issues of unemployment, poor wages, labor exploitation, lack of electricity supply, COVID-19 constraints among other issues, the skyrocketing prices of goods and food commodities have toppled them all.
The importance of food to the body and human health cannot be overemphasized. Food fuels the body. The people must feed to stay alive.
Food gives energy to the body. The body manufactures the various types of nutrients required in the body for optimal functionality from food. Without food, both children and adults will suffer malnutritional health problems.
And where there’s hunger and starvation, anti-social behaviors like stealing, prostitution, kidnapping, armed robbery, pickpocketing, and a lot more would likely proliferate.
Imagine the northeast geographical region of Nigeria which hitherto has been a major source of the food chain to another part of the country especially the Southern part is the worst hit of insurgency.
How then would there be food in the land?
Daily, numerous trucks and lorries arrive in the South and are seen offloading a series of food items like yams, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, pepper, assorted types of fruits, including rams and cows as well as other farm produce.
This goes to show that about 70 percent of foodstuffs consumed in Southern Nigeria come from the North.
To address the cause of the food crisis in the country, some traders in Nigeria have first attributed the problem to a political conspiracy and said that the government has the solution.
A certain Nigerian trader analyzed thus, “a loaf of bread we used to buy for N150, is now N350 or more. Noodles used to sell for N850, but we now buy it N2,500.
A bag of milk for N3,500, now it is N11,000. We are tired as traders. We’re merely selling just to be in business.
From the above, we can deduce that the high cost of foodstuffs has affected the livelihood of many persons. And since most people can no more afford good food coupled with other harsh economic problems, they resort to feeding on foods that are not nutritious consequently, diseases caused by malnutrition e.g, kwashiorkor, marasmus, stunted growth, etc, now plague most average Nigerians and the children.
Hence, the local, state, and the federal government must wake up and confront the fundamental issues causing hunger and the hike in food commodities in the country.
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We need a boost to our food production in the country. The starvation must end. Nigerians should not die amid the abundant natural agricultural endowment. All things being equal, Nigerians are too blessed to cry of hunger. in_fact hunger is not supposed to be seen in any place in Nigeria, but here is the opposite, as hunger and poverty is visibly everywhere in Nigeria
Therefore, the federal government must wake up from its slumber and create a lasting sustainable solution to the food crisis and hunger menace in the country.
High Cost Of Commodities And Hunger Problem Killing Nigerians, Written By Eugene Bassey Etim, NairaLEARN, want to have you say or best contribute to this topic, kindly use the comment box to drop your comment