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Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi has blamed leadership failure for the worsening hunger crisis in northern Nigeria after a recent United Nations report warned that millions of people in the region face severe food insecurity.
In a statement on Saturday, Obi said the report was particularly troubling because northern Nigeria, regarded as the country’s food basket, possesses vast agricultural potential. He argued that the growing food insecurity reflected failures in governance rather than a lack of resources.
UN’s Warning on Northern Nigeria’s Food Crisis
The recent report from the UN about the impending food crisis in northern Nigeria is disheartening, more so because it is avoidable. Northern Nigeria is the nation’s food basket, and nothing short of incompetent and irresponsible…
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) July 4, 2026
Obi further said that he had previously urged the governments to move beyond political rhetoric by investing transparently in securing farming communities, supporting smallholder farmers with accessible resources and working closely with international organisations such as the World Food Programme(WFP) to close funding gaps before conditions deteriorate further.
The former Anambra State Governor said the latest UN assessment showed that more than 17 million people across nine northern states were experiencing crisis-level hunger, while over 35 million Nigerians nationwide could face food insecurity during the current lean season.
He expressed particular concern over reports that more than 10,000 residents of Borno State had entered what the UN classified as catastrophic hunger conditions, describing the situation as both a humanitarian tragedy and a national failure.
According to Obi, Nigeria should not rank among the world’s hungriest countries given its vast natural resources and extensive fertile land, particularly in the north.
“I am deeply troubled by the latest report from the UN’s World Food Programme, indicating that northern Nigeria is experiencing its most severe hunger crisis in nearly a decade. Over 17 million people in nine northern states face crisis-level hunger, with more than 35 million Nigerians nationwide at risk during this challenging season.
“The fact that over 10,000 residents of Borno State have entered “catastrophic” hunger conditions represents not only immense human suffering but also a profound national failure. Nigeria should not rank among the world’s hungriest nations, given its abundant resources, particularly the vast stretches of fertile, uncultivated land in the North,” he said.
He attributed the crisis to persistent insecurity and the inability of farmers to safely access their farmlands, saying banditry and insurgency had displaced agrarian communities and disrupted food production.
Obi argued that improving security in farming areas was essential to addressing the country’s food challenges and warned that continued reliance on short-term interventions would not resolve the underlying problems.
He urged the government to adopt policies to remove structural barriers to agricultural productivity, expand rural infrastructure and shift the country’s economic focus from consumption to production.
“This food crisis stems from two critical structural failures: insecurity and farmers’ inability to access their lands. Banditry and insurgency have turned agrarian communities into displacement zones. Until we secure our agricultural areas, we cannot secure our future.
“Our global hunger ranking continues to worsen because of our proclivity for adopting superficial measures that do little to boost agricultural productivity or transform rural infrastructure. We need to adopt policies that address the structural barriers to agricultural productivity and transform our land resources into agro-industrial output.
We can overcome hunger and poverty if we urgently shift our focus from consumption to production,”Obi added.
Obi maintained that Nigeria could overcome hunger and poverty through sustained investment in agriculture, adding that achieving food security would require leadership that places the welfare and livelihoods of citizens above major infrastructure projects.
“A New Nigeria, devoid of hunger and mass poverty – a Nigeria where we transform our arable land into productive acreage – remains attainable, but it demands leadership that prices the lives and livelihoods of the Nigerian people above grandiose road dualisation projects,” he said.
