Food price hike: Nigeria vulnerable because we are import-dependent, says Utomi

Pat Utomi, a professor of political economy, says Nigeria is currently in a “vulnerable” position because the country depends on importation.

Utomi spoke on Thursday in an interview with Channels Television.

There have been concerns over the rising cost of food items, and the country’s inflation rate hit a five-year high in June 2022.

Speaking on the state of the country’s economy, Utomi, a former presidential candidate on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), said for Nigeria to develop, the electorate must vote for leaders who are truly interested in serving the country.

“The real issue here is that we are not producing. We are not exporting, so we are hit very badly by the fact that we are so import-dependent and the prices of those imports are going crazy, and now we are so dependent on importation of food,” he said.

“We should have been going for a clear national security thing with food security. We are vulnerable because we are importing everything – what we eat — in a country that should be exporting food.

“We can fix this if we just take ourselves seriously for a little bit. Keep people who think politics is adventure to go and make money out of politics, and get people who want to serve and earn immortality for giving up themselves for the good of the common person and common good of all.”