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- Says Nigeria has no business being amongst the hungriest nations of the world
- As Niger government says over 1,000 people still unaccounted for
From John Adams Minna
The Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential elections, Peter Obi, paid a condolence and sympathy visit to the government and people of Niger State over the last Wednesday flood disaster that killed over 153 people across 3,018 households.
Obi arrived at the government house in Minna, the state capital, with his entourage at exactly 12:25 pm and was received by the state Deputy Governor Comrade Yakubu Garba, who told his guest that over 1,000 people are still unaccounted for six days after the disaster.
Obi, who described the flood disaster as monumental in view of the casualty figures and the extent of destruction, said he was in Minna to share in the grief of the people.
He told his host that whatever happens in any part of Nigeria touches him directly and that why he is in the state to commiserate with the government and people of the state over the unfortunate incident
The Labour Party presidential candidate, who used the opportunity to X-ray the current economic situation in the country, said Nigeria has no business being rated among the top hungriest countries in the world.
Mr. Peter Obi said two states in the country, Niger and Borno, have the potential to produce the food the country needs and even export the surplus if the right thing is done.
According to him, “Nigeria has no reason to be among the top hungriest countries of the world. What we need to do is to embark on what can pull us out of poverty.”
The Labour Party leader, who was accompanied on the visit by the Minister of State for Agriculture, Alhaji Mohammed Sabi Abdullahi, maintained that Nigeria could make a lot from agriculture to leave hunger if the right things are done.
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He said if Bangladesh, a small country, could produce 10 times the rice consumed globally, “we need to invest more in Niger and Borno to be able to feed Nigeria.”
Peter Obi emphasized that he was in Minna to show solidarity with the people over the Mokwa disaster, adding that “because whatever happens to Niger happens to Nigeria, and we are all Nigerians, we are brothers and sisters”.
He, however, attributed the incident to an act of God, pointing out that “we cannot question God.”
He nonetheless prayed to God to comfort the families of those that lost loved ones.
The Deputy Governor Comrade Yakubu Garba associated himself with the observations of Mr. Peter Obi, saying, “Nigeria is not secured in terms of food production,” adding also that “in terms of public health, Nigeria is still battling”.
Comrade Garba noted that the flood in Mokwa has further worsened the food and health care situations in the state expressing fears about likely breakout of epidemic as a result of the destruction of the main water supply line in the town.
The deputy Governor described the “destruction as a national catastrophy that happened not only Niger state but the whole of Nigeria” before soliciting for the support of governmental and non governmental organisations to cushion the effect of the disaster on the people.
