Boko Haram’s killing of 35,000 Nigerians causing food shortages — Don

The Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jos, Prof. Nuhu Gworkwor, says the killing of over 35,000 Nigerians is partly responsible for food shortages in the country.

In a presentation titled “Ensuring Food Security: Taming the Challenges and Exploring Innovative Approaches to Agriculture,” held on Wednesday in Abuja at the annual conference of the Forum of Former Deputy Governors of Nigeria, he disclosed that the aforementioned figure refers to those killed by the Islamist group in the North East geo-political zone alone.

He further stated that the conflict displaced 2.3 million persons, mainly farmers forced to seek refuge in internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps spread across Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states.

He added that violence associated with banditry in the North West and North Central has a catastrophic effect on food production in the country.

He cited Zamfara State, where between 2011 and 2019, 6,319 persons were killed, 3,672 persons were kidnapped, and the sum of N2.8 billion was paid as ransom. Just as 6,483 women were rendered widows and 25,050 children became orphans.

He further stated that 215,241 cows, 141,404 sheep, and 20,600 other animals like camels and donkeys were rustled, while 3,587 houses and 1,487 motor vehicles and cycles were burnt.

The don remarked that despite all the favourable potentials in terms of land mass and resources, youthful population, and climatic conditions, Nigeria is unfortunately suffering from food insecurity.

He contended that all is not well with the food security of the country, as economists, both locally and internationally, have severally pointed out that Nigeria’s economic output is underperforming.

He noted that despite the number of resources the nation sits upon and the rapid economic progress, poverty has remained deeply rooted in Nigeria, as about 70 per cent of the population still live below the poverty line, as earlier established.

He disclosed that the prevalence of poverty and hunger is more pronounced in the rural regions of Nigeria, where up to 80% of the population survive on less than $1 per day.