Nigeria’s National Assembly has rejected proposals to introduce food security as a fundamental right of citizens in the constitution. The Right to Food Bill, pending before the two chambers, has generated debates among food and agriculture stakeholders. Senate and House of Representatives committees responsible for reviewing the constitution expressed concerns that passing the bill, as proposed, could place financial pressures on the Federal Government of Nigeria.
A member of the Committee on Constitution Review presided over by the Deputy President of the Senate, Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege, noted that including the right to food clause in the constitution could be misinterpreted by citizens and may lead to detrimental consequences.
A coalition of civil society and non-governmental organisations in the agriculture sector, operating under the platform of Voices for Food Security (VFS) and Nigeria Zero Hunger Forum (NZHF) expressed displeasure on the development and asserted that the Bill neither calls on the government to produce food for people free of charge nor place any financial burden on the government by any means.
The coalition explained that the Constitution Review Committees had removed the operative words ‘Right to Food’ in both Chapters Two and Four, thereby defeating the original purpose of the Bill. Led by Prof. Gbolagade Babalola Ayoola, the coalition asserted that the Bill’s objective was being weakened by attempts to remove the words: “Right to Food” as originally spelt out in the Bill. According to Prof Ayoola: The Bill was introduced to the National Assembly as a policy responsibility and accountability Bill, seeking amendments of the Constitution to introduce the words Right to Food and Food Security in two chapters: Chapter Two and Chapter Four.
Professor Ayoola pointed out that the aim of the Bill is to address the successive failure of agricultural policies to ensure food security in Nigeria; given the philosophical context that there can be no Food Security without the Right to Food. Accordingly, the Bill is geared towards a policy and practice change, from the traditional notion of food as a mere human need to the contemporary notion of food as a basic human right.
Food security is an end in itself but right to food is the means to reach that end. The Right to Food flows directly from the Charter of the United Nations and runs through various conventions and protocols that Nigeria is a signatory to.
Professor Gbolagade Babalola Ayoola
Examples of international legal instruments that provide for the Right to Food.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966
Universal Declaration on the Eradication of Hunger and Malnutrition, 1974
Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons, 1975
General Comment on the Right to Life, 1982
Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989
Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realisation of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security
The Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development, 1995
Source: The Guardian.
