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Hungry People to Reach 49.5 million in Nigeria, Other West and Central African Countries in August 2024-WFP
Hungry People to Reach 49.5 million in Nigeria, Other West and Central African Countries in August 2024-WFP
By: Michael Mike
Hungry people in West and Central Africa including Nigeria may reach a staggering 49.5 million people between June and August 2024, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has raised the alarm.
The WFP in a statement on Tuesday said: Despite considerable efforts by governments and partners, food insecurity continues to worsen in West and Central Africa with the number of hungry people set to reach a staggering 49.5 million people between June and August 2024 – a four percent increase compared to 2023, according to a regional food security analysis which was released same day.
The statement read that: “The trend is particularly worrying in coastal countries, where the number of women, men, and children facing acute hunger (IPC/CH phases 3 or higher) is expected to reach 6.2 million during the June-August 2024 hunger gap – a 16 percent increase on last year. The November 2023 Cadre Harmonisé analysis projects cereal and tuber production throughout the region to be slightly above both last year’s levels and the 5-year average due to improved rains in 2023.”
According to the statement: Acute hunger in West and Central Africa is mainly driven by conflict – which has forcibly displaced millions of people from their homes and farms, the impact of the climate crisis, and high food and fuel prices. The prices of main foods remain well above the five-year average, particularly rice, corn, millet, sorghum, cassava and vegetable oil, despite seasonal declines in the prices of local commodities compared to last year.
The statement quoted WFP’s Acting Regional Director for Western Africa, Margot Vandervelden to have said:
“Acute hunger remains at record levels in the region, yet funding needed to respond is not keeping a pace; this is forcing WFP to scale back lifesaving assistance for those most affected in their hour of greatest need”, adding that: “Insufficient funding means the moderately hungry will be forced to skip meals and consume less nutritious food, putting them at risk of falling back into crisis or emergency phases, perpetuating the cycle of hunger and malnutrition. We need to break this circle by tackling the root causes of hunger and by building the resilience of families in West Africa.”
The statement added that the nutritional situation remains worrying, particularly in the Sahel, where emergency levels of child wasting were reached and surpassed in several countries this year, notably in parts of Mali, north-west Nigeria and Burkina Faso, it added that this was due to fragile food systems which do not deliver the specific nutritional needs of women and children; limited access to basic social services; and poor care and hygiene practices.
It noted that more than 2 out of 3 households in West and Central Africa cannot afford healthy diets. And 8 out of 10 children aged 6-23 months do not consume the minimum number of food groups they need for optimal growth and development. In the year up to the end of October 2023, 1.9 million children under five years were admitted for treatment of severe wasting across nine Sahel countries, representing a 20 percent increase as compared to the same period in 2022.
The UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Felicité Tchibindat said: “Children in West and Central Africa have a right to nutritious, safe, affordable and sustainable diets,” “We invest to prevent child malnutrition happening in the first place, but we also need funding to keep supporting government services for the early detection, treatment, and care of malnourished children to help them survive, recover, and go on to live healthy and productive lives with dignity.”
The statement stated that the cost of a daily nutritious diet in central Sahel (Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger) is 110 percent higher than the daily minimum wage in the region, and more and more households rely on local markets to provide their food, even in rural areas, according to the 2023 Food security and Nutrition report. For comparison, the cost of healthy diet in Africa is as high as in the USA, despite the latter GDP being more than 35 times that in the Africa region.
To address the spiralling food insecurity and malnutrition, FAO, UNICEF and WFP called on national government and financial partners to prioritize programmes that strengthen climate resilient food systems and livelihoods and invest in social protection systems, and improve natural resource management, including water, as an accelerator of resilience and development.
Participants in the Cadre Harmonisé food security analysis also recommended timely development and implementation of emergency programmes that address immediate food and nutritional needs of populations experiencing crisis and emergency levels of food insecurity and malnutrition (IPC/CH phases 3 to 5). This will not only save lives, but also prevent the risk of malnutrition among children in areas most affected by insecurity and economic crises including in Burkina Faso, Chad, DRC, Mali, Nigeria and Niger.
“With the persistence of food and nutritional insecurity, we must act urgently to save millions of lives by advocating for the acceleration of resource mobilization to finance national response plans and facilitate access to areas facing insecurity or difficult to access, particularly in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria”, said FAO Sub-Regional Coordinator for West Africa and the Sahel, Dr. Robert Guei.
The Cadre Harmonisé analysis also showed an estimated 94 million people in West and Central Africa under food security “Stress” (IPC/CH phase 2) between October and December 2023. Left without support, these communities are at risk of shifting to “crisis” and “emergency” (IPC/CH phases 3 and 4) levels of hunger tomorrow.
Hungry People to Reach 49.5 million in Nigeria, Other West and Central African Countries in August 2024-WFP
News
Ex-NGF Coordinator Onaiwu urges support for NSA security direction
Ex-NGF Coordinator Onaiwu urges support for NSA security direction
By: Michael Mike
A former coordinator of the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, Earl Osaro Onaiwu, has called on the political class across party lines to support ongoing security efforts of the federal government.
Onaiwu in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday noted that insecurity is colour blind, has no party affiliation and was religious neutral, therefore, the need for politicians to eschew partisan slant on security matters.
He cautioned that failure by the political elite to support the fight against insecurity leading to several ungoverned spaces could disrupt elections, stressing that except there is a country, then elections are guaranteed.
The former NGF coordinator particularly commended the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for his coordination and strategic efforts in streamlining security policies and engagements in tackling insecurity.
According to him, the recent delivery of military hardware by the United States Government to Nigeria is a demonstration that the NSA was working and his recent foray to the U.S. is yielding the desired results.
“The season requires patriots and this means that irrespective of party affiliations, every politician worth his name needs to support ongoing security efforts as coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
“Insecurity is colour blind, has no party affiliation, it is religious blind and those not respect societal status. Therefore, Nigerians, especially our political class, should lend their support, proffer solutions and galvanise the people to back the government’s security initiatives.
“Only on Tuesday, the federal government received critical military hardware from the United States Government. This is cheering and it shows that the NSA’s recent visit to the United States and the subsequent hosting of delegations in the country is bearing the desired results.
“Also, renewed military and police onslaughts against terrorists and bandits show that the federal government is taking the fight to those who are intent on denying us our peace and well-being.
“The least we can do as citizens is to support the government, provide real time intelligence from our communities and do not engage in fake news on social media against government’s efforts,” Onaiwu stated.
He further called on governors to match the energy of the federal government by supporting the NSA to address the various security challenges in their states as well as continued logistics and equipment to the military and police.
Ex-NGF Coordinator Onaiwu urges support for NSA security direction
News
Court Threatens Contempt Action Against IGP Over Alleged Disobedience in Anozie Abduction Case
Court Threatens Contempt Action Against IGP Over Alleged Disobedience in Anozie Abduction Case
By: Michael Mike
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, is facing possible committal to prison following contempt proceedings initiated over an alleged failure to comply with a Federal High Court order relating to the abduction and disappearance of Mr. John Chukwuemeka Anozie.
The action was instituted by legal counsel to Mr. Anozie’s wife, Mr. Vincent Adodo, who accused the Nigeria Police Force under the leadership of the IGP of willfully disobeying a judgment delivered by the Federal High Court, Abuja, on September 24, 2025.
In the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/865/2025 between Mrs. Nnenna Anozie v. Inspector General of Police, Justice Binta Nyako ordered the IGP to produce for prosecution operatives of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) alleged to have abducted Mr. Anozie from his Lekki residence in Lagos on June 15, 2017.
The court also directed the police authorities to forward the investigation report and legal advice on the matter to the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation for appropriate action.
The court further awarded ₦2 million in damages against the IGP for failing to respond to a Freedom of Information request submitted by Mrs. Anozie seeking details of investigations into her husband’s disappearance.
The SARS operatives listed in the judgment include officers attached to the former SARS unit in Akwuzu, Anambra State, who were accused of involvement in the alleged abduction.
According to court documents, despite being served with the judgment in October 2025, the IGP has neither complied with the orders of the court nor paid the damages awarded. This development prompted Mrs. Anozie’s legal team to initiate contempt proceedings by serving the IGP with Form 48 (Notice of Consequences of Disobedience to Court Order) and Form 49 (Notice of Committal to Correctional Centre).
The applicant is now seeking an order of court committing the IGP to Kuje Correctional Centre until he complies fully with the judgment.
The motion for contempt has been scheduled for hearing on February 9, 2025, before the Federal High Court, Abuja.
As of the time of filing this report, the Nigeria Police Force has not issued an official response to the contempt proceedings.
Court Threatens Contempt Action Against IGP Over Alleged Disobedience in Anozie Abduction Case
News
VP Shettima Lauds Massachusetts Tech Institute’s Impact On Global Innovation Ecosystem
VP Shettima Lauds Massachusetts Tech Institute’s Impact On Global Innovation Ecosystem
Urges African entrepreneurs to close ranks to fully harness continent’s huge potentials
By: Our Reporter
The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has lauded the transformative impact of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on the global entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem that has raised over $1.5 billion dollars and created over 30,000 direct jobs in 20 years.
He, however, urged African entrepreneurs to close ranks in order to fully harness the continent’s huge potentials, leveraging MIT’s resource mobilization network and job creation opportunities.
The Vice President made the remarks on Wednesday when he received a delegation from Kuo Sharper Foundry Fellowship 2025-2026 led by MIT’s Executive Director for the Kuo Sharper Centre for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship, Dina Sherif, on a courtesy visit at the presidential villa.

