A former governorship candidate in Zamfara State and aide to the immediate past Governor, Bello Matawalle, Dr. Sani Shinkafi, has passionately called on President Bola Tinubu to swiftly tackle the pressing challenges of hunger, starvation, disease, and insecurity in Nigeria.
Shinkafi’s plea followed a series of tragic stampedes during food distribution events in Ibadan, Oyo State,Anambra State, and Abuja.
These events underscored the dire state of food insecurity in the country.
According to police reports, the Abuja incident claimed at least 10 lives, with many others hospitalized.
In Anambra State, the Okija community mourned the loss of 20 residents who perished during a similar rice distribution program.
Meanwhile, in Ibadan, Oyo State, over 35 people, mostly children, tragically lost their lives in a stampede at a carnival.
In a statement signed on behalf of the Patriots for the Advancement of Peace and Social Development, Shinkafi expressed profound grief over the incidents, praying for divine comfort for the bereaved families.
“We are saddened by these national tragedies during this festival period and urge security agents to be proactive and ensure public safety and order at palliative distribution centres,” he said.
Shinkafi acknowledged the well-meaning intentions of the organizers but stressed the need for better planning.
“No doubt the organisers of these welfare distributions had good intentions to touch the lives of the less privileged; the tragedies that followed make it imperative that security agents must be notified on time to ensure seamless distributions and forestall recurrence,” he emphasized.
He lamented the paradox of Nigeria’s vast agricultural potential and its struggles with food insecurity, noting, “With over 36 million hectares of arable land in Nigeria, there ought not to be food shortage, hunger, starvation, and disease.”
Shinkafi urged governments at all levels to prioritize agricultural development, alleviate poverty, and combat unemployment in line with Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, which mandates that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”
Highlighting the urgency of the matter, Shinkafi called for a state of emergency in food production and proposed increased budgetary allocation to agriculture in the 2025 appropriation bill.
He advocated for measures including the recruitment of extension workers, provision of incentives to farmers, and access to affordable credit schemes for small, medium, and large-scale farmers.
He also underscored the importance of modern machinery and infrastructure, such as access roads, to ensure efficient transportation of farm produce and reduce inflation, which has soared to a three-decade high of 34.6%.
“As we approach the new year, it is time to take governance seriously and provide the much-needed dividends of democracy to assuage the sufferings of citizens,” Shinkafi concluded.