By Elizabeth Toyon
While citizens in the nation are struggling with the hike in food prices and other inflationary trends, the inequality gap has given rise to other social problems like increase in children of school age begging in Lagos, robberies and poverty induced deaths
Many are lamenting and seeking positive change in the situation as they can no longer keep up with the provision of three square meals for their families.
Several lives have been lost and some others have taken to illegal practices as a means of survival.Food is a necessity and it should be affordable to every citizen.
A 2022 poverty ratio rate by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows unimpressive figures about the poverty rate in Nigeria, which has deteriorated in the last two years
According to the report “Two-thirds (67.5%) of children (0ā17) are multidimensionally poor according to the National MPI, and half (51%) of all poor people are children.
“The highest deprivations are in the indicator of child engagements ā where over half of poor children lack the intellectual stimulation that is pivotal to early childhood development.
Child poverty is prevalent in rural areas, with almost 90% of rural children experiencing poverty.
“Across the geo-political zones, the child MPI shows higher poverty in the North-East and North-West (where 90% of children are poor) and lower poverty in the South-East and South-West (74% and 65.1% respectively). The incidence of Child MPI is above 50% in all States and greater than 95% in Bayelsa, Sokoto, Gombe and Kebbi.
Four million Nigerians ā 2.1% of the population ā live with a child aged 15ā17 who is the first generation in that household to have completed primary school” the report said.
According to Mudashiru Obasa,Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, the state government is considering a law to criminalize street begging
Obasa explained that the proposed law would empower the state government and foundations like the Ibile Muslim Community Zakat and Sadaqah Foundation to regulate aid soliciting.
According to him, the law will also ensure donations reach the needy without them having to beg on the streets.
He noted that the rising number of beggars in Lagos necessitated this regulation.
āWe are looking at how we can manage such situations to stop beggars from parading the streets of Lagos begging for alms.
āFollowing such legislation, anyone caught begging on the streets or aiding such, particularly among children, would also be sanctioned according to the law,ā Obasa said.
JournalNG sought the views of some Lagos and Ogun residents on the issue recently.
Mrs Olaniyan told who lives in Ogun State told JournalNG that the increase in food prices has led to a lot of atrocities and casualties in the society.She requests that something is done about it before it gets out of hand.
” A lot of people have fallen sick as a result of not being able to afford foodstuffs. Some have developed Ulcer and some others have stroke already because they keep thinking about how to survive.Some have taken to stealing too.A woman who planted corn in my neighborhood realized that over half of the corn in her farm has been stolen.This must have been done by hungry people”
” I didn’t prepare breakfast this morning because I was in haste.I gave my son N600 to get something to eat but he begged me to add more money because it wouldn’t be sufficient.I had to give him N200 more ”
A trader who sells foodstuffs in Lagos said she has stopped selling for a while due to some issues that came up in the past.She said she is ready to continue her business but she is afraid that the money she has will not be sufficient as food prices have skyrocketed.
” I was selling foodstuffs before but I stopped two years ago for some reasons.I want to continue my business now but I am afraid that N100,000 cannot do anything.
” That amount would have been enough for me to start up in the past but now, a bag of rice is almost N100,000 . Won’t I buy other things like beans, groundnut oil, palm oil? I have been waiting to see if the prices will reduce but it keeps increasing.This is the reason why many people are involving in fraudulent acts”
Mrs Joy Olayomi another foodstuff trader in Badagry lamented that the food prices have affected her business negatively.Her wares have reduced as she cannot buy as much as she used to buy before because she is running at loss.
” I used to buy half basket of tomatoes and pepper but I can only afford to buy N2000 worth now.The prices keep increasing on every new market day and because of that, I no longer have sufficient money to stock up my shop as usual”
” My customers too cannot buy as they used to buy in the past.I now have too many debtors on my list.Many are struggling to feed”
Rejoice Hunpe , a student in a higher Institution in Lagos who sells petty foodstuffs in her hostel for survival complained that her business is affected too.
” I am a student and I sell foodstuffs in little amount in my hostel to support myself financially.Things are really hard.After the last semester holiday, I have not been able to continue my business.The prices of the items I sell have skyrocketed in many folds .I don’t even know where to start from.I haven’t been having enough money to take care of the needs I have always taken care of by myself”
On his part, Mr Solomon Adedeji who resides in Ogun State opined that every citizen should be involved in subsistence farming.He added that the northerners are doing their best in this aspect.
” Every family should have a garden where they plant crops for their consumption.The northerners are really trying but we in the South West are lazy.We have vast lands but we are not using them to farm.Once it is planting season, the northerners will always travel to their states to farm.It is the same price they sell fertilizer to them they sell to us too.Wheras our lands are more fertile than theirs.I have a garden in my compound and I have a lot of crops there.I am just coming back from work now but when I get home, I will spend at least three hours in my garden.I have not bought pepper for the past five years because I always pick the seeds that drops from my wife’s grinding stone to plant”
Oche Sunday who lives in Benue State, the food basket of the nation, complained that foodstuffs are not cheaper in the state.He noted that bandits and herdsmen have invaded their farms, killed farmers and are still causing havoc.
” Foodstuffs used to be cheap here in Benue State .We supply food crops to other parts of the country but the case is different now.Our farmers are no longer safe .Many of them cannot go to their farms like before.The herdsmen and bandits have been attacking and killing them.Some farmers get to their farms and discover that their crops have been destroyed.The insecurity in the nation should be tackled ”
There has been a stop gap solution recently as the Lagos State Government embarked on distribution of foodstuffs like rice and other grains ostensibly from the strategic grains reserve under the Ounje Eko programme.
Much as the distributed foodstuffs didn’t go round, the measure is widely believed to be unsustainable as insecurity has taken a toll on agriculture and food production nationwide.
Aside farmers/herders crises which is causing unrest in some food producing areas of Nigeria, bandits and insurgents have dominated farm areas thereby scaring farmers from their fields.
This is affecting the food supply chain to a place like Lagos with an estimated population of above 20 million people. Addressing security challenges seems to be the first solution to increased food production to achieve reduced prices
