About 3.7m People Face Food Insecurity in Nigeria’s North East, ICRC Laments

Michael Olugbodein Abuja

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has lamented that across conflict-affected areas of northeast Nigeria, more than 3.7 million people face food insecurity.

It stated that many of them were farmers, who once nourished their communities, but years of conflict have displaced families, restricted their access to farmland and disrupted local food production.

According to a statement by ICRC, a community leader in Dikwa, Modu Umar said, “Right now, we face severe food shortages,” adding that some families were forced to walk long distances every day to collect firewood to sell, just to afford food.

“Farming is the only solution to hunger,” it stated.

In some communities, insecurity severely limited farmers’ movements.

“Some people trek three hours to reach their farms,” a 70-year-old farmer, Churi Ibrahim, from Gajibo, said.

He added that: “By the time you reach your farm, you’re already exhausted, and when you return home, it’s late.”

Despite these challenges, farmers persisted. “Even when you’re afraid, you have to go,” said BintuKonto, a mother of five, insisting that, “If you don’t farm during the rainy season, you’ll have nothing to eat.”

As the lean season begins and food stocks dwindle, the pressure has begun to mount.

“This is when households must start purchasing food, but many conflict-affected families can’t afford much,” Diana Japaridze, Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) office in Maiduguri, said.

She added that: “They’re forced to drastically limit their intake.” The ICRC lamented that food insecurity was also fueling malnutrition, especially among children under five and pregnant or breastfeeding women