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A former governorship candidate in Rivers State, Tonye Cole, has called on the President, Bola Tinubu, to prioritise the eradication of hunger for the overall progress of the country, Punch Newspapers reports.
According to him, violence, weak government, and healthcare systems had contributed to hunger in the country, adding that they must be addressed promptly if zero hunger is to be achieved.
He also said the president must learn from the China experience and design a simple, implementable model to end hunger in Nigeria.
Speaking at the unveiling of Nigeria’s hunger report by the T200 Foundation in Abuja on Saturday, he said, “Nigeria is once again at a unique historical juncture in which some measures, if done correctly and with the right political will, can be enormously transformational for the country and the continent at large.
“It is instructive that China accomplished this using a two-pronged method. The first strategic pillar, according to the World Bank study, was to implement a broad-based economic transformation to create new economic possibilities and boost average incomes. The second strategic pillar entailed providing targeted assistance for poverty alleviation.
“These factors that drive extreme poverty and, inevitably, hunger are similar to what exists in Nigeria today, which means that to meet the SDG 2 target of zero hunger through poverty eradication, Nigeria must also design a simple, implementable, and sustainable model and stick to it over time. This is undoubtedly more sophisticated than the famous ‘stomach infrastructure’ but it must be as simple to the masses as ‘stomach infrastructure’ is to them.”
Peoplesmind
