Nigeria has witnessed a series of food related stampedes in recent times with Ibadan, Anambra and Abuja being the latest which have claimed the lives of at least 50 people combined within three days.
The stampedes emanated from a struggle to get food, cash donations and clothing from organisers of charity and Christmas funfair as Africa’s most populous nation grapples with the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.
Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, the executive director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), described the incidents as heartbreaking reflections of the severe hardship Nigerians are enduring under the administration of the present government.
“This is a clear indication that Nigerians are facing very difficult times under this administration,” he said. “Unfortunately, the government appears detached from the realities on the ground and has failed to take the necessary steps to address a situation they helped to escalate.
“While these tragic incidents have been reported, many more may be occurring unnoticed as people are desperately hungry,” the human right activist said.
These painful trends underscore the latent hunger crisis in a nation where over 26 million of its population are facing acute hunger with the United Nations projecting the number reaching 33 million next year.
A struggling economy, surging inflation, and declining purchasing power have thrown 129 million people beneath the poverty line this year, according to the World Bank, highlighting the rush for free food or cash that have taken the lives of at least four children.
Christmas in Nigeria is a period where individuals or organizations gift people food, especially rice as a way of putting a smile on other people’s faces. But the worst cost-of-living crisis is pushing young and old out of their homes now to be sent to their early graves due to stampedes.
Incomes have been eroded. Food insecurity is mounting. Poverty is on the rise all due to some bold reforms by President Bola Tinubu which were necessary to rescue the country from collapsing but hunger is crushing citizens to death still.
“Food stampedes would not have happened if people had hope and certainty of where their next meal comes from,” Nasir Aminu, a senior lecturer at Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK said on X Saturday.
Dubbed “Tinubunomics”, Tinubu’s reforms – removal of petrol subsidy and loosening currency controls – have left many Nigerians so poor that they struggle to eat three meals a day.
Almost two-thirds of households report being unable to eat “healthy, nutritious or preferred foods” in the past month, according to a report by the Abuja-based NBS — up almost 80 percent compared with five years ago.
Africa’s biggest oil producer is battling with rising inflationary pressures that have seen prices reach a record 28-year high, hitting 34.6 percent in November but the Nigerian leader projects the consumer price index falling to as low as 15 percent next year.
Food inflation which accounts for over 50 percent of the country’s headline inflation is nearly 40 percent, reflecting how high prices of items as basic as food is pushing ordinary Nigerians to the streets, scavenging for funfair and charity events.
“These incidents are avoidable but highlight the depth of hunger and deprivation in our society,” Rafsanjani who is also the head of Transparency International-Nigeria added.
“The government must urgently adopt measures to address food insecurity, create jobs, and alleviate the suffering of the people.”
Persistent insecurity coupled with flooding in the food-growing regions in Africa’s most populous nation is a ticking bomb that may explode with floodwaters expected to rise further as rivers swell and dams near capacity.
The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has raised serious concerns over the escalating floods in Nigeria, which are worsening the nation’s food security crisis.
These floods, affecting 29 states, have displaced around 200,000 people, impacted over 2.5 million, and caused significant destruction to farmland.
With nearly 31.8 million Nigerians already at risk of acute food insecurity, the loss of agricultural land is expected to deepen poverty and hunger in vulnerable communities.
“Tackling food insecurity in Nigeria will necessitate the use of climate-resilient practices, enhanced infrastructure, financial support, and technological advancements,” analysts at Lagos-based FBNQuest Capital Research said in a note last Friday.
“However, the most crucial elements will be policy reforms and collaborations between the public and private sectors within agriculture,” they added.
