Solomon Odeniyi
A governorship candidate in Rivers State governorship, Tonye Cole, has called on the President, Bola Tinubu, to prioritise the eradication of hunger for the overall progress of the country.
According to him, violence, weak government, and healthcare systems had contributed to hunger in the country, adding that they must be addressed promptly if zero hunger is to be achieved.
He also said the president must learn from the China experience and design a simple, implementable model to end hunger in Nigeria.
Speaking at the unveiling of Nigeria’s hunger report by the T200 Foundation in Abuja on Saturday, he said, “Nigeria is once again at a unique historical juncture in which some measures, if done correctly and with the right political will, can be enormously transformational for the country and the continent at large.
“It is instructive that China accomplished this using a two-pronged method. The first strategic pillar, according to the World Bank study, was to implement a broad-based economic transformation to create new economic possibilities and boost average incomes. The second strategic pillar entailed providing targeted assistance for poverty alleviation.
“These factors that drive extreme poverty and, inevitably, hunger are similar to what exists in Nigeria today, which means that to meet the SDG 2 target of zero hunger through poverty eradication, Nigeria must also design a simple, implementable, and sustainable model and stick to it over time. This is undoubtedly more sophisticated than the famous ‘stomach infrastructure’ but it must be as simple to the masses as ‘stomach infrastructure’ is to them.”
Cole advised the president to ensure there is a comprehensive register for vulnerable persons in the country to enable it to effectively tackle the menace.
He said, “I would like to call on the government to consolidate the various data gathering platforms such as the National Social Register, National Identification Number, Biometric Verification Number and then create an interface with NGOs active in the field to integrate the data they have with that of the government to create a comprehensive register of all vulnerable persons in Nigeria.”
The Executive Director, T200 Foundation, Emmanuel Osadebay, said the hunger index in the country cuts across the states.
He said states like Yobe and Sokoto, among others, had the highest hunger index, while Lagos, Delta and Ogun had the lowest scores.
Osadebay said all hands must be on deck to achieve zero hunger in the country.
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