SaharaReporters reported on Sunday that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) said one of its members, Comfort Funmilayo Adebanjo, and six other people died after they were stampeded at the Customs office in Lagos while trying to buy rice.
Peter Obi, the Labour Party candidate in the 2023 presidential election, has decried the stampede that led to the death of seven people struggling to get ‘cheap rice’ at the zonal office of the Nigeria Customs Service in Yaba, Lagos, as a result of the high cost of food in the country.
SaharaReporters reported on Sunday that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) said one of its members, Comfort Funmilayo Adebanjo, and six other people died after they were stampeded at the Customs office in Lagos while trying to buy rice.
The incident occurred on Friday after the Controller General of the Customs, Adewale Adeniyi flagged off the sale of rice by the agency.
The requirements for the collection of the rice were a National Identification Number (NIN) and the sum of N10,000 for half a bag of rice; however, the service later removed the fee and started sharing the rice for free.
Reacting to the unfortunate incident, the former Anambra State governor lamented that Nigerians as one big nation have been united by hunger and starvation, to the point of dying to make ends meet.
Obi who condemned the tragedy, said that it was most distressing that despite the current adversity, the political leaders have resorted to spending stupendous amounts of resources on wasteful items like ordering expensive renovations of offices and residences that are already in luxurious conditions.
He said that it was regrettable that while the government was spending more money on car parks for politicians than for the running of half of our teaching hospitals, little or no attention had been paid to the living conditions of the ordinary people they were elected to care for.
Obi, however, appealed to the government at all levels to lead the crusade against hunger by investing aggressively in the agricultural sector.
He lamented that huge amounts of borrowed resources that should have been channeled into food production, to guarantee an abundant supply of food in the nation, were rather consumed on "inanities, rather than invested".
He said, "Just yesterday, I read the saddening reports of how the search for cheap rice claimed the lives of some Nigerians in Lagos. According to the report, a massive crowd of hungry Nigerians had besieged the Zonal Office of the Nigerian Customs Service in Yaba, Lagos, to purchase the discounted 25kg bags of rice being offered by the Customs Service. In the course of the heavy stampede that ensued, some lives were lost.”
"It is heartbreaking to think that despite all the wealth of our nation, Nigerians are losing their lives in their desperate quest to buy cheaper food in the face of the growing hunger and starvation in the country," Obi lamented.
"This sad occurrence reflects the level of hardship, hunger, and starvation prevalent in the country, with millions of people not knowing where their next meal will come from. It is very disheartening that our national economy has been driven into perhaps the worst state in all of our national history."
He said that the number of those who are, today, classified as multi-dimensionally poor has climbed astronomically to over 80% of Nigeria’s population. He said Nigeria has a hunger index considered very serious, with the country ranking 109th out of 125 countries measured.
He said, "Our food inflation rate is at an all-time high, at over 35 percent. Similarly, unemployment is galloping, and for a predominantly youthful population, this scenario is dire and frighteningly dangerous.
"For the first time in our peacetime history, stark undisguised hunger has become a national epidemic with hundreds of thousands of our people driven into open protests over food scarcity and unaffordability. The hunger protests have united our people across ethnicity, language, region, faith, and location.
"Most distressing is that in all our adversity, our leaders have resorted to spending stupendous amounts of resources on wasteful items like ordering expensive renovations of offices and residences that are already in luxurious conditions.
"We have seen our government spend more money on car parks for politicians than for the running of half of our teaching hospitals. In all this, there has been scanty attention to the living conditions of the ordinary people they were elected to care for.
"The huge amounts of borrowed resources that should have been channeled into production, especially food production, to guarantee an abundant supply of food in the nation, were rather consumed on inanities, rather than invested.
"Today, we are one big nation united by hunger and starvation, to the point of dying to make ends meet. Again, I strongly urge the government to lead the crusade against hunger by investing aggressively in our agricultural sector."
The vast uncultivated land area in the North, Obi said is the biggest asset to the country, insisting that now is the time to put them into maximum use for food production in the nation and for exports.
He said, "In doing this, the government and security agencies must ensure the safety and security of the farmers.
"I salute the resilience and determination of our Nigerian people, who in the face of all these challenges, continue to strive hard, with hope for a better nation.
"I encourage us all to remain resolute in our journey to building the New Nigeria of our dreams which remains possible."