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Labour Party Warns of Impending Hunger Crisis as Nigeria’s Poverty Rate Hits 40.7%

Published by Tope Fakinlede on December 27th, 2024.

Labour Party Warns of Impending Hunger Crisis as Nigeria’s Poverty Rate Hits 40.7%

Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim, the National Secretary of the Labour Party, has raised a critical warning about Nigeria’s worsening hunger crisis, highlighting a troubling poverty rate of 40.7% and the fact that 87 million Nigerians now live below the poverty line.

This warning comes in the wake of a series of tragic stampedes that have resulted in the deaths of 65 Nigerians in Oyo, Anambra, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, all during food distribution events. Ibrahim attributes these disasters to the overwhelming poverty and hunger gripping the nation, forcing many to take desperate actions, including dangerously scooping fuel from accident sites.

The Labour Party official has called on the government, led by the All Progressives Congress (APC), to refocus its policies on food production. He emphasized the underutilization of Nigeria’s vast land resources and the potential for revitalizing the country’s aquatic economy to improve food security.

Citing World Bank data, Ibrahim noted that Nigeria’s poverty rate has risen from 38.9% in 2023 to 40.7%, positioning the country with the second-largest population of poor people in the world, just after India. Additionally, the growing security challenges, including over 2 million reported kidnappings and a total of $1.42 billion paid to kidnappers last year, reflect the broader economic decline under the Tinubu administration.

Ibrahim pointed to several recent incidents as stark reminders of the nation’s hunger crisis:

In Ibadan, Oyo State, around 40 children lost their lives during a stampede at a carnival.

In Okija, Anambra State, 20 people died in a similar incident during a palliative distribution event.

On the same day, more than 10 people perished in a stampede in Abuja, where a Catholic church was distributing food to vulnerable communities.

These incidents, occurring during humanitarian efforts organized by philanthropists and religious groups, highlight the severe food insecurity in Nigeria.

Ibrahim stressed that hunger, exacerbated by inflation and poor economic policies, is a key factor driving many Nigerians to criminal activity. “Millions of Nigerians are enduring the consequences of economic mismanagement, and hunger is becoming an epidemic,” he said. “The hardship caused by the Tinubu administration’s economic reforms is pushing people to the brink, and this crisis cannot be ignored.”

The Labour Party official urged the government to urgently address the root causes of hunger by prioritizing sustainable food production and adopting more effective economic strategies to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians.