BY AHMED AKANBI
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 general elections, Peter Obi, has urged President Bola Tinubu to declare hunger a national emergency, saying millions of Nigerians are battling food insecurity, poverty, and insecurity.
Obi, who made the call in a statement at the weekend to mark World Food Day 2026, said the hunger crisis has become too serious to be treated as a routine economic challenge.
”Today, as the world marks World Food Day, Nigerians are confronting a painful reality: hunger, poverty, and insecurity continue to affect millions of families,” Obi said.
He said Nigeria now ranks 117th out of 125 countries on the Global Hunger Index, down from 109th in 2023 when Tinubu assumed office.
Citing the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates, he said about 36 million Nigerians will face acute hunger this year, a situation he described as more painful because Nigeria has vast arable land.
He claimed about 60 per cent of the country’s arable land remains uncultivated, warning that abandoned farmlands are providing hideouts for terrorists and other non-state actors.
”Nigeria is now one of the hungriest countries in the world. The tragedy is even more painful because Nigeria has vast, arable, and fertile land,” he said, adding that insecurity has kept farmers away from their farms.
Obi said World Food Day should remind the nation that Nigerians deserve affordable food and farmers should farm without fear of attacks, kidnapping or displacement.
”The fight against hunger must be treated as a national emergency,” he said, pledging that if elected, his administration would secure farming communities and support farmers with targeted grants and subsidies.
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security said it is implementing interventions to boost production, cut post-harvest losses and strengthen value chains, noting agriculture grew by 4.39 per cent in Q2 2026.
It said its programmes had helped smallholders produce 2.5 million metric tonnes of staple foods over four seasons, though food insecurity remains high.
The World Food Programme estimates about 35 million Nigerians are facing acute food insecurity driven by conflict, climate shocks, displacement and weakened local food systems, a crisis Obi said requires securing farms and making food affordable.