- Donation From Ukraine Aimed To Save Nigeria From Hunger Caused By Economic Mismanagement- Obi
- Says It’s Sad Nigeria Receiving Aid From A Country It Has Potentials To Be Better Than
- Accepting Grains From Ukraine Does Not Make Nigeria A Failed Country- FG Fights Back
The war of words from the fallout of a donation of grains to Nigeria by war-ravaged Ukraine has refused to die down.
The Matrix reports that Ukraine a few days ago donated 25,000 tons of wheat to the nation to boost the United Nations World Food Programme, WFP, response in northeast Nigeria amidst inflation and food price spikes.
Many, including the Labour Party presidential candidate in last year’s general elections, Peter Obi, described the gesture from a war-ravaged country as a “national disgrace” for Nigeria.
However, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris in a push back on Tuesday fired back at Obi saying that Nigeria accepting grains from Ukraine does not make the country a weak or failed state.
Idris said, “Egypt gets about 60 per cent of its grains from Ukraine. The fact that Egypt gets about 60 per cent of its grains from Ukraine does not make it a failed state.”
“The fact that we are having challenges at the moment does not make Nigeria a failed state.
READ ALSO: Peter Obi Likens War-Torn Ukraine Donating Food To Nigeria As A National Disgrace
“Therefore, accepting grains from Ukraine does not make Nigeria or Egypt failed countries.
“It is a normal thing, because countries exist to depend on one another,’’ the minister said at the Leadership Annual Conference and Award 2023 on Tuesday in Abuja.
According to the minister, it is true that Nigeria is facing some challenges and President Bola Tinubu is aware of this and he does not shy away from it.
“Nigerians voted for Tinubu with the deeper understanding and conviction that he has the capacity to turn things around for the better; and that is what he is doing.
“Some of the decisions he has taken were to ensure that Nigeria finds its place in the comity of nations.
“The decisions include removal of fuel subsidy and addressing the issue of foreign exchange and many others.
“In spite of the current challenges, the economic growth of Nigeria is on track and has continued to improve,’’ Mr Idris said.
He explained that fuel subsidy removal was a bold step in the right direction and urged Nigerians to support the president as the country would soon begin to reap the benefits.
The minister noted that current national challenges did not begin upon assumption of office by President Tinubu
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He stressed that going by figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s fuel importation reduced by 50 per cent after fuel subsidy removal, just as the economy improved significantly.
Idris noted also that President Tinubu had demonstrated capacity and since his assumption of office, had attracted more than 30 billion dollars in foreign investments into the country.
“He has not stopped at that. Just last week, President Tinubu went to Qatar to attract more businesses and investments into Nigeria.
“We are optimistic that soon, what we are passing through will be a thing of the past and Nigeria will be better,’’ Idris said.
In his response, Obi expressed sadness at the turn of events lamenting that Nigeria should not be accepting aid from a country it had potentials to be better than.
Hear him; “After my comments on the embarrassing grain assistance which Nigeria received from a war-torn Ukraine, some government spinners in defence tried throwing up a comparison pointing at Egypt which also got grain from Ukraine.
In my remarks I stated that such an offer, though aimed at ameliorating the impact of the food crisis in Nigeria, remains awkward to the nation, considering that we, as a nation with more fertile lands and a working population, now receive aid from a war-ravaged nation like Ukraine. Egypt was particularly mentioned, by the spinners, to have received the same grains from Ukraine long before Nigeria did (September last year).
And that Egypt is still dependent on Ukraine for its wheat and much of its fertilizer needs. It is important to clarify that over the years, Egypt imports 60% of its grains, out of which about 22% is from Ukraine.
The imported grain provides half the flour that goes into a subsidized bread program that feeds some 72 million Egyptians daily. Egypt, therefore, just enjoys a business relationship with their grain supplier, Ukraine, whereas, in the case of Nigeria, it was an emergency donation to help us fight a hunger epidemic that has resulted from economic mismanagement. To illustrate further, on the Global Hunger Index, Egypt ranks 57th, while our dear nation ranks 109th, out of 125 countries measured.
So, while Egypt has a hunger level considered moderate, Nigeria is in the league of 20 hungriest countries in the world, with a hunger level considered serious. Egypt, without facing severe hunger, and not in the list of hungriest nations, exported over 9 Billion dollars of agricultural products in 2023. May I also point out that our grain donor, Ukraine, still maintains a hunger level considered low, with a ranking of 44th on the global hunger index, 7th highest grain producer, exporting almost 23 Billion Dollars, despite years of war! The situation is actually painful because we have all it takes to even surpass Ukraine in grain production if we were a more serious and productive nation.
The vast arable lands in the North, if put into productive use, will not only give us sufficient food for local consumption, but even the surplus for export” he wrote.
