Why Nigerians Are Tired of Press Statements That Can’t Feed Them.

Stop Talking. Start Governing.

Why Nigerians Are Tired of Press Statements That Can’t Feed Them

By Umar Aliyu 

Political Commentator & Public Affairs Analyst

When a government becomes more focused on rebuttals than results, the people suffer twice first from hunger, and then from hypocrisy.

On August 7, 2025, the State House, through Mr. Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to the President on Media & Public Communications, issued a scathing press statement attacking Daily Trust over its editorial that described Nigeria as a nation overwhelmed by hardship and hunger.

Rather than engage the editorial with candour and accountability, the statement was laced with self-congratulatory language, selective data, and a glaring disregard for the daily suffering of millions. It reads more like a political advertisement than a serious response to a national emergency.

Let’s be clear: propaganda is not policy, and no amount of polished paragraphs will distract Nigerians from the hunger in their stomachs or the despair in their hearts.

Hunger is Not a Debate. It’s a National Emergency.

The State House took offence at the claim that “Nigerians are hungry.” But this is not an insult—it’s an observable fact. Walk through any market. Talk to teachers, farmers, artisans, students. Visit homes. The hardship is not hidden. It is loud, visible, and crippling.

Dismissing this by pointing to grain reserves or quoting international food inflation statistics is not just insensitive—it is dangerous. Global hardship does not absolve local failure. Nigeria’s food insecurity is real, and it demands urgent, grassroots-centered action, not abstract policy lectures.

Currency Gymnastics Won’t Fool the Streets.

The presidency claims that the naira “has not collapsed it has been corrected.” But what exactly has been corrected when ₦1,525 still exchanges for $1? When the same currency can't feed a family of four for a week? Nigerians do not measure progress by charts—they measure it by survival.

A truly stabilised naira is one that restores trust, tames inflation, and fuels commerce. Until then, what we have is not a rebound—it’s economic cosmetics.

Cash Transfers Are Not Structural Solutions.

The press release proudly boasts that ₦75,000 has been disbursed to three million households. Let us appreciate the gesture—but also question its depth. What is ₦75,000 in a country where fuel is ₦900/litre and electricity costs have tripled?

Handouts without economic transformation are like painkillers for a tumor. Poverty is not a pothole to be patched—it is a system that must be dismantled.

The School Feeding Programme Exists on Paper Not in Schools

According to the statement, nearly 10 million children are being fed under the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme. Yet, in many communities, the programme has either fizzled out, become irregular, or is simply non-existent.

How can government claim success when so many parents say their children eat nothing at school? Again, we see a widening gap between press briefings and public reality.

Leadership Requires Listening, Not Lecturing

The most jarring part of the statement is its tone—dismissive, combative, and insulated from the mood of the country. Every piece of criticism is labeled as “misinformation” or “exaggeration.” Every concern is reduced to pessimism. This is not leadership; this is political arrogance.

True leadership accepts difficult feedback. It listens. It acts. It admits when things are not working. Until this mindset changes, government will keep talking while citizens keep starving.

What Nigerians Truly Need

Nigerians are not ungrateful. They are not impatient. But they are exhausted by unkept promises, delayed reforms, and the endless shifting of blame.

Hope is not found in a press statement. It is found when:

A mother can afford food without begging.

A student completes school without debt or hunger.

A small business survives without fear of multiple taxation or erratic power supply.

A farmer sells produce without being extorted or displaced by insecurity.

Until these are visible, speeches remain noise.

Conclusion: Feed the People Before You Lecture Them.

This administration says it wants unity. But unity cannot grow in a soil watered with hunger. Nigerians are not asking for miracles—they are demanding justice, empathy, and real-time results.

So here is the message: Stop talking. Start governing.

The people do not eat policy papers. They do not feed their children with currency statistics. They do not find hope in combative press releases.

Let the government rise from the comfort of language and meet the people in the heat of reality.

That is where true leadership begins.

Umar Aliyu is a columnist, political analyst, and public commentator committed to good governance and citizens’ welfare.