By Abimbola Ogunnaike
As a result hunger crisis prevailing in the country, hoodlums on Thursday, 22 February, 2024, hijacked trailers loaded with foodstuff in the Suleja Area of Niger State.
According to the report of Daily Trust Online, soldiers had to open fire on the hoodlums to stop them from hijacking other trailers loaded with food items.
The medium quoted an eyewitness it identified as Alhassan Abdullahi, saying that that many trailers coming from Abuja and heading for Kaduna were blocked by the hoodlums who burnt tyres on the road.
The eyewitness added that many bags of food stuffs, especially rice, were stolen before soldiers arrive at the scene.
“It took intervention of soldiers who arrived the scene and started firing gun shots in the air to scare the hoodlums away. But even with that, many of them went away with bags of rice and cartons of spaghetti and other food items.”
“We learnt commercial motorcycle riders are also planning a protest. They would have done it since yesterday but we didn’t know what stopped them,” he said.
The development comes amid the nationwide hardship that has triggered protests in different parts of the country.
Recall that On February 16, leadership of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) declared a two-day nationwide mass protest for February 27 and 28 .
NLC president, Joe Ajaero, who stated this at Labour House, Abuja, during an emergency session, said the decision to protest was taken after the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum earlier issued to the Federal Government over the nationwide hardship.
The labour body ultimatum was issued to press the demands for reforms to address the current hardship being faced by Nigerians.
Recall also last week, the Sultan of Sokoto and Chairman of the Northern Traditional Rulers Council, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, expressed fear that with millions of Nigerian youths left without jobs and food, Nigeria is sitting on a keg of gunpowder.
Speaking at the 6th Executive Committee Meeting of the Northern Traditional Rulers Council last Thursday in Kaduna, the Sultan said the economic hardship in Nigeria had reached a level where citizens were agitated, angry and hungry.
He said: “We have now entered into a new cycle of leadership. Some new governors have come on board, while some are having their second term and still, we are faced with these insecurity issues.
“To make matters worse, we are faced with the rising level of poverty. Most of our people lack normal sources of livelihood.
“However, I believe talking about insecurity and the rising level of poverty are two issues that we cannot fold our arms and think everything is okay. I have said it so many times and at so many fora that things are not okay in Nigeria and of course, things are not okay in the North.”
Two days earlier, the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, had decried the ravaging hunger and starvation in the land, asking First Lady Remi Tinubu, who visited him to discuss the plight of Nigerians with her husband.
