Nigeria’s growing population faces a pressing challenge in accessing adequate food for its citizenry. To close this gap, the immediate past President of the country, Muhammadu Buhari, had in March 2023, signed the “Right to Food Act” that amended the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This amendment prioritises food security, and addresses the four pillars: availability, accessibility, utilisation, and stability.
Despite this milestone, awareness about the Act’s potentials remain limited. Also, the Nigerian Constitution, which recognises food provision as a key economic objective, lacks clear guidelines on government responsibilities and citizen expectations. To tackle this, collaboration across all sectors is crucial.
This is why a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation (GIFSEP), supported by OXFAM in Nigeria, recently organised a media training to raise awareness and accessibility of the Right to Food Act 2023. The training was aimed at sparking meaningful discussions on how journalists can hold the government accountable and ensure that food security becomes a national priority.
In a paper presentation entitled, “Understanding the Right to Food Act”, Founder/President of Farm and Infrastructure Foundation, Prof. Gbolagade Ayoola, explained that the right to food is a policy responsibility and accountability which makes policy authorities constitutionally obligated to respect, protect, and fulfill citizens’ rights.
Ayoola, who is also the Chief Executive Officer, National Campaign on Right to Food in Nigeria, stated that government should consider food security as a fundamental human right and not a mere human need. He noted that it is the obligation of government to help people suffering from hunger and malnutrition with the provision of food at all critical times.
“This entails the provision of food assistance to vulnerable groups, i.e., children, lactating mothers, etc., and other such people as those temporarily displaced from their natural habitats,” he said.
“To recognise in policy and practice, which stipulates the state’s exercise of power to refrain from acts capable of destroying people’s access to food through unfavourable public policies.
According to him, government has the obligation to protect the Right to Food Act at all times from injurious practices, which entails regulation of the activities of state and non-state actors, including the private sector, that are inimical to people’s food entitlement,” he added.
The founder of FIF further noted that the implementation of the Food Right Act is consistently faced with challenges such as inadequate voice, political instability, poor regulatory quality, lack of rule of law, and uncontrolled corruption, among others.
He, therefore, called on stakeholders to collaborate to ensure the full implementation of the Act by producing in-depth reports, documentaries, infographics, videos, and podcasts on food security for the interest of citizens of the country.
In another paper presentation, Mr Patrick Orlu of Channels Television, who spoke on “Media’s Role in Advocating for the Right to Food,” said investigative journalism exposes food insecurity and shapes public opinion on issues that would improve food security in the country.
Orlu urged journalists to do stories that will address the problem of food insecurity, such as food hoarding, food price hikes, mismanagement of food palliatives, agricultural policies and farmers’ challenges, among others.
He also encouraged media professionals to engage in fact-based journalism to prevent misinformation and panic among citizens.
“There is a need to fact-check before publication because fake news, for instance, the GMO food rumors in 2019, led to panic buying and losses. Thus, journalists should verify food security claims and use ethical guidelines to prevent panic.
” The pen is powerful when used right; journalism can ensure that no Nigerian goes to bed hungry,” he added.
On his part, the Executive Director of GIFSEP, Dr Michael David, said his organisation was committed to ensuring food security, environmental and biodiversity conservation.
David explained that GIFSEP and its partners had continued to train people, including journalists, on sustainable food systems and awareness creation on issues of food security for a resilient future.
According to him, the training was supported by OXFAM in Nigeria through the ‘Together Against Poverty (TAP)’ project and it aimed to create awareness about the implementation of the Right to Food Act.
He, consequently called for collaboration between stakeholders to end the fight against food insecurity in the country.
During the panel discussion, some journalists, Moojeed Abdulkareem (Premium Times) and Ene Okwanihe (Voice of Nigeria), both highlighted the challenges and opportunities in reporting food security in television, radio, and print media, saying it is difficult to access conflict-affected areas where food insecurity is believed to be prevalent.
They nevertheless emphasised that journalists can craft compelling narratives on the Right to Food and pitch food security stories using the human interest lens, as well as investigative and solution-focused reportage to advocate for food security in the country.
The media training was attended by selected journalists and editors across Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
