Samson Echenim 
Following the declaration of a national state of emergency on food security by President Bola Tinubu on Monday, analysts and security experts have reacted to the development.
Tinubu on Monday called for “expanded irrigation infrastructure and participatory water resource management nationwide” to ensure food security.
But analysts and security experts say the President should instead declare a state of emergency on security.
Tinubu made the declaration while opening the 6th African Regional Conference on Irrigation and Drainage in Abuja.
He was represented at the event by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume.
He urged African nations to adopt innovative strategies in addressing the continent’s irrigation and water management challenges.
However, according to the analysts who spoke with The Nigerian Economy in reaction to the declaration of state of emergency on food, the biggest threat to food security in Nigeria currently is insecurity.
“The declaration of a national state of emergency on food by the President may look like a positive decision, but the better action to take now would have been to declare a state of emergency on security,” said Yusuf Bala, a security expert.
Bala noted that the president had also in July 2023 declared a state of emergency on food security, but yielded no results.
“State of emergency is a serious executive order that is matched with clear-cut action plan. Most times, it requires huge capital to pull through critical programmes under a state of emergency. It is a lot more than mere speech making,” Bala noted.
Ayinde Temitope, a socio-economic analyst, called on the president to take the issue of security serious. He decried the wanton kidnapping, raping and killing of farmers across the country by suspected herdsmen and called on the president to rise to the occasion.
“Declaring a state of emergency on food does not seem to be hitting the nail on the head. It is vague and does not capture the real problem. The real problem is insecurity and that is what the president should keep working to stamp out,” he said.
“If you declare a state of emergency on food security, are you going to be providing the farm inputs, the fertilizers and subsidy for irrigation facilities? Are you going to build the storage facilities for farm produce? What exactly does the president want to address with the declaration of state of emergency on food?” asked Bayo Otigba.
Also, Otigba, an analyst, said solving the problem of insecurity would improve food supply in Nigeria.
He said: “I am sure that our president knows that more than 60% of people who were farmers in 2014, have left the rural areas and migrated to the cities as from 2016 when farmers began to face death in their farms.
“More people have also left farming since 2023 when kidnapping of farmers for ransome became the order of the day. We no longer have farmers, because they have run for dear life. So how do we expect to get food? The president should focus on security. The state of emergency would make more impact if declared on security for farmers.”
This is not the first time Tinubu has declared a state of emergency on food. In July 2023, he declared a state of emergency to tackle rising food prices and shortages.
Some of the initiatives he promised to adopt include using money saved by from removal of a fuel subsidy to provide fertiliser and grain to farmers.
However, security is also to be increased for farmers, many of whom have abandoned their land after becoming the target of gangs that kidnap for ransom.
A UN report in January projected that 25 million Nigerians were at high risk of food insecurity , meaning they would not be able to afford enough nutritious food every day.
Thousands of farmers have been killed, raped, or kidnapped for ransom by kidnappers mainly herdsmen of northern extract.
New security measures would mean farmers could return to the farmlands without fear of being attacked or kidnapped.
