Olusola Bello
For the first time,a senior member of Muhammadu Buhari administration has admitted that insecurity is responsible for the high prices of foodstuff.
The noise has been loud enough from both farmers and consumers that attack farmers by Fulani herdsmen In some parts of the country and Boko Haram attacks on farmers in the North East have prevented farmers from going to farms, and this is what has led to the spikes in food prices.
A good number of Nigerians could not go farms for several months for fears of attacks by herdsmen that carry their cows to the farms to eat up what has been planted and when they react they are either maimed or killed and in some cases kidnapped for huge ransom
But President Muhammadu Buhari in reacting to the situation in his October 1, 2021 televised broadcast to the nation stated that the significant spike in the prices of food in Nigeria is caused by middlemen who have been buying and holding essential commodities.
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The president’s comments come as prices of major staple foods (legumes, cereals, proteins and vegetables) in Nigeria have risen at an average of about 98.85 and 99.9 per cents respectively in the last year.
“Unfortunately, as our food production capacity has increased, food prices continue going up due to shortages created by middlemen who have been buying and holding the essential commodity
But on Monday at the opening of a retreat for defence advisers/attaches, organised by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) in Abuja, magashi was very emphatic about his position on the reason for the hike in prices of foodstuff
He said the attacks by Boko Haram insurgents and the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the north-east, as well as banditry in the north-west and north-central, poses serious security threats to Nigeria.
According to him, illegal oil bunkering in some south-south states, piracy and militancy secessionist activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the south-east are also threats to the country.
“The threats currently facing Nigeria and understanding their socio-geographic context is pivotal for adapting appropriate and lasting counter-measures,” he said.
“Regrettably, the prevalence of these threats has continued to endanger not only national security and economic growth, but also food security.
“In particular, food security has been adversely affected with the attendant rise in the prices of foodstuff across the country which portends a new dimension of threat.
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“This makes it imperative for the various security agencies in the country to continue to collaborate to tackle this menace in order to create an enabling atmosphere for economic activities to thrive and to attract foreign direct investment.
“It also means that the security agencies must explore all avenues within their respective systems to come up with innovative ways of identifying and confronting the challenges facing us as a nation.”
Magashi said the defence adviser system has crucial roles to play by cooperating with the security and defence architectures in their respective countries.
He added that the conference would help participants appraise the shared vision of curbing insecurity through the combined efforts of all government entities.
Magashi also said the recent achievement of security agencies of influencing the surrender of over 14,000 insurgents is reassuring.