The Archbishop of Kaduna Province and Bishop of Kaduna Diocese, Most Rev. Timothy Yahaya, has tasked the federal government to address food security, noting that Nigerians are hungry and cannot afford common food even as the country is sitting on gold and diamond.
Addressing the 23rd Synod and 70th Anniversary of Kaduna Diocese of the Anglican Communion at St. Christopher Anglican Church, Kaduna, Sunday on the theme: “The Lord is my Shepherd”, the cleric said for Nigerians to enjoy succour, the federal government needs to address food security, nationhood and insecurity to ensure that the people live in peace. He tasked labour movement to tackle Nigeria’s problems in a holistic manner, noting that the challenges facing Nigerians workers go beyond minimum wage increment.
“Nigeria is a country that is living on gold and diamond yet the people are hungry. The federal government should address nationhood and the issue of food security is very paramount because a hungry man is an angry man. The federal government should declare state of emergency on insecurity. Let insecurity become history in the next three or four months or before the end of the year. Life is not easy in Nigeria, the gari that used to be the food of the common man is now a luxury because the minimum wage is not enough to cater for the need of the workers.
“The salary of workers for two months cannot buy a bag of maize. Bread used to be a replacement for main food, but it is now a luxury. A loaf of bread as at the last time I asked is N1, 700 which a common man cannot afford. We are now suffering hyperinflation. The price of good changes every time, CFA is now more important than naira. We should instead of imposing taxation go back to our industries and agriculture. You cannot remove tariff and expect everything to be okay. We spend money for power, we have darkness and we pay for darkness.”