On July 13, 2023, newly installed President Bola Tinubu sent his spokesman then, Dele Alake, to announce a “state of emergency” on food insecurity. Almost two years later, the regime failed to deliver on the lofty goals behind the measure.
Shortly after, food inflation skyrocketed to a record high of about 34 per cent amidst the implementation of petrol subsidy removal, floating of the Naira, partial removal of subsidy on electricity and other policy measures. Though the food inflation rate has significantly eased to around 23%, and it is too prohibitive. It is obvious, 22 months after the emergency declaration, that the policy has failed. The reasons are not farfetched.
The manner in which a government pronounces a policy has a bearing on the seriousness with which it is perceived. For instance, the Minister of Education under the Muhammadu Buhari regime, Adamu Adamu, promised a state of emergency in the sector in April 2018. Years later, he confessed his failure as Minister.
The two serious states of emergency declared by presidents themselves in the past ten years resulted in unqualified success. The first was the emergency declared by President Muhammadu Buhari on COVID-19 and backed with total compliance by the states. Nigeria emerged with minimal casualty rate compared to many developed countries.
Also, the effectiveness of the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State by President Tinubu, which was also backed up with full executive weight, cannot be disputed. The bottom line here is that when a national policy, such as food security, is clothed with an emergency toga, it must come direct from the nation’s number one citizen. He alone is able to mobilize the executive capacity required to carry through a state of emergency. The Alake “state of emergency”, though a presidential directive, failed to mobilize the crucial organs of the Federation for its implementation. Let that be a lesson.
On July 13, 2023, newly installed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu sent his spokesman then, Dele Alake, to announce a “state of emergency” on food insecurity. Almost two years later, the regime has failed to deliver on the lofty goals behind the measure.
Shortly after, food inflation skyrocketed to a record high of about 34 percent amidst the implementation of petrol subsidy removal, floating of the Naira, partial removal of subsidy on electricity and other policy measures. Though the food inflation rate has significantly eased to around 23 percent, it is still too prohibitive. It is obvious, 22 months after the emergency declaration, that the policy has failed. The reasons are not farfetched.
The manner in which a government pronounces a policy has a bearing on the seriousness with which it is perceived. For instance, the Minister of Education under the Muhammadu Buhari regime, Adamu Adamu, promised a state of emergency in the sector in April 2018. Years later, he confessed his failure as Minister.
Also, the failed emergency on food security came from a spokesman with little consequential action to back it up. There are fears that the proposed Armed Forest Guards, AFG, initiative may fail. Such a potential game changer in our insecurity coming from a government spokesman may, as usual, carry very little presidential resolve. The two serious states of emergency declared by presidents themselves in the past ten years resulted in unqualified success. The first was the emergency declared by President Muhammadu Buhari on COVID-19 and backed with total compliance by the states. Nigeria emerged with minimal casualty rate compared to many developed countries.
Also, the effectiveness of the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State by President Tinubu, which was also backed up with full executive weight, cannot be disputed. The bottom line here is that when a national policy, such as food security, is clothed with an emergency toga, it must come direct from the nation’s number one citizen. He alone is able to mobilize the executive capacity required to carry through a state of emergency. The Alake “state of emergency”, though a presidential directive, failed to mobilize the crucial organs of the Federation for its implementation. Let that be a lesson.
Clearly, the main reason for the failure is that the Federal Government’s efforts to tackle insecurity has not worked. More armed criminals and terrorists are flooding our forests and farmlands. Unless we recover our ungoverned spaces from Boko Haram, bandits, Lakurawa, Mahmuda, and most importantly, Fulani “herdsmen” terrorists, no meaningful agricultural revolution is possible. We must re-launch the emergency on food security with President Tinubu leading from the front, and the Governors, Local Government Chairmen, the private sector, foreign investors and the citizenry playing their roles.
By:
Ayodele Olawuyi
Admin/H.R Manager,
Success 105.3FM,
Ibadan.
Let’s get serious with governance.
