Associated Press, the foremost international news agency has criticized President Muhammadu Buhari for not mentioning the famine in the North East in his nationwide broadcast to mark the 56th Independence anniversary of Nigeria on Saturday.
Below is the report by Associated Press, as carried by several news publications abroad:
Leader pledges to rid Nigeria of hunger, omits worst crisis
LAGOS, Nigeria – Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is promising to drive hunger out of Africa’s most populous nation but made no mention of a conflict-driven famine threatening to kill tens of thousands of children.
The United Nations has warned 75,000 children could die of starvation in a year if speedy action isn’t taken in northeast Nigeria, where underfunded aid agencies say 4.4 million people need food and 65,000 are living in famine-like conditions amid Boko Haram’s Islamic insurgency.
It’s among numerous emergencies besetting a nation in recession and also fighting southern oil militants.
Buhari, marking Nigeria’s independence from Britain on Saturday, promised initiatives that “will revive the economy, restore the value of the naira (currency) and drive hunger from our land.”
