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Insecurity: Residents raise alarm as 3.7 million face acute hunger in Nigeria’s North East

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The recent report by the International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC, that 3.7 million people were at risk of food insecurity in North East Nigeria did not only raise concern among Nigerians, it also made a mess of the Right to Food Act of 2023.

The Right to Food Act, which came into force in March 2023, mandates the government to ensure food security for Nigerians, but the ICRC’s report and other recent reports have shown the government’s abysmal failure to live up to that mandate, as millions of Nigerians face hunger and malnutrition on a daily basis.

The ICRC has raised the alarm over worsening food insecurity in conflict-affected areas of North East Nigeria, where more than 3.7 million people are currently struggling to access enough food.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), 3.7 million children in the North East are also malnourished and struggling with stunting, wasting, and anaemia.

The FAO report noted that the most affected states include Yobe, Sokoto, Zamfara, and Katsina, where acute malnutrition has reached Phase Four (Emergency Level) in some local government areas. Maiduguri, Jere, Mobbar, Nganzai, and Mashi are among the locations that are facing dire nutrition crises, with 178,000 children and women from conflict-affected communities most at risk.

Meanwhile, UNICEF has called for bold policy actions to end child food poverty, including strengthening food systems to make nutritious foods more accessible and affordable, expanding nutrition services to prevent and treat malnutrition in early childhood, and enhancing social protection programmes, including cash transfers and food aid for vulnerable families.

The Child Nutrition Fund (CNF) is a UNICEF-led initiative designed to prevent, detect, and treat severe child food poverty and malnutrition. It is hoped that malnourished children will find succour through the CNF.

Earlier this year, the World Food Programme (WFP) had predicted that about 11 million people across the six states in the North East and the North West of Nigeria would be facing acute food insecurity. The report premised the prediction on the persistent insecurity, skyrocketing food and fuel prices, climate shocks, and mass displacement, which would leave millions struggling to access food and essential nutrition.

Another report by UNICEF had also highlighted that one in three Nigerian children under five, approximately 11 million, were experiencing severe food poverty, making them 50 percent more likely to suffer from life-threatening wasting. The report identified inadequate nutrition, aggressive marketing of ultra-processed foods, and economic hardships as key factors driving child food poverty.

The ICRC’s latest report was made known in Abuja on Monday, July 21, by its Public Relations Officer, Aliyu Dawobe. He explained that many of those affected were formerly farmers who had provided for their communities but were displaced due to years of conflict.

The statement noted that violence had forced families away from their homes, restricted access to farmland, and disrupted local food production systems.

Head of the ICRC office in Maiduguri, Diana Japaridze, graphically illustrated the growing pressure on households as the lean season began and food stocks dwindled.

“This is the period when families must begin buying food, but many conflict-affected households simply can’t afford it. They’re forced to drastically limit their intake,” she said.

She added that food insecurity was also fuelling rising rates of malnutrition, particularly among children under five, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women.

“In response, the ICRC is supporting malnutrition stabilisation centres and offering community education programmes to help families care for vulnerable children.

“To tackle the root causes of food insecurity and support long-term resilience, the ICRC has launched an agricultural assistance programme. The initiative supports both rainy and dry season farming and targets thousands of farming households.

“This year alone, more than 21,000 farming households have received seeds adapted to local conditions, along with planting tools to ease labour and improve efficiency,” she said.

She explained that the support included a mix of field crops and vegetables, such as rice, maize, tomato, and okra, all aimed at increasing dietary diversity and nutritional value.

“Farmers are also being trained in sustainable farming practices to ensure continuity beyond ICRC’s intervention.

“At a systemic level, and in collaboration with the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC), we recently repaired a vital water source to ensure continuous access for the council’s seed testing and greenhouse facilities,” she added.

In spite of these efforts, Japaridze warned that the lean season remained a critical challenge for many farmers who still could not produce enough to feed their families.

However, the ICRC’s report has again brought to the fore how precarious the issue of food insecurity has become, not only in the North East but also all over Nigeria.

Reacting to the report, some community voices had emphasised the urgency on the ground, charging the government to respond swiftly to avert the impending danger.

A community leader in Dikwa, Modu Umar, decried the current level of food shortage in his locality, saying, “Right now, we face severe food shortages. Some families walk long distances daily just to collect and sell firewood to afford food. Farming is the only real solution.”

Also, a 70-year-old farmer from Gajibo, Churi Ibrahim, painted a bleak picture of the ongoing security risks that people are exposed to while searching for food. He said: “Some people trek three hours just to reach their farms. By the time you get there, you’re exhausted, and returning home takes even longer,” he said.

For Bintu Konto, a mother of five, despite the fear and hardship, local farmers remained determined to brave all odds. “Even when they’re afraid, they still go. If we don’t farm during the rainy season, we’ll have nothing to eat,” she said.

