Monday’s declaration of a national emergency on food security by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the second since assuming office on May 29, 2023, underscores the commitment of the renewed hope administration to ensuring that no Nigerian goes to bed hungry.

President Tinubu, who made the declaration while opening the 6th African Regional Conference on Irrigation and Drainage in Abuja, urged expanded irrigation infrastructure and participatory water resource management nationwide.

Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, Tinubu appealed to African nations to adopt innovative strategies in addressing the continent’s irrigation and water management challenges.

He described the conference theme, “Tackling Irrigation Development and Water Management Crisis in Africa,” as a clarion call to action for sustainable agriculture and economic resilience.

Africa has continued to face major challenges in unlocking its irrigation potential due to inadequate infrastructure, financial constraints, climate change, and governance issues. Thus, the conference offers a vital platform for the continent to collectively chart a path forward.

It is noteworthy that Nigeria has more than 3.1 million hectares of irrigable land located around key river basins such as the Niger and Benue. In its bid to explore these resources, the federal government had completed several landmark initiatives under the Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria (TRIMING) project.

On the essence of the TRIMING project, the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Professor Joseph Utsev, noted that its successor, the Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria (SPIN) project, would address outstanding gaps while optimising the economic value of water resources to support food security.

“With the TRIMING project winding down, Nigeria is poised to begin implementation of the SPIN project in partnership with the World Bank,” Utsev said.

Remarkably, barely two months into his presidency, Tinibu on July 13, 2023, declared an immediate state of emergency on food insecurity to tackle the increase in food prices. The rise in food prices across Nigeria had escalated due to the impact of government’s policies such as the removal of subsidy on petrol, among others.

Some of the government’s steps as part of the state of emergency were in the short, medium and long term. In the immediate term, the federal government was to deploy some savings from the fuel subsidy removal into the agriculture sector, focusing on revamping the sector.

The president also directed that all matters pertaining to food and water availability and affordability, as essential livelihood items, be included within the purview of the National Security Council (NSC).

In an audacious move to bring the president’s declaration to fruition, Vice President Kashim Shettima had in November 2024, implored the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit (PFSCU) to walk the talk in the bid to ensure food security in Nigeria. He said Nigerians are only keen on results rather than rhetoric.

He observed that while there have been many presidential initiatives, the challenge had always been implementation, even as vice president said the PFSCU is in a vantage position to catalyse the nation’s food security challenges into progress.

Shettima gave the charge during the second meeting of the PFSCU constituted as part of efforts by the Tinubu administration to tackle hunger and hardship in Nigeria.

The vice president had in July 2024, inaugurated the PFSCU formed under the Presidential Economic Coordinating Council (PECC), following a memo submitted to President Tinubu on the need to come up with a food systems council to address food insecurity in the country.

Speaking during the second meeting of the PFSCU with the states, development partners, and other critical stakeholders, Shettima urged the unit to move beyond rural farming and initiate urban agriculture the way it is done in countries like Cuba and other advanced nations.

He said, “We have to walk the talk. I will be in Calabar, and we will go to northern Cross River to flag off the wet season farming. Nigerians want to see what we are doing. And Hon. Minister, I want you to robustly engage the private sector. I want the Hon. Minister of Agriculture to drive the process.

“So, let’s walk the talk. This presidential initiative is a very beautiful one, but we have had a lot of presidential initiatives from time immemorial. It’s the implementation that counts, and we are in a unique position to catalyse our challenges into progress.”

Blueprint commends President Tinubu’s resilience and unwavering commitment at ensuring that Nigeria is food secure. We are, however, disturbed by the fact that not much had been achieved from the president’s initial declaration of emergency on food security.

While not unoblivious of the 1.76 per cent growth of the agriculture sector in Q4 2024 and its contribution of 25.59 per cent to the overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 3.84 per cent for the period, it is expedient to urge the government to fine tune its current emergency on food security aimed at impacting positively on Nigerians.

The declaration of emergency on food security without a robust and pragmatic framework as well as its meticulous implementation will be tantamount to mere rhetoric, waste of time and resources. Nigerians are eager to see results. Those saddled with the responsibility to carry out the president’s mandate on food security must deliver, and fast, because it is said that a hungry man is an angry man. (Blueprint Editorial)