Juxtaposing two recent global statistics of Nigeria sliding abysmally low to 115th out of 125 countries on the Global Hunger Index (GHI), against that released by Global Statistics indicating that Nigeria has the lowest life expectancy in the world is not only disturbing and embarrassing but a wake- up call for our policy makers.

They should speak to the conscience of the current crop of political leaders to shelve self-defence, swallow the humble pie and accept the harsh, socio-economic realities on ground to change the narrative, to fashion the best way forward. According to the Global Statistical sources some 31.8 million citizens are currently suffering from acute food insecurity among 139 million Nigerians wallowing in the pitiable, yet preventable pit of poverty.

These figures cannot be wished away with a wave of the hand by our political elite because they were aggregated by world-respected organisations such as Worldometer, Statista, Macrotrends, Our World in Data, World Bank Open Data, and the World Health Organisation (WHO). This they do on an annual basis, reporting data on a worldwide scale to release significant information across multiple fields.

The expectations are that they would serve as the credible data-base to guide the policy makers on how to identify the loopholes in their programmes, and projects. And in finding solutions to the problems at hand all these data should be critically analysed to reshape then in favour of the people’s priority needs, instead of criticising them, as some of the political helmsmen have been doing.

Such self-righteous response has led to the worsening figures with regards to Nigeria’s Human Development Index (HDI) over the years. That explains why Nigeria is now ranked 115th out of 123 countries on the Global Hunger Index (GHI). Sadly, the hunger score indicators have revealed severe food insecurity triggered by high poverty rate, escalating inflation, worsened by terrifying insecurity of life and property, contrary to the statutory functions of governments at all levels.

The GHI, an international documentary index, is anchored on comprehensive measurement and tracking of hunger ratings at global, regional, and national levels, based on four component indicators – Under nourishment, Child Stunting, Child Wasting, and Child Mortality.

With the dismal GHI ranking it is not surprising that Nigeria is currently at the last rung of the ladder on Life Expectancy. While Chad is ranked second, the third position goes to South Sudan, a war-ravaged country.

With security guaranteed and people having access to safe, nutritious food that is adequate under sustainable socio-economic development, life expectancy will definitely be enhanced

Specifically, life expectancy in Nigeria is 54.6 years overall. Furthermore, life expectancy in Nigeria for men is 54.3 years while for women it is 54.9 years. In Chad it is 55.2 years. In South Sudan it is 57.7years. In the Central African Republic it is 57.7 years and in Lesotho it is 57.8 years.

On their part the countries with the highest life expectancy are Monaco 87 years, San Marino 86 years, Japan 85 years and South Korea 85 years. These rankings, on both GHI and Life Expectancy should be taken with all the seriousness they deserve because they fall in sync with similar ones by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) as well as warnings from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

In fact, on the troubling issue of insecurity, the data revealed that Nigeria ranks 161 out of 175 countries as the safest place for women to live. The source of serious concern therefore, is that if care is not taken and the processes of redress are not embarked upon the situations could get worse. Such was the alarm raised by the Nigeria Country Representative and Political Director of Popcorn+, Adiya Ode.

He expressed concern that the ranking may worsen. He said so at the Nutritious Food Fair held recently in Kano. “But we know that real change happens when more partners join in. That’s why we continue to invite the private sector, investors, and policymakers to collaborate with us – to expand innovation, scale impact, and unlock the full potential of Nigeria’s agrifood sector,” he said.

On his part, and at the same event the HarvestPlus Nigeria Country Manager, Yusuf Fu’ad expressed optimism that Nigeria can overcome the food crisis if the government enhances farmers’ productivity with nutrient-enriched staple crops. Their collaboration with the Kano government, aims to scale innovations that enable farmers to cultivate nutrient-enriched staple crops and gain direct access to essential vitamins.

“The National Food Consumption and Micronutrient Survey shows that most people in our rural communities consume what they produce from their farms. This presents a great opportunity – when farmers cultivate nutrient-enriched staple crops, they gain direct access to the essential vitamins and micronutrients their families need,” Fu’ad stressed.

To stem the rising tide of food/ malnutrition insecurity and provide the citizens a quality of life that would guarantee longevity several factors have to come into full play. First and foremost, the government should be restructured to favour the people’s needs instead of that of the political players.

Regional government with true fiscal federalism would galvanise healthy competition. With security guaranteed and people having access to safe, nutritious food that is adequate under sustainable socio-economic development, life expectancy will definitely be enhanced.