“Hunger, poverty now security threats — NSA, CDS” Vanguard, June 24, 2025.

Talk of stating the obvious as profound wis­dom, the National Security Adviser, NSA, Malam Nuhu Ribadu and the Chief of Defense Staff, CDS, General Christopher Musa, speak­ing at the 14th National Security Seminar, or­ganised by the Alumni of National Defence College, Abuja, “said yesterday that hunger and poverty are catalysts fueling insecurity, vi­olence and social integration in the country” in a report by Kingsley Omonobi and Johnbosco Agbakwuru. Ribadu added that: “These issues form a vicious circle. Poverty leads to insecu­rity and insecurity, in turn, deepens poverty.”

Nothing truer has ever been said by any government official. Unfortunately, it was not original.

Economists, development experts, philos­ophers and social scientists have been saying the same thing long before Christ and Moham­med were born.

When late Professor Aluko, told the world that the poor cannot sleep because they are hungry; and the rich cannot sleep because the poor are awake, he summarised the inextrica­ble linkage between hunger, poverty, insecurity and underdevelopment; and the need for gov­ernments to make Food First their topmost programme.

However, what Fellow Nigerians would have loved to hear from the two officials charged with managing national security challenges were the things neither of them stated.

At each and every occasion, such as these, they are supposed to render a report of their stewardship.

Specifically, they should have been profes­sional enough to tell Nigerians if hunger and poverty had abated since 2023 – when they were appointed — and, if not, why not? It is probably because the two officers know the answers that they deliberately skirted the issue of perfor­mance. They have lots of reasons to overlook what is hiding in plain sight.

“A leader is best/when people don’t know he exists…/worst when they despise him… “ Lao-tsy, 6th Century Chinese philosopher.

Granted a President is the ultimate leader of his country; but the security leadership is often delegated to others.

When President Tinubu visited Benue State, three weeks ago, he was guest of people clobbered by hunger and poverty – both of which were being made increasingly worse by violence and social disintegration.

During one televised session, the President called the heads of the security agencies, one by one, and issued instructions to each of them to ensure that the wanton and random violence stopped not only in Benue State but in the entire country. They didn’t need to be told.

Three days after Tinubu spoke, another Benue community was attacked and sacked. Plateau State experienced violence the next day; and two days after bombs exploded in Borno and Kano States.

Obviously, the hoodlums treat the nation’s top security officers with disdain.

As this article is being written, Breaking News reported that 20 soldiers were reportedly killed in another attack in Niger State.

In fact, since Tinubu’s visit, there has been no single day when bandits have not massa­cred innocent Nigerians – including children and security staff.

Something is clearly wrong.

“EFCC arrests ex-NNPCL CFO in $7.2bn refinery probe.”

Report June 24, 2025.

The news report went on to say that: “The arrest was in connection with alleged $7.2bn fraud linked to the rehabilitation of the Kadu­na, Warri and Portharcourt refineries.”

The report, which must have startled most readers, was not surprising to me. Since writing and publishing PDP: Corruption In­corporated, exposing financial crimes under Obasanjo’s regime – which Malam Ribadu, the first Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission deliberately ignored, I have followed as much as possible the monu­mental fraud taking place at the NNPC(L) for more than seventeen years.

An ongoing probe by a Committee in the House of Representatives has already flagged alleged fraud in the corporation over ten years nearing $200bn – more that the entire national debt.

Even, without counting the embezzlement of public funds at state levels, it should be ob­vious to even the village idiot that Nigeria is the Poverty Capital of the World because those trusted with our national wealth have proved to be uniformly untrustworthy.

The funds which should have been used for national development have been privatised and a lot sent abroad by top officials. The NNPC(L), CBN and Governors’ offices have been favour­ite hunting grounds for kleptomaniacs.

The NSA and CDS, inadvertently or delib­erately, left out corruption among the causes of poverty and hunger among the people – because their own units are also neck deep in corruption. Funds allocated for arms, am­munition and welfare of troops are routinely embezzled – leaving the rank and file exposed to superior arms of hoodlums.

Furthermore, there is a conspiracy of si­lence. We have been told that financiers of the bandits are known.

Unconfirmed rumours indicate that many of them are at the topmost levels of govern­ment, awarding contracts and making money – with which they finance the mayhem which everybody deplores and which render security and development difficult to achieve.

Tinubu unveils distribution of 2,000 tractors, others.”Report June 24, 2025.

The news report contained welcome news as well as disturbing tendencies in govern­ments. Certainly, 2000 tractors will help boost food production significantly nationally – if properly utilised. That is a big IF. My experi­ence working in the North, at several locations, and observing tractor usage does not offer much confidence in that regard.

From the Shagari Green Revolution initia­tive to Babangida’s Directorate of Food and Ru­ral Roads Infrastructure, DFRRI TO NALDA, the Federal Government has always bought tractors and deployed them.

Almost invariably, it has turned out to be a case of government proposing operators dis­posing – often with sub-optimisation of the resources provided.

Those were peaceful times. Given the widespread insecurity in the country, finding tractor operators willing to go to work in rural areas might be problematic.

The Governor of Niger State, Mohammed Umar Bago, acquired tractors before Tinubu visited the state last year. I visited Wushishi Local Government late last year and saw some fairly new tractors in some communities.

Out of curiousity, I asked for the tractor drivers. The reply was astonishing. They have fled after being threatened by hoodlums. Gov­ernments have acquired tractors; they must now get tractor drivers willing to risk their lives to produce food for us.

Otherwise, the Federal Government and State governments will labour in vain.

Follow me on Facebook @ J Israel Biola.