Onanuga turns to farming as 33m Nigerians face 2025 hunger crisis

Amid projections that 33 million Nigerians could face hunger by next year, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, has taken a personal step and turned toward farming at his Lagos home.

Onanuga, in a 38-second video posted on X, could be seen tending to vegetables, which appeared as he removed fallen dry leaves from his make-shift greenhouse.

In the caption that accompanies the video, Onanuga announced that the vegetables in his garden had replaced the grass

“I am now a farmer-journalist, tending some vegetables planted in my house in Lagos. The vegetables replaced the grass,” Onanuga captioned the video.

Onanuga’s decision to become a “farmer-journalist” comes as Nigeria is faced with a worsening hunger crisis, with the United Nations warning that 33 million Nigerians could face hunger next year due to rising food insecurity.

A recent United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) report warns that the number of Nigerians at risk of hunger could rise sharply to 33 million by 2025 from 25 million this year.

Factors driving this crisis include record inflation, severe climate events, and ongoing insecurity in key agricultural regions.

Last month’s floods alone destroyed 1.6 million hectares of farmland in northern states, slashing maize, sorghum, and rice production by an estimated 1.1 million tonnes.

In the northeastern states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe, five million people are already experiencing acute food insecurity. Hunger hotspots are also spreading to Zamfara, Katsina, and Sokoto.

Compounding the crisis, inflation climbed to 32.70% in September, driven largely by surging food prices. This has left millions of Nigerians unable to afford basic necessities.

“Record inflation, climate shocks and ongoing conflicts are projected to push the number of food insecure Nigerians to 33 million in 2025, a sharp increase from the 25 million who need assistance today. Never before have there been so many people in Nigeria without food,” said Chi Lael, WFP spokesperson.

“The data shows that immediate support is needed to avert a potential food and nutrition disaster in Nigeria”

Experts have identified 5.4 million children and 800,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women as being at risk of acute malnutrition, with nearly 1.8 million children facing Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and in urgent need of treatment.

Onanuga had been a long-time advocate for individual contributions to food security and has previously advocated for farming, saying, “In 1976, former President Olusegun Obasanjo introduced ‘Operation Feed the Nation,’ promoting farming.

“In 1984, when former President Muhammadu Buhari came in, there were shortages of rice, milk, and sugar, and the government had to open warehouses to make these items available to people.

“This is not the first time we are going through this kind of crisis.

“The government is investing in agriculture to make things available and affordable, and as individuals, we also have a role to play.”

The First Lady Oluremi Tinubu had also championed this agricultural engagement this year when she received the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed, in her office at the State House, Abuja.

The presidency reported that Tinubu reiterated the call to Nigerians to get more involved in agricultural production.

“We can grow our food. Everybody should grow something,” she urged

The First Lady noted that the various interventions of the Renewed Hope Initiative, RHI especially in the areas of Agriculture, Empowerment, Education, Health, and Social Welfare are to complement the efforts of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

“The President has made the right decisions. These decisions will help us build a more respected Nigeria. We should be more accountable as a people regarding our resources.”