Poor children feeding from the dustbin
Ever wondered how the poorest of the poor are coping with the current hunger pandemic sweeping through Nigeria? With about 160 million Nigerians now living in multidimensional poverty, and the middle class drastically eroded due to the harsh economic policies of the Bola Tinubu administration, the very poor and vulnerable have largely lost their fall-back, protective social shield. Many of the relations they used to run to for help have become vulnerable too.
As a result, a lot of people, especially children, can be seen rummaging dustbins for food scraps. Some of them crowd around the gates of restaurants in bigger cities with cellophane bags ready to scoop leftover food to take home. A recent viral video featured a crowd of hungry young Nigerians somewhere in the North scooping rice mixed with dust and sand from a fallen truck, calling it a “gift from God”.
It was not surprising that the #EndBadGovernance, #EndHunger protests of August this year deteriorated into riots in the North, with food stores and warehouses broken into and looted. Some of them were arrested for displaying Russian flags and arraigned on charges of “treasonable felony”.
Unfortunately, the original cause of the hunger – insecurity – does not seem to be abating. Indeed, the Defence Headquarters announced last week that a new group of terrorist jihadists called Lakurawa, drawn from Niger, Mali, Algeria, and Libya, has taken up position in Sokoto State near our border with Niger. They have imposed Islamic rule, and are conquering more communities to increase their “empire”.
They were reportedly invited by Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders, another armed terrorist group attacking farming communities all over the country. Officially, Miyetti Allah is not even recognized as a threat. Indeed, a new Ministry of Livestock Development was recently created for them by the Tinubu regime.
Usually, when a government makes harsh economic decisions, it also provides social cushions for the citizens. Turkmenistan, for instance, offers its citizens free water, gas, and electricity to cushion the high cost of oil.
But in Nigeria, the Federal Government promised subsidised rice at N40,000 per standard bag, but it still sells for up to N120,000 in the open market. The promised Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, public transport vehicles are nowhere to be found, and even the zero VAT and duties on food imports which Tinubu promised in August is yet to be implemented.
In spite of the hunger and hardship, government officials are still living it up, yet they falsely claim they “feel” our pain.
Several young people have resorted to openly insulting and cursing our leaders and their perceived acolytes on social media. These and the August protests are warning shots.
The Federal and State governments must end hunger and hardship in Nigeria today or give way to those who can!
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Poor children feeding from the dustbin