Peter Obi warns hunger crisis will worsen without leaders who prioritise citizens

“Nigeria is a food basket. Only incompetent leadership could create this tragedy” — NDC 2027 candidate

The 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has warned that hunger in Nigeria will deepen unless the country elects leaders who put citizens’ welfare first.

Reacting to a fresh alarm by the United Nations World Food Programme that over 17 million people in northern Nigeria face acute hunger, Obi said the crisis was avoidable and rooted in leadership failure.

—“This is a profound national failure”—

In a statement released on Saturday, Obi described the WFP report as “disheartening,” noting that northern Nigeria is supposed to be the nation’s food basket.

“The recent report from the UN about the impending food crisis in northern Nigeria is disheartening, more so because it is avoidable. Northern Nigeria is the nation’s food basket, and nothing short of incompetent and irresponsible leadership could have created this tragedy,” he said.

According to the WFP, more than —35 million Nigerians nationwide– are at risk during this season. Over —10,000 residents of Borno State— are in “catastrophic” hunger conditions — the most severe in nearly a decade.

“That represents not only immense human suffering but also a profound national failure,” Obi said. “Nigeria should not rank among the world’s hungriest nations, given its abundant resources, particularly the vast stretches of fertile, uncultivated land in the North.”

—Insecurity and policy failures to blame—

Obi traced the crisis to two structural problems: insecurity and lack of access to farmland.

“Banditry and insurgency have turned agrarian communities into displacement zones. Until we secure our agricultural areas, we cannot secure our future,” he said.

He also faulted what he called “superficial measures” that fail to boost productivity or transform rural infrastructure.

“Our global hunger ranking continues to worsen because of our proclivity for adopting superficial measures that do little to boost agricultural productivity or transform rural infrastructure,” Obi stated.

—Call for urgent action—

The NDC candidate urged the Federal Government and state governors to move “beyond mere political discourse” and make transparent investments in agriculture.

He called for securing agricultural corridors, supporting smallholder farmers with accessible resources, and working directly with the WFP to close funding gaps “before this crisis escalates and claims more lives, especially those of children.”

“A prosperous Nigeria, free from hunger, is achievable, but it requires leadership that prioritises the welfare of its citizens,” Obi said.

He added that Nigeria must shift focus “from consumption to production” by turning arable land into agro-industrial output.

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“A new Nigeria, devoid of hunger and mass poverty – a Nigeria where we transform our arable land into productive acreage – remains attainable, but it demands leadership that values the lives and livelihoods of the Nigerian people above grandiose road dualisation projects,” he concluded.

“A new Nigeria is possible.”