Barely one week from today, we will join others across the world to bid 2024 farewell and welcome the new year, 2025.
For Nigeria and Nigerians, 2024 has been a year of mixed feelings. As we await the habitual New Year prophecies, one thing is certain: there is hunger in the land, and nothing suggests it will abate anytime soon. This unexplained famine remains wrapped in fathomless Nigerian mysteries that have tended to defy demystification.
The Stampedes
From Oyo to Anambra and the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria lost over sixty lives, including those of innocent children, to stampedes arising from funfair and the distribution of palliatives in recent days. This grim statistic is a stark reminder of the harsh realities facing Nigerians.
As a matter of fact, the soaring prices of food and other essential commodities in the midst of hunger have left people in the depths of despair. The large turnout at venues for palliative distribution is their act of desperation to survive.
Ironically, the incidents in Abuja and Anambra occurred while the nation was still mourning the tragedy in Oyo. This suggests a failure to learn from past incidences--one of the towering features of the Nigerian nation. These tragedies underline how leadership failures have plunged the nation into such dire straits. Hunger of this magnitude reflects a struggle for survival borne out of systemic governance failures. Successive administrations, particularly over the past eight years, have failed to make farmlands safe for farmers, worsening the nation's food insecurity.
Nigerians lament the perilous state of security, a core government responsibility. Non-state actors have forced farmers to abandon their farmlands, resulting in reduced agricultural output. While climate change has also negatively impacted farm yields, the failure to ensure farmers' safety remains central to the current food crisis. Many farmers have been abducted while tilling their lands, forced to pay ransoms, and subjected to unimaginable horrors.
To compound the situation, the government has remained obstinate in implementing International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank-supported economic policies that erode citizens' economic power. The path forward requires the government to prioritize farmers' safety and provide them with modern agricultural tools to encourage a return to farming.
Battling Food Insecurity
It is difficult to rationalize how a nation with an area of 923,769 square kilometres, approximately 34 million hectares of arable land, and a population exceeding 230 million is grappling with food scarcity. This paradox suggests deeper systemic issues.
The irony is profound! The most populous country in Africa, with vast arable land suitable for cultivating diverse food and cash crops, is facing imminent hunger. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, food inflation stood at 39.93% in November 2024, a significant increase from 32.84% in the same period in 2023. The scarcity driving this inflation arises from factors such as terrorism, conflicts, especially in rural areas, which are the nation's farming hubs, and climate challenges, all of which have kept farmers away from their fields.
The consequences are dire. Malnutrition rates are skyrocketing. As of June 2024, an estimated 11 million Nigerian children were said to be malnourished, with one in three children under five experiencing severe food poverty. Alarmingly, Nigeria has the second-highest burden of stunted children globally, with about two million children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
Last month, Save the Children International (SCI) warned that an additional one million Nigerian children could suffer from acute malnutrition by April 2025 without urgent intervention. Of this number, about 1.8 million may experience Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), which compromises immunity and turns treatable illnesses like diarrhoea into potentially lethal conditions. SCI's projection represents an alarming 80% increase in SAM cases.
A Failed Political Leadership
The root of these crises lies in failed political leadership. Endemic corruption continues to rank among Nigeria's most significant issues, alongside the cost of living, insecurity, and unemployment. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), $1.26 billion--equivalent to 35% of Nigeria's GDP--was paid in cash bribes to public officials in 2023.
Curiously, corruption often goes unchallenged when perpetrators share ethnic, tribal, or regional affiliations with their critics. This selective outrage fuels systemic impunity. For instance, citizens often celebrate public officials accused of embezzlement when they secure bail, as long as they belong to the same ethnic or religious group. This is yet another of Nigeria's mysteries.
The 2025 budget highlights this governance failure. Despite a budget deficit of N13 trillion, the Presidential Villa allocated over N882.86 billion to meals, travel, renovations, and vehicle purchases. The breakdown reveals N375.187 million for foodstuff and catering at the State House, N171.027 million for the Vice President's operations, and additional millions for refreshments and other luxuries across various offices. Similarly, N1.1 billion is earmarked for replacing SUVs, while N3.66 billion will fund operational vehicle purchases. The State House's expenditure includes N164 million for vehicle tyres and N285 million for the Chief of Staff vehicles. Meanwhile, the presidency's travel and catering budget stands at N9.4 billion, and the National Assembly's allocation is N344.85 billion.
This spending spree extends to state governors and their legislative counterparts, exacerbating public disenchantment. Such systemic excesses, amidst widespread poverty, foster hopelessness among citizens. Many Nigerians no longer trust the leadership, police, or even the judiciary.
Erosion Of Trust
Who would have imagined that 64 years after independence, Nigerians would turn away from the judiciary and seek justice from a radio program? In Abuja, Brekete Family, a Human Rights Radio and Television station, has become a platform for conflict resolution. Tens of citizens now present complaints to the station, bypassing the courts entirely. This phenomenon underscores a critical loss of faith in the judicial system, which ought to be the symbol of hope and fairness.
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However, citizens have lost trust not only in the judiciary but also in the police, which is central to the administration of the criminal justice system in the country. Most Nigerians are mistrustful of the Police, and to an average Nigerian, they are enemy number one. When Kemi Badenoch reflected on what she claimed was her experience with officers of the Nigeria Police Force, it generated a chain of reactions.
But most Nigerians who took to social media painted very grim pictures of their experiences with the police. And then, early this week, something happened: a 35-year-old Jimoh Abdulqadir died (or was murdered) in police custody where he was detained over an alleged debt of N200,000. Another sad reminder of the reasons Nigerians don't trust the police.
As we prepare to usher in 2025, Nigeria's plethora of challenges--food insecurity, restoring trust in leadership, and reforming systemic corruption, among others--require a concerted effort. Without decisive action, Nigeria's mysteries will remain entrenched, perpetuating the cycle of hardship and disenchantment. Now, more than ever before, is the time for real change. Merry Christmas!
