The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi has described Ukraine’s humanitarian food assistance to Nigeria as a national disgrace while tackling the country’s leadership.
Mr Obi wondered why a country officially prosecuting a brutal war of national survival with its powerful neighbor, Russia, has enough food to share with a country endowed with all needed human and natural resources that is officially at peace.
While pondering on this, the former Anambra State governor added: “It is disheartening that our once economically confident nation, blessed with vast arable land and abundant natural resources, now relies on a war-torn Ukraine for food assistance.
“This national disgrace stems from years of leadership failure, necessitating urgent reflection and a reordering of our national priorities and resource management and allocation. Instructively, Ukraine, with a population of 43 million on 603,728 km2, outshines Northern Nigeria, covering 744,249 km2 with a young, energetic population exceeding 100 million.
“In 2015, Ukraine’s GDP per capita was $2125, compared to Nigeria’s $2680. By 2022, despite being at war, Ukraine’s GDP per capita exceeded $4000, while Nigeria’s regressed to $2184. Ukraine cultivates over 60% of its arable land, whereas Nigeria has over 60% uncultivated arable land.
“Despite the conflict, Ukraine feeds itself, and exports agricultural products worth over $ 25 billion which is about the same value as our crude oil export earnings, and it serves as a strategic global food supplier, even providing aid to a peaceful yet unproductive Nigeria. To overcome this embarrassment, we must aggressively reorder our priorities by investing resources in productive sectors like agriculture.
“Addressing insecurity is crucial for farmers to return to their fields, enabling a productive manufacturing sector and supporting small businesses.
“In 4 to 5 years, this concerted effort can reverse the current trend, leading us toward a productive and New Nigeria that I believe is possible and within reach.”
Ukraine had donated 25,000 tons of wheat to Nigeria last week as a move towards tackling the emergency food crisis-affecting over 1.3 million people in the northeast.
The development bolsters the United Nations World Food Programme, WFP, response in northeast Nigeria amidst inflation and food price spikes.
