On Buhari’s Food Security Council

Last week’s announcement by President Muhammadu Buhari that he would inaugurate and head a National Food Security Council has sparked debates among stakeholders in the green community or agricultural space. The move coming at a time when the Food and Agriculture Organisation has declared that 29 African countries, including Nigeria are among 37 countries in the world in dire need of external food aid is instructive and demonstrates the President’s commitment to not just food self-sufficiency but monumental growth in the agricultural sector, which holds all the aces to Nigeria’s long march towards economic diversification.

In his 2018 budget presentation speech at the National Assembly last November, the President did not leave anyone in doubt as to his unwavering commitment towards food security.

“Food Security is an important aspect of this Administration’s National Security agenda. Any person involved in smuggling of food items is a threat to our National Security and will therefore be dealt with accordingly. A Committee chaired by the Vice President is working on this matter. A key part of their work will be the reactivation of the Badagry Agreement signed between Nigeria and the Republic of Benin in 2003,” Buhari had told his audience at the packed Senate chambers, venue of the joint session of the National Assembly.

That declaration appears set to be achieved by the Council. While playing host to the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, Rice Millers Association and Rice Distributors, the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefile and Governors Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa and Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi in Abuja, Buhari had reechoed the link between food security and national security.

“Our experiences today of clashes between farmers and herdsmen or the challenges fishermen face due to global warming and other environmental factors clearly demonstrates that our quest for food security has a direct link to our national security objectives,” the president said.

In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media and Publicity), Garba Shehu, after the meeting, the presidency said that the committee members include 6 governors, 7 cabinet ministers, security chiefs, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria among others.

According to the statement, the broad objectives of the Council will include, developing sustainable solutions to the farmers–herdsmen clashes; Climate Change and Desertification and their impact on farmland; grazing areas and lakes, rivers and other water bodies; oil spillage and its impact on Niger Delta Fishing Communities; piracy and banditry; agricultural research institutions and extension services and the problem of smuggling. The Council will also take interest in regional and global policies and trends that bear implications for food security in Nigeria.
However, a careful study of the council’s membership and mandate reveals some loopholes that could stand in the way of any meaningful impact by the council. .

That the council has the President and other key government functionaries as members is laudable. But the inclusion of too many government officials with no private sector representation is to say the least, counterproductive. In a move, typical of an afterthought, government has said that the private sector’s role will be purely advisory. This is certainly not the way to go if we need serious policy dialogue in the council. From Kano to Lagos, Enugu to Port Harcourt, a lot of private sector initiatives that have tremendously impacted Nigeria’s drive towards food security dot her landscape. It is therefore a poor choice made in the compilation of membership for a council whose work clearly cannot be achieved without private sector input. In an age when the most desirable model for development, locally and internationally, is public private partnership, such an anomaly is a threat to the actualisation of the council’s mandate.

Again, there is the fear that the council may be unable to meet regularly to deliberate on this all-important national agenda as it is peopled by persons who have a lot in their hands already.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s headship of the council could slow down its pace of work. The president heads among others his government, the Federal Executive Council, National Security Council, National Council of State, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. Heading this council will further put a strain on the president who has repeatedly blamed his perceived sluggishness on his advanced age.

Given that the inclusion of the Delta State Governor in the Council is to reflect geographical representation, it is my opinion that the Edo State Governor should have represented the South-South region in the council. While it is arguable that Delta State does not have as much impactful agricultural ventures as Edo, it is on record that the former has not come under attacks from the Fulani herdsmen as the latter. Same argument could be made against Plateau Governor’s inclusion in the council as opposed to his counterpart from Nigeria’s Food Basket, Benue. In a bid to tackle smuggling, the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service should have been named as a member as against his Immigration Service counterpart.

On the eve of a general elections year in Nigeria, the selection of six first-time governors who may be seeking re-election is another miss for the council. From practice, governance takes a back seat or subsumed by politicking in a pre-election year. Most of these council members will spend a better part of the year rallying for votes in a bid to stave off defeat at the ballots.

We must learn to halt the practice of assembling persons who are too busy to function into critical committees such as this. For example, in its more than two months in existence, what tangible results could be attributed to the Vice President’s committee on farmer-herder clashes or the Dave Umahi-led sub-committee empaneled by that committee?

The exclusion of interested parties in the sector such as farmers and the nomadic cattle breeders is another flaw which should be addressed if the committee is to effectively address the challenges for which it has been created.
With just a woman in the council, gender activists are once again spited by the Buhari administration that has gained notoriety for not pursuing the affirmative action. This is more saddening when we consider the fact that women are pillars in food security as recognised last year in Abidjan when two women were awarded the 2017 Africa Food Prize for their outstanding effort to improve farming in Africa.

“It gives me immense pride that this year’s winner are both women. This is a clear demonstration that women in Africa are at the forefront in terms of connecting the rising food needs and the continent’s vision for prosperity that is driven by agriculture and agri-business,” said former Nigerian president and Chairperson of the Prize Committee, Olusegun Obasanjo at the award presentation.

The council’s mandate appears to be a worse challenge when compared to its membership.

The council seeks to address issues relating to agricultural research institutions. Yet, there is no representation from any of the agricultural research institutions, the twenty-three agencies under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development or even Agricultural specialists from the universities.

Where does the Committee chaired by the Vice President on the farmer-herder clashes with the governors of Taraba and Ebonyi as members stand in this Council, given that the Vice President is not named as a member? Again, why is the Vice President who currently chairs a committee to curb smuggling, one of the core mandates of the council excluded from the council?

It therefore appears that the Council is one that duplicates the functions already outsourced to committees months ago as could be seen from the mandates of the two committees chaired by the Vice-President.

It is imperative to note that for a successful policy dialogue in the proposed council and any of such council in the future, issues such as these must be addressed if we are keen about setting national agenda and achieving same in record time.

Osita Odafi is a journalist. He writes from Lagos.