call for urgent overhaul of Nigeria’s food systems

Leading voices in environmental advocacy, policy and academia have called for a fundamental rethink of Nigeria’s food systems, warning that hunger in the country is driven more by politics and power than by food shortages.

This formed the crux of discussions at the Sustain-Ability Academy on Food, Power and the Politics of Hunger, hosted by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation in collaboration with the Centre of Politics, University of Port Harcourt.

In his Keystone lecture, the Director-General of the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Foundation, Amara Nwankpa, declared that hunger in Nigeria is largely a consequence of political failure and poor power relations rather than a lack of food production.

Nwankpa argued that food insecurity stems from systemic governance issues, not scarcity, saying:
“Hunger is not always temporary or accidental; it is often a sign of political failure.”
He stressed that decisions around food production, distribution and access are shaped by power, which, when mismanaged, entrenches inequality.

He challenged dominant narratives that frame food insecurity as a production or supply problem, noting that Nigeria loses between 30 and 40 per cent of its food to post-harvest losses due to poor infrastructure.

He added that many food producers themselves remain food insecure, exposing deeper structural and market failures.

Nwankpa warned against over-reliance on technological fixes such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs), cautioning that they could shift control of food systems to external corporations, thereby worsening dependency and long-term food insecurity.

Earlier, environmental activist Nnimmo Bassey highlighted the cultural, social and political significance of food, warning against the growing influence of “junk food culture” and genetically engineered foods.

He described hunger as increasingly tied to geopolitical and economic power plays, including what he termed “food colonialism.”

Bassey also recalled the weaponisation of food during the Nigerian civil war, linking historical disruptions in food systems to present-day vulnerabilities, and called for the preservation of indigenous food systems and seed sovereignty.

In his remarks, Professor Fidelis Allen underscored that hunger is rooted in governance and policy failures, warning that it has been “weaponised” in political processes, with vulnerable populations often manipulated through food deprivation.

Participants at the forum echoed calls for stronger policy engagement, improved infrastructure, and greater emphasis on local food production and sovereignty as pathways to addressing food insecurity.

The event concluded with a consensus that tackling hunger in Nigeria requires a shift from production-focused solutions to addressing power imbalances, policy failures and systemic inefficiencies within the food system.