PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu says his administration is focused on restoring peace to the troubled parts of the North so that farmers displaced by bandits and kidnapping can return to their farmlands and increase food production.
“We expect to see a leap in food production and a downward spiral in food costs. I promise you, we shall not falter on this,” Tinubu said on Tuesday during his 2024 Anniversary Broadcast on the occassion of Nigeria’s 64th Independence Day Anniversary on October 1, 2024.
According to the President, his “administration is winning the war on terror and banditry” with target to eliminate all the threats of Boko Haram, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, and violent extremism.
Tinubu boasted that his administration had eliminated terrorist and bandit commanders faster than any administration.
“Within one year, our government has eliminated Boko Haram and bandit commanders faster than ever. As of the last count, over 300 Boko Haram and bandit commanders have been eliminated by our gallant troops in the Northeast, Northwest, and some other parts of the country,” he said.
He expressed optimism that the elimination of bandit and terrorist commanders would restore farmers to their farmlands and boost food production.
“We have restored peace to hundreds of communities in the North and thousands of our people have been able to return home. It is an unfinished business, which our security agencies are committed to ending as quickly as possible.
“As soon as we can restore peace to many communities in the troubled parts of the North, our farmers can return to their farms. We expect to see a leap in food production and a downward spiral in food costs. I promise you, we shall not falter on this,” he said.
Nigeria is battling one of its worst economic crises in recent times, with rising living and energy costs, sparked by the twin policies of the government’s removal of petrol subsidy and unification of the foreign exchange windows in May 2023.
In August, aggrieved youths protested hunger and economic hardship for the first 10 days of the month. The country’s inflation stood at 32.15% in August, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of State Statistics (NBS).
The NBS said the food inflation rate in August 2024 was 37.52% on a year-on-year basis, which was 8.18% points higher compared to the rate recorded in August 2023 (29.34%).
It attributed the rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis to increases in prices of bread, maize, grains, guinea corn, bread, cereals yam, Irish potatoes, water yam, cassava tuber, palm oil, and vegetable oil, among others.
The Bola Tinubu administration alongside governors in the 36 states has rolled out some palliative measures but Nigerians continue to be lamentably hurt by the severe impact of inflation as the prices of food commodities and basic products multiply uncontrollably.
