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Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), warns that Nigeria’s growing hunger could worsen unless the nation elects leaders who place citizens’ welfare first.
Reacting to the United Nations World Food Programme’s alert that more than 17 million people in northern Nigeria face acute hunger, Obi called the situation avoidable and blamed poor leadership.
“Northern Nigeria is the nation’s food basket,” he wrote on X. “Only incompetent and irresponsible leadership could have allowed this tragedy.”
Obi urged national and state leaders to change course immediately. He called for transparent, upfront investments to protect agricultural corridors, broaden support for smallholder farmers with accessible resources, and deepen collaboration with organisations like the World Food Programme to close funding gaps.
He warned that without prompt action, the crisis will intensify and exact a heavier toll, especially on children.
Obi argues: "A prosperous Nigeria, free from hunger, is achievable, but it requires leadership that prioritises the welfare of its citizens.
"I am deeply troubled by the latest report from the UN’s World Food Programme, indicating that northern Nigeria is experiencing its most severe hunger crisis in nearly a decade. Over 17 million people in nine northern states face crisis-level hunger, with more than 35 million Nigerians nationwide at risk during this challenging season.
"The fact that over 10,000 residents of Borno State have entered ‘catastrophic’ hunger conditions represents not only immense human suffering but also a profound national failure. Nigeria should not rank among the world’s hungriest nations, given its abundant resources, particularly the vast stretches of fertile, uncultivated land in the North.
"This food crisis stems from two critical structural failures: insecurity and farmers’ inability to access their lands. Banditry and insurgency have turned agrarian communities into displacement zones. Until we secure our agricultural areas, we cannot secure our future.
"Our global hunger ranking continues to worsen because of our proclivity for adopting superficial measures that do little to boost agricultural productivity or transform rural infrastructure. We need to adopt policies that address the structural barriers to agricultural productivity and transform our land resources into agro-industrial output. We can overcome hunger and poverty if we urgently shift our focus from consumption to production.
"A new Nigeria, devoid of hunger and mass poverty – a Nigeria where we transform our arable land into productive acreage – remains attainable, but it demands leadership that values the lives and livelihoods of the Nigerian people above grandiose road dualisation projects.
"A new Nigeria is possible."
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