Recall that earlier in the year, a video emerged on social media, where about 40,000 Nigerians, according to the voice in the video, were being received in Niger Republic, where they had run to take refuge, following the biting hardship and hunger afflicting them at the time.

Prior to that incident, Nigerians had taken to the streets in their thousands, in states like Niger, Kano, Oyo, Lagos, and Sokoto, among others, to protest what they called the high cost of essential food items, whose prices suddenly went beyond the reach of ordinary men in the street.

Starting from Niger to Kano, Sokoto, Lagos, Oyo, and Katsina, among other states, the masses sang the same song. They said they could no longer bear the pains of the government’s economic policies, which had made life unbearable and hellish for them. They said most households could no longer afford to buy food in the market, as prices kept rising at an astronomical rate and on a daily basis; a situation they claimed had rendered them less than humans.

With Nigeria ranking among the top 20 countries with the highest burden of severe food poverty, stakeholders stressed that without urgent intervention, the situation could spiral into a full-blown humanitarian disaster.

However, in the Right to Food Act, the Nigerian constitution recognises food as a fundamental human right and obligates the government to make food available, accessible, and affordable to all Nigerians. Regrettably, policy implementation remains weak, and there is no long-term strategy to achieve the law’s objectives.

Executive Director of the Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation (GIFSEP), Dr Michael Terungwa David, noted that though the Right to Food Act was a constitutional amendment signed into law in March 2023, a law is only as strong as its enforcement, and its enforcement is only as strong as the awareness around it.

“Food is not a privilege; it is a basic human right. Yet, millions of Nigerians still struggle with hunger, malnutrition, and food insecurity. The Right to Food Act is a significant policy that addresses these challenges by ensuring access to nutritious, sufficient, and affordable food for all. It mandates the government to take responsibility for implementing measures that will make food available, accessible, and adequate for every citizen,” he said.

However, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare said it was implementing some nutrition intervention policies in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.

According to the director and head of the nutrition department at the ministry, Mrs Ladidi Bako-Aiyegbusi, intentional investment in comprehensive nutrition services across the country has the potential to save up to $22 million in healthcare treatment costs related to hunger and malnutrition.

She, therefore, urged lawmakers to ensure pro-nutrition budgetary allocation to key ministries and departments responsible for the delivery of nutrition-specific and -sensitive programmes by ensuring timely release of adequate funds, monitoring expenditures, and making sure monies are properly expended. She urged the legislators to schedule a full-fledged annual debate on nutrition status in their federal constituencies.

For Mallam Sabiu Abubakar, an educationist from the North East, the ICRC’s latest report shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody who is abreast of the security and environmental issues around the North East region of Nigeria.

“Nobody should be surprised about the report. In fact, the number of people faced with acute shortage of food in the zone could be more if proper data is taken. This situation is so dire that the government needs to respond urgently to avert the looming disaster.

“The combined activities of Boko Haram Islamist sect, bandits, and most recently, Lakurawa, which has prevented farmers from doing their farm work as most people are in the Internally Displaced Persons’ homes, has made it practically impossible for the people to engage in farm work. Therefore, you don’t need any soothsayer to tell you that the people will face acute food shortage.

“Added to that is the recent flood that ravaged most parts of Borno State. It also affected agricultural activities so much that one of the resultant effects is the current food shortage.

“So, apart from making food available as a short-term measure to arrest the situation on ground, the government should be sincere in the fight against insurgency in the area. Security of lives and property of the people should be guaranteed. Once that is done, the people are not lazy; they are hardworking farmers who are able, not only to feed themselves but also other Nigerians outside the zone. So, the government should act fast to flush out all kinds of criminal elements, ranging from Boko Haram to Lakurawa, bandits, killer herdsmen, and kidnappers from the zone so that the people can go back to their homes and resume their normal lives,” he stated.

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Trump administration cuts energy projects, freezes New York funding

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The Trump administration has announced plans to terminate dozens of clean energy projects and freeze billions of dollars for major projects in New York, intensifying a stand-off with Democrats over a US government shutdown.

US media outlets described the moves announced by the energy and transportation departments as part of the administration’s efforts to pressure Democrats in Congress to agree on a deal to end the shutdown.

US President Donald Trump had raced to enact hard-right policies even before the shutdown began after midnight on Tuesday, threatening mass firings and to slash government departments, and blaming Democrats for Congress’ failure to resolve a funding stand-off.

The Department of Energy announced on Thursday “the termination of 321 financial awards supporting 223 projects, resulting in a savings of approximately $7.56 billion for American taxpayers.”

It said in a statement that those projects — overseen by the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and other bodies — “did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs… and would not provide a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars.”

However, recipients of federal funding have 30 days to appeal against a termination decision, and some have already begun the process, the statement said.

It did not list the projects in question.

In a post on social media platform X, Russell Vought, who heads the powerful Office of Management and Budget, called the slashed projects “Green New Scam funding” that was used to advance “the Left’s climate agenda”.

