Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has expressed concern over the widespread hardship in the land..
Commenting on the stampede that occurred during a rice auction the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) organized to ameliorate hardship in the land, Obi said it was unfortunate that Nigerians were struggling to feed despite the enormous wealth of the nation.
The auction aimed to provide 25kg bags of rice at a discounted price of N10,000 per bag to alleviate the impact of inflation and the high cost of food prices in the country.
During the auction, no fewer than seven people reportedly died in a stampede during the sales of the rice at the Customs Zonal Office at Harvey Road, Yaba, Lagos at the weekend.
However, in a series of tweets on his X handle, on Monday, he berated the federal government for” getting things wrong” and forcing Nigerians to be united by hunger and starvation.
“I read the saddening reports of how the search for cheap rice claimed the lives of some Nigerians in Lagos. According to the report, a massive crowd of hungry Nigerians had besieged the Zonal Office of the Nigerian Customs Service in Yaba, Lagos, to purchase the discounted 25kg bags of rice being offered by the Customs Service.
“In the course of the heavy stampede that ensued, some lives were lost. It is heartbreaking to think that despite all the wealth of our nation, Nigerians are losing their lives in their desperate quest to buy cheaper food in the face of the growing hunger and starvation in the country.
“This sad occurrence reflects the level of hardship, hunger, and starvation prevalent in the country. Today, we are one big nation united by hunger and starvation, to the point of dying to make ends meet,” Obi said.
The former Anambra State governor urged the federal government to invest aggressively in the agricultural sector to curb the food crisis in the country.
He said that the uncultivated land in the North is Nigeria’s big asset and that such investment will result large-scale food production and also bolster the country’s export trade.
He also asked the government to fix security to enable the safety of the farmers and their farmland.
“I strongly urge the government to lead the crusade against hunger by investing aggressively in our agricultural sector. The vast uncultivated lands in the North, as I have always said, are our biggest assets. Now is the time to put them into maximum use for food production in the nation and for exports. In doing this, the government and security agencies must ensure the safety and security of the farmers,” Obi said.