National Wire About Nigerians, Nigerian Business and Other Stories
The Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Samai’la Muhammad Mera, has called on the National Assembly to pass the Right to Food Bill without further hesitation.
This statement was made during an advocacy visit by the coalition of civil society groups promoting right of every Nigerian to Food.
The Emir, while responding to a detailed presentation on the Right to Food Bill by the Chairman of Voices for Food Security (VFS), Professor Gbolagade Ayoola, expressed total surprise that Nigeria is yet to have food as a fundamental human right enshrined in the constitution.
Prof. Gbolagade Ayoola, who is also the President of Farm and Infrastructure Foundation (FIF) had earlier informed the Emir that the latest World Hunger Index published by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is alarming.
He said as at 2017, with an index value of 25.5, Nigeria ranked 84th among 119 countries in the category of “Serious Hunger Prevalence”.
This, he said, implies that about about 150 million people presently “suffer from acute adult malnutrition, child stunting, child wasting and child mortality,” all linked to food insecurity of the country.
Prof. Ayoola added that the universality of the subject matter also exists in the number of countries of the world that have adopted the concept of food as a right or passed a right to food Bill as the basis for implementing food policies.
The countries include the Bangladesh,Brazil,Colombia,Congo,Cuba,Ecuador, Ethiopia and Guatemala.
Others are Haiti, India,Iran, Malawi, Mexico, Nicaragua, all justiciable except Nigeria with Article 16 not justiciable.
Prof. Gbolagade Ayoola said it was as a result of the need for a suitable legal environment for right to food to take a firm root in Nigeria that the bill was introduced at the National Assembly as far back as 2010 during the Sixth Assembly.
He said, “the Bill, which has suffered a great setback during the Sixth Assembly (2007-2011), and also suffered a similar fate during the Seventh Assembly (2011-2015) is now at the Committee stage during this present Eighth Assembly (2015-2019), having passed the Second Reading at the Federal House of Representatives and the First Reading at the Senate as at June 2016.”
The Emir appreciated the right to food bill campaign coalition for the efforts at pushing the bill under such discouraging condition since its introduction to the 6th Assembly. He referred to the right to food bill campaign as a patriotic endeavor strategic to the growth of the Agriculture sector and the survival of this nation.
He noted the fact that the bill will take care of almost 80% of the concerns surrounding food security.
The Emir assured the coalition of his unflinching support for the bill and his readiness to reach out to all critical stakeholders within his sphere of influence to mobilize support for the passage of the right to food bill by the Eigth National Assembly without further delay.
The visit had in attendance District Heads from the Argungu Emirate Council, ‘Sola Kolawole and Ropo Egbeleke of TREE Initiative, Dominic Samson of the Development Exchange Centre among other members of the Right to Food Coalition.
Photo caption:
L-R: Ropo Egbeleke of TREE INITIATIVE; Chairman of Voices for Food Security (VFS), Professor Gbolagade Ayoola; Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Samai’la Muhammad Mera and ‘Sola Kolawole of TREE Initiative during an advocacy visit to the Argungu Emirate on the Right to Food in Nigeria.
