Political economy of food security in nigeria: 1999 – 2010

Thesis Abstract

A new vista was opened in the annals of Nigerian history with the enthronement of the new democratic dispensation in 1999. This event heightened the expectations of millions of Nigerians, who heaved a sigh of relief after long years of bad governance under various military regimes. For them, the new democratic era would usher in governance that was both responsive and responsible to their needs which had hardly been on the agenda of the military dictatorships. However, the reality on ground, after more than 10 years of civilian rule (1999 – 2010), appears to negate these expectations such that till date the problem of ensuring food security still remains perennial and debilitating in a country with immeasurable agricultural production potentials. Apparently, the dreams of Nigerians under the new democratic era have continued to be dashed on the alter of malnutrition, poverty, hunger and bad governance despite the avowed commitments of government especially in the area of instituting several policies and programmes which had been packaged to salvage to this ugly trend. Recent studies have revealed that the attainment of food security, in all its ramifications, is still a major developmental issue in Nigeria. Millions of Nigerians still face the debilitating effect of hunger and malnutrition on a daily basis, despite more than 5 decades of state led intervention in the agricultural sector. Astronomical rise in food import bills, low agricultural exports, malnutrition and the inability of several governments to utilize the enormous agricultural endowments available in the country to generate socio economic development, call to question government’s sincerity in tackling food security problems facing Nigeria. However, the present study critically examined the performance of the National Special Programme for Food Security (NSPFS) in the area of enhancing national food security in Nigeria and hence interrogated the effects of meager budgetary allocations in the agricultural sector especially as regards the poor and inefficient funding of the NSPFS both on the overall performance of Nigeria’s agricultural sector and the ability of the NSPFS to achieve its broad objectives. Hence, secondary sources of data collection such as textbooks, journals, newspapers, magazines, official documents and internet materials were therefore imperative. The theoretical framework of analysis used was the Marxist Instrumentalist Theory. The qualitative-descriptive method of analysis was used in addition to the ex post facto research design, which helped to ensure the validity and reliability of the entire study. The findings of the study revealed amongst others, that (1) the food security crises in Nigeria is as a result of policy biases of government officials and (2) poor budgetary allocations for the agricultural sector as well as the poor and inefficient funding of the NSPFS hinder the ability of the programme to achieve its objectives. Hence the study concluded that unless those saddled with the responsibility of governance become alive to their duties, especially in the area of enhancing food security, the future would indeed be bleak for both the ruled and the rulers. Based on findings and conclusion of the study, the study generally recommended that “the right to food” be made a constitutional law.