The 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi has warned that Nigeria’s worsening hunger crisis will deepen unless the country elects leaders who place the welfare of citizens above political interests and prestige projects.
Reacting to the World Food Programme warning that more than 17 million people across northern Nigeria are at risk of acute hunger, Obi described the situation as a national tragedy that should never have occurred in a country blessed with vast agricultural potential.
In a statement posted on his X account over the weekend, Obi said the looming food crisis was “disheartening” and entirely avoidable, insisting that “nothing short of incompetent and irresponsible leadership” could have reduced Nigeria’s food basket to the epicentre of a hunger emergency.
He urged the Federal Government and state governments to move beyond political rhetoric by making transparent investments to secure farming communities, provide smallholder farmers with affordable support, and work closely with the World Food Programme to close funding gaps before the humanitarian situation deteriorates further.
Obi expressed concern that northern Nigeria is facing its worst hunger crisis in nearly a decade, noting that over 17 million people in nine northern states are already experiencing crisis-level food insecurity, while more than 35 million Nigerians nationwide could face severe hunger during the lean season.
He described reports that over 10,000 residents of Borno State have entered “catastrophic” hunger conditions as a profound national failure, arguing that Nigeria should not rank among the world’s hungriest countries despite its vast fertile land and abundant natural resources.
According to him, the crisis is driven largely by persistent insecurity, which has prevented farmers from accessing their farmlands, as banditry and insurgency continue to displace farming communities across the North.
Obi also faulted what he described as the government’s reliance on superficial interventions instead of implementing structural reforms capable of boosting agricultural productivity and revitalising rural infrastructure.
He maintained that Nigeria could overcome hunger and poverty by shifting its economic focus from consumption to production, stressing that the country must prioritise agriculture, secure its farmlands and invest in agro-industrial development.
“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 values the lives and livelihoods of the Nigerian people above grandiose road dualisation projects,” Obi stated.
