Lamentations on hunger, By Ahmed Aminu-Ramatu Yusuf

Submit-colonial Nigeria is right this moment confronted with an all-round disaster. Probably the most critical being starvation. It turned manifest from 1984. It progressively widened, deepened and worsened with the imposition of neo-liberal insurance policies, together with the  Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), which was launched in July 1986 by the Babangida regime.

Except late President Umaru Musa  Yar’Adua’s authorities, and to some extent that of President Goodluck Jonathan, the return to civil rule in 1999 didn’t change the equation. In reality, starvation assumed  vital dimensions beneath Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and  Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Whereas within the pre-colonial interval, most societies attributed the causes of famine to supernatural forces, within the colonial and post-colonial intervals, the causes of starvation more and more got here to be attributed to authorities insurance policies and actions. Within the pre-colonial interval, the duty of tackling famine lay primarily within the arms of the ruling courses. In distinction, within the colonial and post-colonial intervals, the plenty have been left to sort out the issue themselves.

Failure of the ruling courses to sort out famine in some pre-colonial societies led to both the banishment or elimination of the king, or his being requested to commit suicide. However  within the colonial and post-colonial interval, the federal government was not accountable, accountable or answerable to society.  It turned seen as being  above society, and opposed, antagonistic, and hostile to society. Its officers have been, and are nonetheless, seen as puppets of Western European forces.

Dr Adeniyi-Jones, a Nigerian member of the colonial Legislative Council in Lagos, mentioned: “if ever there was a case of slavery inside the British Empire, the doubters must not look additional than Northern Nigeria.” Slavery led to immense starvation, which compelled a poverty-stricken peasant to try to: “promote his sister in alternate for meals” within the Forties.

The slavery made Tiv miners to lament and sing: “See what has befallen me, inform me what I’ve completed to deserve it? In days passed by, I farmed for my mom and once I was drained, I rested; if I had something to say, I mentioned it, and once I felt hungry, ate Then, there was no person to beat me and I by no means needed to work as I’m working right this moment. Work! Work! Work! My masters grind me down; they throw stones at me once I cease work and when I’ve completed, I get no pay. What a life.”

The talakawa or commoners in Hausa land believed that their starvation was attributable to the colonial forces and their Nigerian stooges, particularly “conventional rulers”. They sang about  the starvation: “Yan Balange – Synthetic starvation; Yunwar ‘yan birni – Famine of the townspeople; Mai dan sanho – Time for little luggage; Ta bi da maza– Subduer of courageous males; Sarkin Barna – Supreme Destroyer.”

In Southern Nigeria, starvation was equally an enormous downside, resulting in the imposition of worth management and rationing measures. Right here, a colonial officer wrote that there have been critical however: “exaggerated notion of the diploma of shortage of foodstuff and the tempo of worth … they (colonial officers) bought considerably neurotic about holding that which they’d.”

In response, folks resorted to insulting British officers and conventional rulers for the meals shortage, inflation and starvation within the nation. Yoruba girls sang: “I purchased okro I purchased onion I purchased one penny price of salt However was insufficient for my soup I’ll ship a curse to the White males in Akure.”

In addition they  sang: “Unusual issues are taking place in Lagos Europeans now promote pepper, Europeans now promote palm oil, Europeans now promote yam, Although they can not discover their strategy to Idogo, And Falolu (the Oba or King of Lagos) is within the palace and alive, Europeans weren’t gained’t to promote seeds.”

Society has been, and remains to be, vital of the state for inflicting and aggravating starvation. Its  notion of starvation is that it’s fearless, deaf, thoughtless, impatient, painful, conceited, dictatorial, disrespectful, and ever-demanding. Yesterday, tomorrow and subsequent tomorrow isn’t in starvation’s dictionary. It have to be given what it desires – meals.

To the Edo folks, starvation: “destroys the physique; weakens the thoughts; destroys dignity; and brings disgrace.” However it: “checks character; teaches humility; and brings non secular development.”

To the Igbo, starvation is a: “private enemy; makes the eyes sink; and is a extreme affliction”; whereas the Ijaw say starvation: “is sort of a river, it’s at all times flowing. But when you understand the place to look, you possibly can at all times discover meals.”

To the Nupe folks: “Starvation is like fireplace, it might probably devour you in the event you don’t discover a strategy to extinguish it”. They consider starvation is extraordinarily conceited, at all times boasting that: “if one is not going to sacrifice to something, one should sacrifice to it!” The Yoruba folks elaborated this level in a track: “Starvation makes an individual lie down- he has water in his knees. Starvation makes an individual lie down and rely the rafter in his roof.  When the Muslim isn’t hungry he says ‘we’re forbidden to eat monkey’ When he’s hungry he eats a baboon. Starvation will drive the Muslim lady from the harem out into the road. Starvation will persuade the priest to steal from his personal shrine. I’ve eaten yesterday doesn’t concern starvation. There is no such thing as a god like one’s abdomen: we should sacrifice to it day-after-day.”

Starvation contributed considerably in galvanising Nigerians to battle for independence. However the conscientisation, mobilisation and politicisation of the plenty in opposition to starvation, and for independence, got here from the nationalist politicians.

In Hausa land, Mallam Mudi Sipikin, a radical nationalist, poetized: “The imperialist do exploit us They buy our foodstuffs right here from the North They transport them to their nations to make large revenue Their revenue is past calculation In the event that they purchase our produce at £15 They make £150 revenue over there Take a look at our groundnuts and cotton What we get from them right here within the North is mere fee They purchase our money crops most cost-effective They promote their manufactured items to us dearest We’ve had sufficient of the imperialist shameless exploitation! If we rise up and turn out to be extra vigilant We proceed to battle and transfer ahead Very quickly farmers would come to find That their prosperity and welfare would enhance That fabric (alawayo) (or khaki) should have a set worth For a bundle it should not exceed 4 shillings.”

The astronomical will increase in the price of meals stuffs is a political choice. The continual will increase in taxation and tariffs, the reckless devaluation of the Naira, the astronomical will increase within the costs of petroleum merchandise, and the large enhance in electrical energy tariffs, which introduced extraordinary Nigerians to their knees, are all political choices.

Subsequently, for the employees, professionals, girls, college students and youth to sort out starvation they need to act consciously and battle politically. Because the Chinese language folks say: “If you give a person a fish, you feed him for a day. If you train a person the best way to fish, you feed him for all times.” Relatively than lamentations, they need to critically begin asking and demanding solutions why the poor haven’t any meals.

Ahmed Aminu-Ramatu Yusuf labored as deputy director, Cupboard Affairs Workplace, The Presidency, and retired as Common Supervisor (Administration), Nigerian Meteorological Company, (NiMet). E-mail: aaramatuyusuf@yahoo.com