From Farm to Foreign: Nigeria’s Economic Missteps

By Shamsudeen Ibrahim

When former President Muhammadu Buhari and his late Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, championed the mantra “We must eat what we produce,” critics dismissed them as out of touch. The administration enforced border controls, restricted food imports, and invested in local production through initiatives like the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) loans, mechanized farming, and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) support schemes.

Were there flaws? Absolutely. Cronyism allowed big businesses to hijack the market. Some farmers hoarded produce, artificially inflating prices. Yet, beneath the imperfections lay a sound economic principle: build self-sufficiency, reduce dependency, protect the Naira, and strengthen local industries.

Fast forward to today. Under President Bola Tinubu, subsidies have vanished—fuel, forex, and food. The Naira floats freely without safeguards. Borders are flung open. And what do we have to show for it? A bag of maize now costs over ₦30,000. Fertilizer prices hover around ₦70,000. Farmers, squeezed by soaring input costs, are abandoning their fields. Local food production is collapsing. Inflation spirals. Hunger deepens. Worse still, Nigeria is now bankrolling foreign agricultural sectors through massive food imports—a temporary fix that only deepens our crisis. The irony? Those who vilified Buhari for pushing local production now watch in silence as Tinubu dismantles the very foundation his administration laid.

Under Buhari, local rice mills expanded. RIFAN empowered smallholder farmers. Domestic food supply chains gained momentum. These gains weren’t lost because the policy failed—they were lost because Nigeria lacked the discipline, patience, and integrity to sustain them. Today, economic policymaking resembles a reckless gamble. No safety nets. No coherent strategy. Just hollow slogans and fleeting FAAC windfalls—while the Naira crashes and citizens bear the brunt.

No nation thrives by abandoning its producers. Even the world’s most advanced economies subsidize agriculture and energy. Why must Nigeria—a developing economy—attempt to survive without strategic protections? This suffering is man-made. It stems from policy recklessness and political hubris, not inevitability. What we need is leadership that plans, not one that experiments with livelihoods. Leadership that shields Nigerian farmers and industries, rather than enriching foreign producers. This isn’t reform. It’s organized economic sabotage.

The way forward is clear: revive and refine local production incentives, plugging loopholes that enable graft; adopt strategic, not blanket, import policies—only allowing imports for true shortages; cushion vulnerable sectors with targeted subsidies for farmers and small industries; and stabilize the Naira through managed flexibility, not freefall. Nigeria must choose: build or beg. The current path is unsustainable. If we won’t learn from history, we’re doomed to keep reliving its worst chapters.

Shamsudeen Ibrahim