By Osita Chinedu
The Federal Government of Nigeria has reacted to the criticism of Nigeria receiving food aid from Ukraine.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris Mohammed stated that receiving grains from Ukraine does not make Nigeria a weak or failed state. He further stated that about 60 percent of Egypt’s grain comes from Ukraine as well.
The Minister, according to a report made available by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) made this declaration at the Leadership Annual Conference and Award 2023 held in Abuja.
In his words, “The fact that we are having challenges at the moment does not make Nigeria a failed state. Therefore, accepting grains from Ukraine does not make Nigeria or Egypt failed countries.
“It is true that Nigeria is facing some challenges and President Bola Tinubu is aware of this and he does not shy away from it.”
Tam-George, a guest analyst on Channels Television breakfast show ‘Sunrise Daily’ explained that Nigeria depending on a country like Ukraine for food aid only shows the extent of economic and leadership problems the country is into.
According to the analyst, “Last week, we got reports, headlines all over the country that Nigeria is receiving 25,000 tonnes of grains from Ukraine. At first, I thought that was sarcasm because, why would a war-torn country like Ukraine be making humanitarian food donation to a country like Nigeria?
“So, it shows you the degree of problems. Nigeria has some of the best weather conditions, we have some of the best soil conditions, we have the population to grow massively into agriculture and make sure we bring food sustainability to our people.
“Why should we be receiving grain from a war-torn country like Ukraine? These are massive indications that we have serious economic crises but more importantly, we have a serious leadership crises.”
The Labour Party Presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential elections, Peter Obi took to his X handle in reaction to the defence put up by Mohammed Idris.
He said, “After my comments on the embarrassing grain assistance which Nigeria received from a war-torn Ukraine, some government spinners in defence tried throwing up a comparison pointing at Egypt which also got grains from Ukraine.
“In my remarks, I stated that such an offer, though aimed at ameliorating the impact of food crises in Nigeria, remains awkward to the nation, considering that we, as a nation with more fertile lands and a working population now receive aid from a war-ravaged nation like Ukraine. Egypt was particularly mentioned by the spinners, to have received the same grains from Ukraine, long before Nigeria did (September last year). And that Egypt is still dependent on Ukraine for its wheat and much of its fertilizer needs. It is important to clarify that over the years, Egypt imports 60% of its grains, out of which about 22% is from Ukraine.
“The imported grain provides half the flour that goes into a subsidized bread program that feeds some 72 million Egyptians daily. Egypt, therefore, just enjoys a business relationship with their grain supplier, Ukraine, whereas, in the case of Nigeria, it was an emergency donation to help us fight a hunger epidemic that has resulted from economic mismanagement. To illustrate further, on the Global Hunger Index, Egypt ranks 57th while our dear nation ranks 109th, out of 125 nations measured.
“So, while Egypt has a hunger level considered moderate, Nigeria is in the league of 20 hungriest countries in the world, with a hunger level considered serious. Egypt, without facing hunger, and not in the list of hungriest nations, exported over 9 billion Dollars of agricultural products in 2023. May I also point out that our grains donor, Ukraine still maintains a hunger level considered low, with a ranking of 44th on the global hunger index, 7th highest grain producer, exporting almost 23 billion Dollars, despite years of war! The situation is actually painful because, we have all it takes to even surpass Ukraine in grain production if we were a more serious and productive nation. “The vast arable lands in the north, if put into productive use, will not only give us sufficient food for local consumption, but even the surplus for export,” Obi concluded.
