President Bola Tinubu has attributed Nigeria’s high food prices to external factors such as poor roads, banditry, and terrorism. According to him, these cause 60% to 70% of the food produced to be lost.
This was disclosed by the president’s press secretary, Ajuri Ngelale, in a statement on Tuesday following Tinubu’s meeting with the National Assembly delegation in Lagos.
Tinubu emphasized that Nigerians would need to pay more for infrastructure to ensure that food reaches the populace.
He stressed that eradicating terrorism and banditry is essential to enable farmers to work safely and reduce food losses.
“Yes, there is poverty; there is suffering in the land. We are not the only people facing such, but we must face our challenges,” Tinubu said.
“We must find a way to eliminate banditry and terrorism so that farmers can bring out food from the farmland.
“If you do not have good roads to bring the food to the population, even if you grow the food and you are losing 60-70% to damages, you will pay the price,” he added.
Nigeria is facing its worst economic crisis in more than thirty years, with inflation above 30%. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 33.95% in May 2024, up from 33.69% in April 2024. There are a number of reasons behind this sharp rise in food prices, such as high import taxes on food products, insecurity, and inadequate financing for farmers.
To ensure growth and progress, the president stressed the need to eradicate all forms of economic sabotage and urged the nation to adopt a positive mindset and a new set of values. He pointed out that damage to infrastructure such as electrical wires and railroads impedes economic growth.
To combat smuggling and other detrimental activities, he called on Nigerians to embrace a new mindset and set of values.
“The need (for some citizens) to change the rent-seeking mindset and become more productive to the economy is a challenge.
“Why should we have people removing rail tracks and all that, stealing electric cables, and sabotaging the economy? We must embrace the campaign to change our value system. We must tell our people that the challenge we face is for all of us to change our mindset about our country,” he said.