PRESS RELEASE

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Nigeria Faces an Immediate Famine, Says President’s Office

Nov. 15, 2016 (EIRNS)—Since last Summer, there have been widespread media reports pointing to an impending threat of food shortages in northeast Nigeria, caused by the Boko Haram terrorists’ occupation of a vast swathe of land. On Nov. 14, a spokesman for President Muhammadu Buhari, Garba Shehu, told Pyramid radio that

"the huge demand for our grains in the global market is creating an excellent environment for the mindless export of Nigerian food across our borders, and unless this is curtailed, Nigerian markets will be bereft of grains by January next year,"

All Africa reported today.

In addition, Shehu stated:

"Over the past year, providence has blessed Nigeria with a bountiful harvest of grains, more than enough to feed the country and to export to other countries. At present, there is a high demand for grains from Nigeria, from African countries as distant as Libya and Algeria, and from places as far away as Brazil. However, the Ministry of Agriculture has raised concerns about a massive rate of exportation, which could lead to shortage of grains in Nigeria by January,"

UkrAgroConsult reported on its website.

A similar warning has also been issued by the UN. Reuters reported today that UN humanitarian coordinator for Nigeria Peter Lundberg, addressing a news conference in Abuja, said:

"Next year 26 million people will be affected by the ongoing crisis and 14 million of these will need international and national humanitarian assistance."

He added that there are 75,000 children who, "if we don’t do something rapidly and seriously ... are going to die in the few months ahead of us."