By Dele Omojuyigbe
Food war has come visiting in Nigeria. It won’t go soon. It will have a long stay. It is the most destructive war which no round table conference can end. People should get ready for the long trek. Covid-19 is not responsible; herdsmen know the answer. President Buhari can’t be surprised either. Everything is happening under his watch. He should expect the food war.
A woman-colleague lamented yesterday that four small tomatoes sold for N200 in the market. We ain’t seen nothing yet! Food availability, accessibility and use confirm a country’s food security by World Health Organisation’s standard. No pretences, we know where we are in Nigeria as regards that.
WHO should ask Nigerian herdsmen why they stopped the ground from producing food. They should ask them why they have been killing farmers, and under the nose of this government! Herders believe that we must worship their cows and, respectfully, eat the cow meat as breakfast, lunch and dinner, daily. Good reasoning!
If history will ever be kind to Buhari’s government in any area of governance, history will need to be corrupt and partial to be kind. History will have to search and search before finally smuggling one inconsequential ‘achievement’ of the government in eight years to fill the yawning space.
Just at sunset, President Buhari will realise that his government, in all its full years, barely succeeded in sharing values with cows and herdsmen before Nigerians.
Government apologists may prefer to parry the food war tag and embrace its euphemistic appellations like food crisis and food insecurity. But spade has no other name! Food war is here.
General Olusegun Obasanjo’s military government came in the 70’s and introduced Operation Feed the Nation, OFN. The programme encouraged Nigerians to return to the farm to increase food production and promote national growth and development. Nigerians can remember that. In spite of the programme’s shortcomings, it was well intended. Obasanjo did it.
President Shehu Shagari succeeded Obasanjo.
He bought the idea of Nigerians going back to the farm. He repackaged OFN and called it Green Revolution, all in the same attempt to ensure self-sufficiency in food production in the country. Green Revolution had its shortcomings too but Shagari’s intention was good. We thank him.
How does this government encourage people to return to the farm? What is the government’s intention for looking away for so long while herdsmen destroy farms and kill farmers? A different way to ensure self-sufficiency in food production? And here is a government that mouths food security most.
We remember Obasanjo. We remember Shagari. We will remember Buhari.
Dr Dele Omojuyigbe, is a senior lecturer at the Nigeria Institute of Journalism, Ogba, Lagos.