19 February 2011

Shoppers gather at a marketplace in Jos, Nigeria, in April 2010. Food prices are soaring in Nigeria, raising the prospect of a political uprising in the country, some analysts say.

 

By Raymond Billy
ResonateNews.com

Amid political upheavals in southwest Asia and northern African, officials in Nigeria are bracing for the possibility that civil unrest could spread to its part of the continent. Not that this country — Africa's most populous nation with about 140 million citizens — is not already facing major challenges. It has long dealt with religious strife between Muslims and Christians. Oil crises seem always at the country's doorstep. But, the latest challenge to hit the country — rising food prices — are what some geopolitical analysts are suggesting might tip the scales of the country in favor of revolution.

Consumer prices in Nigeria rose by 12.1 percent in January, according to government data released Thursday. The inflation was largely driven by rising food and energy prices. The news was likely unwelcome in a country where most households spend nearly three-quarters of their budgets on food. Emilee Munafo, a missionary serving with the Ohio-based Back2Back Ministries, said high food prices have hindered Nigerians' from eating healthful foods.

“For the most part, I believe food is available to most. However most are not able to afford well-balanced meals that would provide all the nutrients they need for a healthy diet,” said Munafo, who has lived in the country for more than three years with her husband, Jason. “Many of the people farm here in Nigeria and have access to the food.”

Back2Back Ministries focuses on helping unwed mothers, orphans and widows in Nigeria. The ministry supports locally managed orphanages that provide food to the children in their care. The ministry also has a day school in which children are fed nutritious snacks to help them maximize their classroom performance, Munafo said.

Munafo said before the day school opened, many students “were coming to school hungry and not able to focus in class because of it.”

Nigerians are also being empowered to increase production of nutritious food on their own, Munafo said.

“Long term, we are working with some self-sustainable initiatives that will” give Nigerians the “ability to provide for themselves and their families,” Munafo said. “We are exploring dry-season farming techniques, poultry businesses, and fish farms.”

Despite the apparent food crisis in Nigeria, Munafo said most citizens there were able to get at least some nourishment every day. She said that even in the country's most impoverished rural areas, residents “do eat minimally.”

As the world's attention turns to country's such as Nigeria, citizens from wealthier nations who wish to support the push to improve the quality of life there have ample options for doing so, Munafo said.

“Invest in people and ministries that are on the ground serving the people in Nigeria directly,” Munafo said. “It's best to support sustaining initiatives instead of donating one bag of rice. When the rice is finished, no lasting impact has been made. It's best to teach a child how to fish then to give them one,” she said.

 

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