Economic hardship: Hunger drives Nigerians to waste bins, party leftovers

When the Elizabethan philosopher Francis Bacon made the famous saying that “The rebellion of the stomach is the worst type of rebellion, he might not have a particular country in mind, but four centuries after, his observation still resonates in many nations.

The most recent being #EndBadGovernance in  Nigeria, a protest driven by hunger against current administration’s policies in which many teenagers joined out of frustrations.

The level of hunger in the country is unprecedented and alarming, and no where is this phenomenon evident more than parties, worship houses and any gathering of people where you see swarms of ill-nourished children begging for money and food.

This reporter was invited to a  Celestial  Church Harvest somewhere near Obasanjo’s farm in Ota, Ogun State a week ago. Outside the massive church building were big canopies, where guests and others were entertained with food and drinks. Lurking in the the precincts with hollow, sunken eyes and hungry faces were children between the ages of nine to seventeen watching as the guests and members of the church were having a swell time in food and drinks.

At first, this reporter was alarmed at the uncertainty of their mission, an alarm was heightened by the discovery of some women lurking in the shadows behind the  children. In a twinkle, one of the children ventured forward to pack the leftover food of one of guests, two guests stopped him in his track, demanding to know, who sent him to pack the leftover for ritual.

The innocent child pointed in the direction of the women, and as if in a choreographed cue, the women and children moved forward and explained the situation. Many of the guests started cursing the government for bringing misery and hunger to this level. They all packed the leftovers, and one woman even donated her own food to them.

Waste bins of many high brow neighbourhoods have become havens for hungry scavengers looking for leftovers of the affluent, from Ikoyi to Lekki, from Lagos Mainland to even backwaters, such as Alagbado, Igando to Alábá.

A senior editor, who recently returned from the annual gathering of editors narrated what he witnessed in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, where children invaded the hall, where event took place, and descended on the leftovers.

Before the current downturn in the economy, this phenomenon was common with children from the northern part of the country, called almajiris, but Tinubunomics has imposed the habit on people from all parts of the country.

Findings have shown  that  as a result of pervasive  hunger and the  imperative  for survival, many parents have let out their children to scavenge for leftover food at parties. Roadside and street begging have been discovered not to be enough for the hungry. They also visit prayer houses to beg, knowing fully well that their needs cannot be neglected in such places.

This reporter’s  friend narrated an encounter with  Abiodun  on a church premises. Abiodun was  holding  a big sack and looked very famished. He approached the friend  and begged for money or food to eat, pointing finger at three unkempt, shabbily dressed boys at the other end.

He explained: “I am nine  years old. My mother is sick and my father doesn’t live with us.

“My brothers and I heard they were sharing food and money in this church. That is why we are here with a sack to carry some food home to our mother.

“Please help us, we haven’t eaten since yesterday,” Abiodun said.

Dr. Maria Adéwálé, a psychologist, told Business Hallmark that  “The rate at which children scout for leftovers at parties is alarming.

“Many parents have resorted to sending their wards out because they know guests would take pity on these children when they beg for food or money.

“I attended a party recently. The venue was an open field. These children just came from nowhere and descended on the leftovers by guests, who have departed the venue.

“I was shocked and wept. There were up to six of them.

“I wondered what the conditions of the parents were because the children were looking very unkempt and hungry.”

” On a serious level, this government needs to do something urgent. We can not continue to implement unworkable IMF/World Bank prescriptions to the level that our people will be dying of hunger. If they die who will you govern. It’s about time African leaders knew that these Western economic institutions do not mean well for Africa.

“Lookk at the level of social and economic dislocation Tinubu has brought on the people, a policy leading nowhere but more poverty. They should tell us which country in Africa implemented these policies with better life and not poverty for their people. Did Rwanda or Botswana do it, are they not doing fine.

“Nigerian leaders are simply living in colonial mindset, intellectually lazy, they only indulge in Thorsteinian conspicuous consumption and pleasure with no values to add.”

Mrs. Agnes Nwachukwu, a business woman voiced her fears,  narrating her experience, saying  that the term ‘mogbo moya’ (adults attending a party without invitation) was no longer accepted in many parties.

“If you attend an open venue party now, you will be shocked to find out the rate at which hunger is dealing with people.

“Many uninvited guests, because of the fear of embarrassment in parties, no longer come with bags and plates to takeaway food. They send their children.

“Before there was mogbo moya in parties but now such is not in existence.

“A proof of invitation is now requested in party venues with a tag placed on your wrist for identification.

“With the rate of hunger outside, these parents now send their children to such party venues knowing that in most cases they will be given food.”

Mr. Adebayo Akinfenwa, a clergy man, said: “Before, it’s these Hausa women you see at the entrance of prayer houses begging alms.

“Now, it is our children. These children are privy to many information concerning celebrations in these prayer houses.

“When I leave the church on Sunday after service, there are up to 10 children, begging for alms or food.

“On the occasion when there are celebrations, they fight over leftover food and you see them , pouring it in polythene bags to take home.

“This is what some adults did then but not with leftover food.

“Every time I see these children, I always feel sad knowing that the increasing cost of living is raising the rate of hunger in the country and the children, who were meant to be provided for are now left with no option but to provide for themselves.

“It is a pity.”

In the 2023 Global Hunger Index, GHI, Nigeria was ranked 109th out of 125 countries, with a score of 28.3 percent. The report tagged countries that scored 20.0-34.9 as having serious hunger. This indicates that Nigeria is the 16th most hungry country in the world.

Analysis of new hunger data from Cadre Harmonisé, a regional authority on the severity of hunger crises in the Sahel and West Africa, showed that 5.4 million children are now at risk of facing acute malnutrition by next April, a 25 percent increase compared to the 4.4 million this past April. Among them, about 1.8 million could be experiencing Severe Acute Malnutrition.

The report also stated that next year, 33 million people in Nigeria will not know where their next meal will come from, including over 16 million children.

Mrs. Shobowale Fatimah, a businesswoman, confirmed her findings, saying: “The rate at which children scout for leftovers at parties is alarming.

“Many parents have resorted to sending their wards out because they know guests would take pity on these children when they beg for food or money.

Many mothers in Nigeria are in the throes of depression. This is because their children are helpless victims of the dehumanizing scourges of malnutrition. Many children cannot grow and learn life-supporting, income-generating skills. This is because the pangs of hunger keep them awake at night, and they are too weak to go to school during the day.

Many fathers are vitiating in pools of anguish because they cannot provide for their families, and they cannot endure the indignity of watching their girls begging, hawking, etc. Show me a father with a shattered sense of dignity, and I will show you a father who cannot feed and protect his family.

This may help to explain why some fathers “vanish” from their homes. To be candid, nothing weakens the moral foundation of great nations like when families are traumatized by austere economic conditions, particularly, when there are no social safety nets to assuage their plights.

Poverty and hunger are almost always coexistent. Hence, it is not an existential irony that hunger is widespread in the poverty capital of the world.