Nigerians Groans Over High Cost of Foodstuffs

Concerns mounts across the country as prices of foodstuffs hit the roof tops


Food security in Nigeria has become a matter of serious concern to the citizens as prices of food items has escalated unbearably, making life so difficult. World Bank report says poverty is increasing in Nigeria under Buhari’s watch. Even the president, Muhammadu Buhari acknowledged that there is so much hunger in the land in a recent national television interview with Arise Television.

In the last couple of years, Nigerians have been grappling with food crises, which became prevalent with the insecurity situation in the North East zone. The situation is worse now as Nigerians are dying of hunger with the poverty levels growing astronomically across the country. The United Nations has estimated that over 5.1 million Nigerians from the North East regions are presently at the risk of facing food crisis. The ever-increasing high levels of insecurity in the North East has affected agricultural production, making it difficult, if not impossible for farmers to go into their farms throughout the cropping season.

The incursion and advent of herders and farmers clashes in the Middle Belt zone, popularly known as the food basket of the nation has also contributed to the current food crises facing the nation. The persistent attacks on farms in most food producing areas in the country by Boko Haram insurgents, herdsmen, unknown gunmen and other undesirable elements have worsened the food crises. Most conflict-affected households who were hitherto farmers but now displaced from their home continue to depend on same common market for food. These sad developments only contribute to the rising cost of food items as there are so many people chasing the few food items in the market, thereby leading to scarcity of food items and inflation.

Unfortunately, the rising cost of these food items make them almost unaffordable. For instance, the price of a bag of white beans in Enugu which used to sale for N18000 is now N36, 000 while a paint of white beans is N1, 000, an increase of N400 from its earlier price. In Benue, a bag of 100kg of brown beans is sold for N25, 000, same as in Umuahia. The price of 25-litre Palm Oil sells from N10, 000 to N12, 000 in some markets across the country. All these items show an increase of 30 -50 percent from the previous prices of the food items in the market about one year ago.

The 50kg bag of rice now sells for N24, 000 and even N30,000 in many urban markets while 4kg of tomatoes sells from N15, 000 up to N18, 000 in Gboko main market, Benue State. In Lagos, Soya bean sells as high as N27, 000 for the 100kg bag at Mile 12 market, while 100kg bag of Onions at Bodija market Ibadan sells for N25, 000, and the same goes for N29, 000 at Umuahia main market. A bag of Cassava Flour now sells at N69, 000 while a bag of garri goes for between N13, 000 and N17, 000. A mudu of garri which used to sell for N300 now sells for between N550 - N600. A large tuber of yam which used to sell for N300 - N500 now sells from N700 up to N900.

Prices of Indomie, Spaghetti, potatoes and beverages have also gone out of the reach of ordinary citizens, causing so much hunger in the land. Shockingly, the average inflation rate for these food items is about 30% above prevailing levels in equivalent period of the previous year. In general, aside from insecurity factors, the causes of the food crises faced in Nigeria today include supply shortages and poor infrastructure. Bandits and unknown gunmen as well as herders who have literally pursued farmers out of their farms, and turning the farmlands into killing fields have done disservice to this country. Most times these invaders attack the farmers, they leave in their wake pains, blood and agony.

Unfortunately, there is hardly the presence of security operatives to come to the aid of the helpless farmers. Amnesty International reported that last August that bandits have waged terrifying attacks on many rural communities in Northern Nigeria for years, sacking them from their ancestral homes and their farmlands. The attacks in the North West and North Central regions has escalated since last year, but took another dimension when they moved to the South West and South East region attacking, killing and raping farmers at will, with little or no resistance from security personnel.