World Poverty Day: Why Nigeria Should Have Declared Today a Public Holiday Today is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Sadly, Nigeria has become a symbol of the global poverty crisis. The rising poverty rate, from 40.1 per cent in 2019 to 56.2 per cent in 2023 and an estimated 63 per cent in 2026, shows how a country can move progressively backwards while those in authority appear unconcerned. Millions of Nigerians are now struggling to live, to afford food, and access healthcare. Yet, government narratives often paint a different picture. What meaning does economic growth have when citizens are getting poorer, hungrier, and more insecure? Progress must be measured by improvements in people’s lives. As poverty deepens, the government should genuinely show concern. Perhaps today should have been declared a public holiday, not for celebration, but for national reflection on how a country so richly endowed with human and natural resources has allowed poverty to overcome it. Poverty is not Nigeria’s destiny. With competent leadership, prudent management of public resources, investment in education and healthcare, and support for agriculture and small businesses, we can reverse this trend. A new Nigeria where no citizen goes to bed hungry and where every citizen lives in dignity is POssible and OK. -PO

WORLD FOOD DAY: HUNGER IN NIGERIA, NOW A NATIONAL EMERGENCY Yesterday, as the world marked International Rural Women’s Day, I joined Nigerian rural women who produce the food that sustains our population. What became clear to me is that hunger in the country must be declared a national emergency. Today, as the world marks World Food Day, Nigerians are confronting a painful reality: hunger, poverty, and insecurity continue to affect millions of families across the country. Nigeria is now one of the hungriest countries in the world, ranking 117th out of 125, down from 109th out of 125 in 2023, when the current administration came into office. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that about 36 million Nigerians will face acute hunger this year. The tragedy is even more painful because Nigeria has vast, arable, and fertile land. Yet about 60% remains uncultivated, providing forest hideouts for terrorist organisations and other non-state actors. On World Food Day, the message is clear: Nigerians deserve a country where no family goes to bed hungry, farmers can work without fear, and poverty and insecurity are confronted with urgency and compassion. The fight against hunger must be treated as a national emergency. Under our leadership, we will secure the country and return our hardworking farmers to their farms. They will receive targeted grants, subsidies, and other forms of support. Together, we can build a Nigeria where no one goes to bed hungry and every farmer can work in peace and dignity. A New Nigeria is POssible. Nigeria will be OK. -PO