He listed the states affected by the decision. They include California, New York and 14 others — all blue states where Trump failed to win in the 2024 presidential elections.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said the Trump administration had decided to cancel “up to $1.2 billion” slated for a major hydrogen energy project, threatening tens of thousands of jobs.

“In Trump’s America, energy policy is set by the highest bidder, economics and common sense be damned,” Newsom said in a statement, vowing to keep pursuing a “clean energy strategy… no matter what DC tries to dictate.”

In New York — the home state of top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — the Department of Transportation announced on Wednesday it was freezing nearly $18 billion in federal funding for two major infrastructure projects, the Second Avenue subway and Hudson Tunnel.

The move takes aim at diversity, equity and inclusion policies, according to the department’s statement, saying that subsidizing projects with “race- and sex-based contracting requirements… is unconstitutional, counter to civil rights laws, and a waste of taxpayer resources.”

The funds would be frozen until a “quick administrative review is complete,” it said.

“Thanks to the Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries shutdown, however, USDOT’s review of New York’s unconstitutional practices will take more time,” it added, saying that the department “has been forced to furlough the civil rights staff responsible for conducting this review.”

New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said in a statement that halting funding for “critical infrastructure projects” was “political payback and an attack on New York.”

“Donald Trump has been clear: he is intent on using his reckless government shutdown to hurt the American people,” she said.

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Shettima returns to Abuja after attending UNGA, meetings in Germany

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Vice President Kashim Shettima has returned to Abuja after representing President Bola Tinubu at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York and high-level engagements in Germany.

The vice president’s aircraft touched down at the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, in the early hours of Thursday, where he was received by senior government officials.

During the week-long engagements, Shettima delivered the President’s national statement at the UNGA, calling for comprehensive reforms of the global body.

Vice President Kashim Shettima is being welcomed some government officials at the airport. Photo: State House

He also advocated Africa’s sovereignty over its estimated $700 billion mineral resources and strengthened Nigeria’s partnerships with the United Kingdom, the Gates Foundation, and other international stakeholders.

In New York, Shettima met with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who commended Nigeria’s bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

The vice president also showcased Nigeria’s $200 billion energy transition opportunities to global investors and assured members of the Nigerian diaspora of continued engagement in the Tinubu administration’s policies and programmes.

He later proceeded to Germany for further strategic meetings before returning to the country.

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Lagos unveils artisan certification to curb building collapse

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The Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory has launched a new certification and training programme for artisans in the construction industry as part of efforts to stem the spate of building collapses in the state.

The initiative, known as the Certified Structural Integrated Programme, was unveiled at a stakeholders’ forum held in Ese-Offin and Badagry, where block moulders, bricklayers, concrete mixers, steel fabricators and welders converged to pledge support for safer construction practices.

In a statement on Thursday by the Lagos Government, General Manager of LSMTL, Olayinka Abdul, said the programme marked a decisive step in tackling recurring tragedies linked to substandard construction materials.

“Without artisans, there is no construction. But with you, we have the power to ensure every construction is safe, sound, and secure. We need to earnestly curb episodes of collapse in high-water-prone communities, and we do not want such in your community. It ends today,” he said.

According to the statement, the CSIP is a five-year assessment programme aimed at certifying construction materials as fit-for-purpose.

It will also produce an official directory of approved block moulders, concrete mixers and steel fabricators, to whom developers will be directed for supplies.

“This is not just about enforcement; it is about partnership and empowerment. Together, we can forge an unbreakable alliance that makes Lagos a model for building safety and integrity,” Abdul added.

Technical experts at the forum highlighted the scientific backing for the initiative. Director of the Soil and Geotechnics Unit, Engr. Abimbola Adebayo, stressed the need for mandatory soil tests before construction.

Similarly, Kayode Akinfeleye of the Technical Services Department advised builders to ensure architectural drawings are obtained and preserved, describing them as “a core requirement in the Lagos building process.”

Artisan guild leaders welcomed the initiative. Chairman of the National Association of Block Moulders of Nigeria, Alhaji Fabiyi Oyeleke, described frequent collapses as “disheartening” and commended the forum as a step in the right direction.

On his part, Chairman of the Lagos State Bricklayers Association, Mr. Fashina Aro, noted the peculiarities of Lagos’s swampy terrain and urged all stakeholders to ensure materials and soil tests are completed before bricklayers commence work on any site.

Building collapse has been a persistent challenge in Lagos, with many lives lost and substantial property damage over the years.

In recent incidents, emergency responders have had to rescue workers from collapsed structures.

PUNCH Online reports that rescue teams pulled eight workers from the debris of a collapsed building in September.

Reports by the Building Collapse Prevention Guild show Lagos accounts for about 55% of recorded building collapse incidents in Nigeria over the past several decades.

In response, Lagos has taken steps to strengthen bodies like the Lagos State Building Control Agency, enhancing enforcement, monitoring, and regulation of building standards.

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