Nigeria: Lamentations on hunger, By Ahmed Aminu-Ramatu Yusuf

Post-colonial Nigeria is today confronted with an all-round crisis. The most serious being hunger. It became manifest from 1984. It progressively widened, deepened and worsened with the imposition of neo-liberal policies, including the  Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), which was introduced in July 1986 by the Babangida regime.

With the exception of late President Umaru Musa  Yar’Adua’s government, and to some extent that of President Goodluck Jonathan, the return to civil rule in 1999 did not change the equation. In fact, hunger assumed  critical dimensions under Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and  Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

While in the pre-colonial period, most societies attributed the causes of famine to supernatural forces, in the colonial and post-colonial periods, the causes of hunger increasingly came to be attributed to government policies and actions. In the pre-colonial period, the task of tackling famine lay primarily in the hands of the ruling classes. In contrast, in the colonial and post-colonial periods, the masses were left to tackle the problem themselves.

Failure of the ruling classes to tackle famine in some pre-colonial societies led to either the banishment or removal of the king, or his being asked to commit suicide. But  in the colonial and post-colonial period, the government was no longer responsible, accountable or answerable to society.  It became seen as being  above society, and opposed, antagonistic, and hostile to society. Its officials were, and are still, seen as puppets of Western European forces.

Dr Adeniyi-Jones, a Nigerian member of the colonial Legislative Council in Lagos, said: “if ever there was a case of slavery within the British Empire, the doubters need to not look further than Northern Nigeria.” Slavery led to immense hunger, which compelled a poverty-stricken peasant to attempt to: “sell his sister in exchange for food” in the 1940s.

The slavery made Tiv miners to lament and sing: “See what has befallen me, tell me what I have done to deserve it? In days gone by, I farmed for my mother and when I was tired, I rested; if I had anything to say, I said it, and when I felt hungry, ate Then, there was nobody to beat me and I never had to work as I am working today. Work! Work! Work! My masters grind me down; they throw stones at me when I stop work and when I have finished, I get no pay. What a life.”

The talakawa or commoners in Hausa land believed that their hunger was caused by the colonial forces and their Nigerian stooges, especially “traditional rulers”. They sang about  the hunger: “Yan Balange – Artificial hunger; Yunwar ‘yan birni – Famine of the townspeople; Mai dan sanho – Time for little bags; Ta bi da maza– Subduer of brave men; Sarkin Barna – Supreme Destroyer.”

In Southern Nigeria, hunger was equally a big problem, leading to the imposition of price control and rationing measures. Here, a colonial officer wrote that there were serious but: “exaggerated notion of the degree of scarcity of foodstuff and the tempo of price … they (colonial officials) got somewhat neurotic about holding that which they had.”

In reaction, people resorted to insulting British officials and traditional rulers for the food scarcity, inflation and hunger in the country. Yoruba women sang: “I bought okro I bought onion I bought one penny worth of salt But was inadequate for my soup I will send a curse to the White men in Akure.”

They also  sang: “Strange things are happening in Lagos Europeans now sell pepper, Europeans now sell palm oil, Europeans now sell yam, Though they cannot find their way to Idogo, And Falolu (the Oba or King of Lagos) is in the palace and alive, Europeans were not won’t to sell seeds.”

Society has been, and is still, critical of the state for causing and aggravating hunger. Its  perception of hunger is that it is fearless, deaf, inconsiderate, impatient, painful, arrogant, dictatorial, disrespectful, and ever-demanding. Yesterday, tomorrow and next tomorrow is not in hunger’s dictionary. It must be given what it wants – food.

To the Edo people, hunger: “destroys the body; weakens the mind; destroys dignity; and brings shame.” But it: “tests character; teaches humility; and brings spiritual growth.”

To the Igbo, hunger is a: “personal enemy; makes the eyes sink; and is a severe affliction”; while the Ijaw say hunger: “is like a river, it is always flowing. But if you know where to look, you can always find food.”

To the Nupe people: “Hunger is like fire, it can consume you if you don’t find a way to extinguish it”. They believe hunger is extremely arrogant, always boasting that: “if one will not sacrifice to anything, one must sacrifice to it!” The Yoruba people elaborated this point in a song: “Hunger makes a person lie down- he has water in his knees. Hunger makes a person lie down and count the rafter in his roof.  When the Muslim is not hungry he says ‘we are forbidden to eat monkey’ When he is hungry he eats a baboon. Hunger will drive the Muslim woman from the harem out into the street. Hunger will persuade the priest to steal from his own shrine. I have eaten yesterday does not concern hunger. There is no god like one’s stomach: we must sacrifice to it every day.”

Hunger contributed significantly in galvanising Nigerians to struggle for independence. But the conscientisation, mobilisation and politicisation of the masses against hunger, and for independence, came from the nationalist politicians.

In Hausa land, Mallam Mudi Sipikin, a radical nationalist, poetized: “The imperialist do exploit us They purchase our foodstuffs here from the North They transport them to their countries to make huge profit Their profit is beyond calculation If they buy our produce at £15 They make £150 profit over there Look at our groundnuts and cotton What we get from them here in the North is mere commission They buy our cash crops cheapest They sell their manufactured goods to us dearest We have had enough of the imperialist shameless exploitation! If we stand up and become more vigilant We continue to struggle and move forward Very soon farmers would come to discover That their prosperity and welfare would improve That cloth (alawayo) (or khaki) must have a fixed price For a bundle it must not exceed four shillings.”

The astronomical increases in the cost of food stuffs is a political decision. The continuous increases in taxation and tariffs, the reckless devaluation of the Naira, the astronomical increases in the prices of petroleum products, and the huge increase in electricity tariffs, which brought ordinary Nigerians to their knees, are all political decisions.

Therefore, for the workers, professionals, women, students and youth to tackle hunger they must act consciously and fight politically. As the Chinese people say: “When you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. When you teach a man how to fish, you feed him for life.” Rather than lamentations, they must seriously start asking and demanding answers why the poor have no food.

Ahmed Aminu-Ramatu Yusuf worked as deputy director, Cabinet Affairs Office, The Presidency, and retired as General Manager (Administration), Nigerian Meteorological Agency, (NiMet). Email: aaramatuyusuf@yahoo.com