One day we will sit and develop a robust model for measuring national hunger.
The 6 tubers of yam in this video cost N2,500 in Saki, Oyo State TODAY.
The same would probably cost at least N10,000 in Lagos.
When people scream "There is hunger in the land", they use Lagos and Abuja prices as a benchmark for everyone, and that is not accurate. People's realities are different all over Nigeria.
A farmer in Saki isn't buying yam at a Lagos market price. He's eating what's grown a few minutes from where he lives, at what it actually costs to grow it, not what it costs after fuel, transport and three middlemen get added on top.
Someone earning minimum wage in both places is not living in the same economy.
National hunger figures get built almost entirely off urban food prices. That measures what it costs to eat in a city that produces almost nothing it consumes. It was never built to measure what it costs to eat in the towns that grow the food.
Until that model exists, every "there is hunger in the land" post is measuring a part of Nigeria and speaking for all of it.
Dear @officialABAT,
I have served at NAFDAC for nearly a decade and dedicated years of my career to the fight against counterfeit and substandard medicines and unsafe food products.
My work in this area earned me the NAFDAC Director-Generalβs Merit Award in recognition of my contribution to the fight against fake food and drugs.
Mr. President, I am not asking for a favour. I am offering competence, experience and a proven commitment to the national interest.
Make me the Director-General of NAFDAC, give me the mandate and the institutional backing, and I will take the fight against counterfeit medicines and unsafe foods to an entirely different level.
Within the first six months, I will target a minimum 60% reduction in the circulation of counterfeit and substandard medicines and unsafe regulated products, with the ultimate objective of driving the menace to the barest minimum within one year.
Nigeria does not lack capable professionals. Sometimes, what is needed is simply the courage to put the right person in the right place.
Give me the mandate. Give me the tools. I will deliver.
Nigeria deserves a stronger, more effective war against fake drugs and unsafe foods.
#NAFDAC #EndFakeDrugs #ConsumerSafety #Nigeria
In all you do, please leave Urhobo and Itsekiri men for their women. At least theyβre already familiar with the brand.
Blood of Jesus Christ of Nazarethπ