A perfect storm of climate-induced disasters and rampant violence is pushing Nigeria towards a catastrophic famine, with millions of lives hanging in the balance, according to a stark warning from the United Nations.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has issued an urgent alert, revealing that a staggering 26.5 million people across Nigeria are projected to face acute hunger in 2024. This represents a dramatic and alarming increase from previous years, signalling a rapid deterioration in food security.
A Nation Gripped by Hunger
The crisis is most acute in the nation's northeast, where a brutal, long-running conflict with Islamist insurgents has devastated communities, destroyed farmland, and displaced millions from their homes. This human-made disaster is now being exponentially worsened by the relentless impacts of a changing climate.
"The hunger crisis in Nigeria is on a trajectory to become one of the world's worst," a WFP spokesperson stated. "We are witnessing a terrifying convergence of conflict and climate shocks that is overwhelming people's capacity to cope."
Climate Shocks Amplify Human Conflict
Recent devastating floods have swept through key agricultural regions, wiping out vital crops and livestock—the primary livelihood for countless families. These floods are followed by prolonged periods of severe drought, creating a vicious cycle that prevents any chance of recovery for vulnerable farmers.
This environmental chaos is not just destroying the present harvest; it is eroding any hope for future food production, pushing already impoverished communities past their breaking point.
An Urgent Call for International Action
Humanitarian organisations are struggling to keep pace with the soaring needs. The WFP emphasises that without a significant and immediate scale-up of international aid, the situation will spiral into a full-blown catastrophe.
The window to prevent widespread starvation is closing rapidly. The international community is being called upon to act now to provide life-saving food assistance and support long-term resilience programmes that can help Nigerians withstand these dual threats.
The crisis in Nigeria serves as a grim reminder of how climate change acts as a threat multiplier, exacerbating existing conflicts and creating unprecedented humanitarian challenges in some of the world's most vulnerable regions.
