Is There Hunger In The Land?
The headlines these days is witch craft. I want to ask, did Nigerian recession affect the witches and wizards in Nigeria also? Because I know that the only thing that can bring someone out without proper consideration is hunger. My neighbour that wake me up this morning said “Hungry is beating Nigeria 30 – 0 to nothing” Indirect saying he is dying cause of hunger in Nigeria.
There is high rate of hunger in Nigeria. So fellow Nigerians, if you unfortunately to see food in your dream don’t fail to eat it unless you want to join your ancestors. Am waiting for Nollywood to act a movie title “There is hunger in Nigeria” so that our leaders will understand that indeed there is serious hunger in the land.
No wonder popular rapper named Nigga raw on his song said “even me wey dey rap never chop” without knowing that even me wey dey write never chop.
Things have really changed completely, and there is food scarcity while many sleep with empty stomach, nowadays at night, one would not distinguish snoring from noisy stomach, the recession affect a lot of Nigerians, some died pitifully in it while some eventually becomes automatic beggar, average Nigerians complains, those that travel up to four five times a year, have eventually reduce their trip to ones, yet the rich getting richer while the poor is getting poorer,
Yet most populous nation in Africa, with a population of over 180million and a labour force of 53.83million, Nigeria is blessed with ample source of labour to fuel economic growth (CIA, 2012). Besides being Africa’s largest producer of oil, Nigeria’s gas reserves ranks 6th globally and it has the 8th largest crude oil reserve in the world. About 31million hectares of the land area is cultivation and the diverse climate makes production of a variety of products, from tropical and semitropical areas of the world possible. Despite these endowments, the nation ranks among the world’s poorest economies.
Nigeria has immense natural, material and human resources. Political leaders should copy Brazilian experience and exploit the immense benefits accruable from a well-developed agricultural sector. A nation like Israel has immense technologically driven agricultural sector making crude or primitive methods of farming irrelevant. Technology drives agricultural development and increase agricultural productivity. Nigerian government should establish agricultural fund to finance and facilitate medium/large scale agricultural production, to enhance employment, production for local consumption and for exports.
Arguably, any policy strategy that attempts to tackle hunger and poverty would first of all focus on agriculture, by increasing rural opportunities that could generate agricultural induced development. Hence, technologically driven agriculture is a sine qua non for the alleviation of poverty and attainment of sustainable development in Nigeria. Other sectors of the economy can also be strengthened and sustained only if human and material resources are sincerely coordinated.
Apart from technical, professional and technological challenges, etc. confronting other sectors, corruption is the most fundamental problem frustrating development in Nigeria. Corruption has remained a contagious and dreaded disease sipping through the pores of Nigeria, ravaging it almost beyond repair. Nigeria is a victim of corruption. Abinitio, corruption has not only affected development of the country, but it has become pervasive to the extent that every sector of the economy is abysmally affected.
At micro and macro levels, corruption has taken a formidable position. Corruption is multidimensional as it appears in different forms and magnitudes in our society. The monster has eaten deep into the fabric of the nation. Arguably, over dependence on oil has solidly reinforced corrupt practices in Nigeria. Many economists have lamented that Nigeria suffers from the resource curse. Political office holders not only lack the political will to put the economy to a better shape, but have with impunity, unrepentantly looted and siphoned the enormous public treasury accruable from crude oil. This gory situation has often replicated itself in all sectors of the economy.
Today, the enormous natural, material and human resources in Nigeria have not really translated into anticipated socio-economic development. It is quite worrisome that despite the enormous resource endowments, the level of social and economic development in Nigeria is far below expectation. Until corrupt practices are reduced to the barest minimum, achieving the expected development will be an illusion. If we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria (Buhari President, Federal Republic of Nigeria). God help us!
