Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said Nigeria must address the high cost of fuel, transportation and food to tackle worsening child malnutrition.
Reacting on Thursday through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described the latest malnutrition figures as a disturbing reflection of the cost-of-living pressures facing families.
According to figures cited by nutrition experts, 41.1 per cent of Nigerian children under five are stunted, while 19.2 per cent are severely stunted, with the prevalence rising to 58.2 per cent in the North-West. Nearly two million children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, with only about two in every 10 receiving treatment.
Atiku said the figures must be considered alongside the pressure that food, transportation and energy costs are placing on household budgets.
“This is the most heartbreaking face of the cost-of-living crisis. Behind every statistic is a Nigerian mother struggling to decide what her children can eat, how much they can eat and how often they can eat.
“A child does not understand inflation figures. A child only knows whether there is food on the table,” he said.
He noted that while the National Bureau of Statistics currently reports food inflation at 19.57 per cent, households continue to contend with high prices.
Atiku said energy costs affect household welfare, noting that the World Bank had observed that higher petrol prices reduce purchasing power and feed into the prices of other goods and services, particularly transportation.
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“When fuel becomes expensive, transporting tomatoes from the farm becomes expensive. Taking rice to the market becomes expensive. Moving children to school becomes expensive. Running the neighbourhood grinding machine becomes expensive. Powering the small shop becomes expensive. And eventually, the additional cost arrives at the dinner table,” he said.
Atiku reiterated his proposal for a production subsidy, which he described as distinct from subsidising imported petrol.
According to him, the proposal provides for targeted support tied to crude refined domestically, with the intervention capped, transparently budgeted and independently audited.
“My position is straightforward: support what Nigeria produces and refines, lower domestic production costs, and ensure that the benefit reaches the Nigerian consumer. This is not an import subsidy. If you do not refine in Nigeria, you do not qualify. The subsidy follows the barrel refined in Nigeria. Produce here. Refine here. Create jobs here. Pay less here,” he said.
The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) said reducing energy costs was important because energy and transportation costs affect agriculture, manufacturing, logistics, markets and household spending.
“My production-subsidy proposal is therefore not simply a petrol policy. It is part of a broader affordability programme. I want the farmer to spend less getting produce to market. I want the trader to spend less transporting goods. I want the bus driver to spend less on fuel. I want parents to have more money left after transportation so that they can put better food on the table,” Atiku said.
He said economic policy must address whether ordinary Nigerians can afford to live, adding that beyond expanding treatment for severely malnourished children and strengthening nutrition programmes, the underlying economic pressures must be confronted.
“We cannot build a strong country on the bodies of hungry children. We cannot celebrate economic statistics while mothers are cutting meals and children are denied the nutrition they require to grow. My objective is clear: lower the cost of energy, lower transportation and production costs, strengthen Nigerian production, restore purchasing power and give families breathing room again. I will make life affordable again,” he said.