Senator Shettima called for unity of purpose among African professionals and entrepreneurs, saying “Africa is the new frontier and future belongs to the continent but its people must unite to transform potentials into tangible results that impact lives and livelihoods.
“Africa is blessed with enormous human and material resources but its people must fuse into one to benefit from the tremendous opportunities that abound across the continent,” he added.

He disclosed that Nigeria President Bola Tinubu is daring to leverage available opportunities to transform the entire economy, noting that “President Tinubu is not afraid of taking bold decisions that will reposition Nigeria’s economy and better the lives of the livelihoods of the people.”
Earlier in her remarks, the leader of the delegation, Sherif, said the delegation was at the Presidential Villa to brief the Vice President on the activities of MIT’s Kuo Sharper Centre for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship, assuring that the Centre is dedicated to “fueling the engine of entrepreneurship across the world”.
She noted that the team was in Nigeria in view of the Kuo Sharper Foundry Fellowship programme, which, according to her, has helped to entrench the spirit of entrepreneurship across the continent.

Sherif underscored the significance of collaboration among African startups, noting that Nigeria is a leading country, as evidenced in the progress recorded by startups across the continent.
She further assured of improved support for African-based startups from the centre through its various initiatives.

Also present at the meeting with the Vice President were the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mrs. Zubaida Umar, and some fellows of the Kuo Sharper Foundry Fellowship 2025 – 2026 Session across Africa.
VP Shettima Lauds Massachusetts Tech Institute’s Impact On Global Innovation Ecosystem
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